Proportionality of Suffering and Grace
The greater are the tribulations, the greater are the happiness and glory. (OCL, I, 194, p. 290)
St. Vincent Pallotti did not shun sufferings in his life for many reasons: sufferings made him identify himself with Jesus, the Suffering Servant. Sufferings united him with Jesus and sufferings opened him to the life of grace. Hence, St. Vincent constantly prayed to God to give him the courage to participate in the sufferings of Jesus. He was ready to accept all forms of contempt, calumnies, oppressions and sorrows in order that he could participate in Christ’s sufferings. He believed the greater the tribulations he encountered in his life, the greater the graces of joy and glory God would shower on him. He also believed this would give him the grace of perfect resignation to the will of God, which in turn would help him to cope with his sufferings. St. Vincent wondered at the fact that many Christians neither desired suffering nor prayed for it, even though they knew how vital it was for their spiritual living. In his pastoral ministry of caring for the spiritual wellbeing of people, he enticed his penitents to have at least the ordinary resignation to the necessary crosses that came into their lives. In guiding them, St. Vincent often reminded them that God was not leaving them alone to suffer, but he was always with them with his graces to assist them and to carry them through their sufferings, as wherever there was suffering, there was also the grace of God.
Do I recognize the value of the cross in my Christian life? Do I believe that God does not leave me alone to suffer, but is present in my suffering with his grace? Do I believe that there is proportionality of suffering and the grace of God in the life of a person? What is my basic attitude towards suffering? Do I accept or reject sufferings in my daily life?
I will rather boast of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. (II Cor. 12: 9)