We’ve been speaking about “quietly embracing” suffering, as
it says in the Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 7. Here are a few quotations that
may help you when you find yourself in the place of suffering.
·
“Suffering . . . can lead you in either of two
directions. It can make you very bitter and close you down, or it can make you
wise, compassionate, and utterly open, either because your heart has been
softened, or perhaps because suffering leaves you feeling you have nothing more
to lose.”*
·
“The sufferings of this present time are not
worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
·
“We know that in everything God works for good
with those who love him.” (Romans 8:28)
·
“A negative, judgmental attitude will probably
only aggravate the . . . problem, increasing the pain and adding more fuel to
the fires of resentment. This vicious, downward spiral can be broken only if we
accept the reality of life—difficult though it may be—without judging,
criticizing, or blaming”. **
·
“ . . .
everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human
freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose
one’s own way.” ***
* Richard Rohr, The
Naked Now, p. 125
**Philip St. Romain, Reflecting
on the Serenity Prayer, p. 12.
***Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s
Search for Meaning, p. 104
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