Suffering: Reward of the Servants of God
All the contempt, persecutions, tribulations, and even imprisonment… must be expected as rewards and wages, which the world gives to the true servants of the Lord. (OOCC, II, p. 498)
In his life, St. Vincent Pallotti made every effort to persevere, never give up, and stand firm in living through the situation of suffering because he believed that sufferings are wages and rewards the world gives to the true servant of God. Whether it was contemptuous treatment by others at various situations of his life, tribulations and difficulties that he faced due to personal and apostolic reasons, or in those moments he had to hide himself from the secret police who were trying to track his whereabouts, St. Vincent stood firm and never ran away from the moment of suffering. He always considered himself an unworthy servant of the Lord. If Jesus, his Master and Lord, could not receive a better deal from the people to whom he was sent as the apostle of love, neither could St. Vincent, the unworthy servant, expect to get something better from the world. Living his life in imitation of Jesus, the Suffering Servant, St. Vincent found it easy to carry on his determination to face every trouble that came into his life with courage, decisiveness and tranquillity. The attitude of accepting every moment of suffering as a reward for being the servant of God brought real joy and profound peace in the life of St. Vincent, for he knew that through his sufferings he was united with Jesus, his Master and Lord.
Do I consider the sufferings I face in my life as rewards and wages for the work I do for the Lord? Am I able to learn from the example of Jesus, the Suffering Servant, how to cope with suffering? Do I believe that my sufferings unite me with Jesus? Do I experience inner joy and inner peace when faced with suffering?
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constrains, for the sake of Christ. (II Cor. 12: 10)