25
In punishment for willfully withdrawing
ourselves from the obedience due to the
Divine Commandment, we should have
been bound with everlasting chains
and cast into the prison of fire wherein
eternal torments and despair would
force us to render to God that glory
by which our sins had deprived Him.
At sight of the fate of the damned
caught in darkness and smoke, we
would cry out to God for mercy. What
would we then not give to be able to
return and be delivered from this
abyss of woes? How could any remedy
on earth possibly have seemed too
harsh? The anguish in our hearts over
annoyances, poverty and sickness weigh
upon us for a moment, compared to
what we really deserve to suffer.
It is an incomprehensible blessing to
have been saved from Hell until now
and this obliges us not only to accept
tribulations with patience, but also to
seek them out and embrace them with
eagerness in order to satisfy Divine
Justice. The love which is God’s due
obliges us to take heart in His interests,
and ask now how we can give Him
back the honor of which He has been
deprived by our transgressions. If we
could only realize the beauty of Divine
Justice, our only distress would be that
our sufferings are not sufficiently heavy
to glorify Him as we might wish. Our
suffering would not appear to be
suffering in the light of the satisfaction
that it renders to God.
Christ took upon Himself the payment
due to His Father for our sins. His Life
was one of continual suffering. With an
insatiable thirst, He poured out all His
Life’s Blood when nailed to the Cross.
He rejoiced to see His Body torn by
countless wounds, pierced by nails
and thorns, plunged into an abyss of
pain and exulted for the honor which
His Father received therefrom, an entire
satisfaction and payment infinitely
surpassing the debt. It is by means of
our suffering that God intends to
restore the losses to His Glory and
compensate for the wrongs done to Him.
Gladly accept all the suffering that God
sends to us and humbly protest that it
is accepted in satisfaction for our great
debts. As we can never attain to this
by our own strength, we must pray for
God to grant us the help of His Grace
that we might cling to our cross so
closely that death alone shall separate
us from it. We are surrounded without
by powerful enemies who assail us by
force and treachery, and are ever plotting
against us night and day. Moreover, we
carry within us rebellious sensuality
which, like a domestic traitor, leagues
itself with the enemies on the outside
to push us on and hasten our fall into
the bottomless pit. We can hardly take
a single step without the danger of
being lost. What then is our greatest
safeguard in the midst of so many
dangers? IT IS SUFFERING!
Suffering accepted willingly from the
Hands of God and adding to it our own
voluntary sacrifices, will make salvation
sure. Patience gives to the soul the most
perfect dispositions possible to resist
every adversity. He, who has not
schooled himself in suffering, easily
gives way just as a tree grown in overly
rich soil breaks down under the
slightest weight. Moreover, tribulation
confirms the heritage we have as
Christians of possessing our God. All
our good lies in the Cross. Our life is
made for that. Consequently, what are
we doing here in this miserable world
if we are not suffering?