Suffering: The Surest Way to Kingdom of Heaven
The surest way to the kingdom of heaven is the road of tribulations in which our Divine Redeemer has walked … because [through suffering] one finds oneself heading towards the way to heaven … after the time of tribulation. (OCL, I, 194, p. 290)
St. Vincent Pallotti was convinced of the manifold benefits a person’s right attitude towards sufferings can bring in his life. Sufferings, if accepted as gifts from God, can increase a person’s love of God, identify him with Christ, make his life Christ-like and make him truly holy. Therefore, St. Vincent believed that the path of suffering through which Jesus himself walked, is the surest way to the kingdom of God. For if a person decides to walk by the path of suffering, without any doubt, he would be heading towards the way to heaven. But before he arrives at the kingdom of God, which is his goal, he has to undergo the consequences of suffering in his life. Just as Jesus arrived at the glory of the resurrection through his agony and death, so will a true Christian arrive at his destiny of life with God through the patient acceptance of the pains and troubles of his everyday living. If a person dared to suffer like Jesus, he cannot help but achieve his goal of being with God. St. Vincent wished that everyone would take the risk of accepting suffering and living through it, like Jesus, and thereby make themselves worthy of the kingdom Jesus prepared for them through his suffering.
Am I aware of the benefits of suffering in Christian life? Do I acknowledge that the path of suffering is the surest way to the kingdom of God? Am I ready to accept the sufferings of daily life in order to attain my life with God?
For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (II Cor. 4: 17)