People who are Suffering
People in our community experience suffering in many ways: aging, illness, accident, and death. When a sick person is suffering, they can lose hope and a sense of their personal wholeness and confidence. Their role in life may suddenly alter from taking care of people to letting people take care of them. Their independence may be limited by their illness. Simple tasks, like going to the grocery store or reading, may no longer be possible.
What are the suffering experiencing?[38] Fear and anxiety: What is next? Worry about being a burden to family and community. Fear of being “parked” in a nursing home. Uncertainty and insecurity: What does the future look like? Balancing illness/aging and working with financial uncertainty. Anger: Feeling helpless and frustrated over loss of control. Guilt: Looking back on missed opportunities and broken relationships. Depression and Grief: Depression over a loss of status and image to others. Longing for a beloved home. Loneliness: Isolation in institutional settings and families that are scattered all over the world today. Joy, acceptance, gratitude: Facing illness or death with deep faith. The joy of a successful operation or treatment. |
Thoughts on Aging
Job in Job 2:12 states: “So with old age is wisdom, and with length of days understanding.” There are many positives to look at around aging when it is thought of as a natural seasonal process. John O’Donahue had an interesting perspective on aging he shared several years ago on the NPR Show “On Being.” You can watch the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_WmA65iebU.
O’Donahue relates our lives to the seasons: We are born into the youthful spring, we grow into midlife in the summer warmth and bounty, and as we grow older we move into a time of fall harvesting. Our life in the fall is a time to harvest memories and celebrate them. It is a time where our bodies start to slow down but our souls are richer with shared wisdom gathered along the way.
O’Donahue relates our lives to the seasons: We are born into the youthful spring, we grow into midlife in the summer warmth and bounty, and as we grow older we move into a time of fall harvesting. Our life in the fall is a time to harvest memories and celebrate them. It is a time where our bodies start to slow down but our souls are richer with shared wisdom gathered along the way.
Theology of Suffering and Responses
Why do people suffer?
Theologian Daniel Harrington notes that suffering is part of human existence, and everyone suffers in some way at some time.[39] Even though we all experience some sort of suffering, it remains threatening, challenging and mysterious. Harrington discusses the theological problem raised by the experience of suffering and how we answer an ancient human question: Why am I suffering, and where is God in my experience?[40] |
Old Testament
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New Testament |
Evil in the World |
Scripture offers reflection and a deeper understanding of suffering. The story of Job in the Old Testament is about a faithful and just person who endures great suffering. Job rejects the theory that he is suffering in retribution for a wrongdoing, as he has lived a life loving God and taking care of his family. When God speaks to him from a whirlwind, he finally realizes that God does not conform to the logic of humans. Job experienced that while God’s ways are a mystery to us, God is always present with us in the midst of our suffering.
Read more about Job Of all the different kinds of psalms, the most numerous are the laments. Daniel Harrington defines lament as a statement about a sorry condition of an individual or a people and a plea for divine help.[42] There are more than 40 lament Psalms out of all 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. The Lament Psalms give us “permission” to complain and “yell at” God through a dialogue that is open. In some Psalms, such as Psalm 88, the words are very raw. The opening words in verse 1 of the lament Psalm 22 are “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” These same words are echoed and spoken by Jesus in Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46. The lament Psalms are a healthy reminder to us not to bury sorrow but to share our sorrows with God as we share our joys. Read more about the Psalms |
Daniel Harrington reminds us that the word passion is derived from the Latin and Greek terms for “suffering.”[43] He writes that Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection are at the core of our Christian faith, and at the core of this Paschal Mystery is suffering. The cross that Jesus was killed on is a universal symbol for suffering. We contemplate this suffering as part of our liturgies, and in great depth during the Lenten season. We also look at suffering from the perspective of the resurrection. The resurrection turns our minds back to hope in salvation, and eternal life.
Jesus and his disciples encountered a man who was blind from birth in John Chapter 9. The disciples ask Jesus if the man was blind because of his sins or the sins of his parents, invoking the theory of retribution for sins. Jesus' answered them: Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so the works of God might be made visible through him (John 9:3). God's healing hands are visible in suffering through caring friends, family, nurses, doctors, and community. |
Theologian Edward Schillebeeckx writes about a “barbarous excess” of suffering and evil in human history.[44] If you were asked to name a historical event that caused a huge amount of suffering and devastation impacting millions of innocent people, many people would say “the Holocaust.” In his book God and the Mystery of Human Suffering Robin Ryan CP discusses the Shoah. “Shoah” is a preferred term used by Jewish thinkers meaning “devastation/destruction” as opposed to using the more familiar term “holocaust,” which can have a positive and spiritual meaning in the Hebrew Scriptures.[45] Very difficult questions arise when contemplating the Shoah as to where was God when such evil emerged that allowed so many of God’s Chosen People to be killed in cruelty and brutality.
Elie Wiesel wrote a book titled Night about his experiences as a young Jewish man who was imprisoned by the Nazi’s in the death camps. The question: “Where is God?” is a central theme of the book as Wiesel experiences loss, pain and brutality all around him. While he could not understand the circumstances around him, at his core Wiesel always remained faithful to praying and acknowledging God. Reading the short but impactful book Night is recommended for all who visit the suffering, along with a discussion in your local community. More information on Night |
The Mystery of Suffering
Despite all the theological thoughts and attempts at understanding God and the mystery of suffering, the subject remains mysterious. Edward Schillebeeckx wrote that Christians should not try to explain suffering or produce systematic theories that reconcile innocent suffering with God’s presence.[46] Our mission as Christians is to be a compassionate presence with people who are suffering, to try and alleviate suffering where possible, and trust that God’s loving presence is always with us.
Read Fr. Robin Ryan's article on suffering in the March 2016 U.S. Catholic publication.
Read Fr. Robin Ryan's article on suffering in the March 2016 U.S. Catholic publication.
NOTE: All scripture quotations are from the Catholic Study Bible Second Edition New American Bible Edited by Donald Senior and John J. Collins.
© Copyright Sharon Dobbs 2016