Matthew’s Gospel (5:3-12) contains Jesus’ most famous lecture, which we now refer to as his “Sermon on the Mount”. Even non-Christians readily recognize that this is one of the greatest speeches in all of history. The wisdom, power, meaning, and advice contained within those words have been much studied and often cited, and perhaps the pinnacle of the entire speech lies in the ten lines cited above: the Beatitudes. These contain the ultimate plot twist, the great irony, the flipping over of the seeming natural order on its head. Here, Jesus is declaring that the greatest, the mightiest, the most rewarded, and the blessed are the poor, the mourning, the meek, the hungry, and the persecuted.

Since I would love to obtain some measure of greatness, might, reward, and blessings… I must ask myself: do I then accept or even seek any of these things that Jesus described as ultimately leading to them? In other words, do I prefer to be in a state of poverty, hunger, or persecution? Uhm, typically no.

But should I?

Let’s take Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (12:9b-10):

I willingly boast of my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I am content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong.

Reading these words from Paul, I believe that there are two implications for us.

First, Christ is providing us with a lens through with to live our lives and by which we must view our actions, priorities, and goals. Are we making decisions in accordance with the principles of the Beatitudes? Do we pursue objectives that personify humility, meekness, and restraint? When given a choice, do we actively choose the path that might result in conflict or even persecution due to our Christian beliefs? And are we committed to truly assisting those who are challenged, hungry, or suffering? 

Second, when we face hardships ourselves, do we immediately lament our lot without attempting to pair our suffering to Christ’s? As Catholics, we accept the notion of redemptive suffering, which is the idea that we can unite our own suffering with His Passion, thus offering us an opportunity to share in it with Him. In this way, we can transform it from meaningless to meaningful by offering a sacrifice for others. And this can result in our spiritual well-being and growth. This is the “strength” that St. Paul describes.

Redemptive suffering is one of the hardest concepts to grasp, especially as we ourselves face suffering or experience the suffering of someone we love. That some good can come of it seems inconceivable as our human instinct is for all pain and suffering to go away, to simply stop. 

It’s this second idea that is most difficult to accept, but we are invited to follow Christ and that includes accepting the crosses in our lives. By this invitation, we can follow alongside Him on the road toward Calvary. This includes:

1. Acknowledging suffering and the fact that it is part of our lives and unavoidable.
2. Uniting our suffering with Christ’s on the cross.
3. Directing our suffering to the help and intercession of others, including for their healing and salvation.
4. Receiving God’s grace fully through the sacraments and prayer.
   

Redemptive suffering is a distinctly Christian concept and one that can be hard to fully embrace… but it is through this very embrace, through the surrendering of our suffering to our Savior, that we may walk forward toward a more certain future… one filled with redemption, peace, joy, and love. For all of eternity.