I recently sat with a friend whose father lay critically ill in an intensive care unit. It was difficult to see the suffering of her father, and the pain and helplessness of my friend and her family. Then I thought how much harder it would be if we didn’t have the light of faith.
In a movie I watched recently, The Shack, the character who represents the Holy Spirit tells Mack, the main character, that as long as man has a free will to choose evil, there will be suffering in the world. We may not have chosen evil ourselves, but as long as we live in this broken human world, suffering will come to us in some form. I can’t imagine how anyone copes with it without the light of faith.
One of my sisters shared with me the story of a woman who had just lost her mother. This woman entered the Samaritan House Thrift Store that we manage. She seemed so sad, so this sister approached her and began a conversation. The woman said she was an atheist. The sister replied, “Then you have no hope of life hereafter?” The woman somberly said, “That’s right. I have no hope.”
As I continued to reflect on my friend, the movie, and this despairing woman, I pondered how if Jesus had not died and risen from the dead, if we had not received from him the promise of a better life hereafter, our suffering would be filled with despair and would have no meaning. However, the resurrection of Christ gives us hope, not only for eternal beatitude, but also in the here and now. Jesus takes our mess and transforms it for good. St. Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him…”
I’ve been reading a book on vulnerability by a secular researcher. I was surprised that she was “startled” (to use her word) that the results of all her interviews consistently showed that happiness was an emotion connected to circumstances and that joy was a spiritual belief and engagement with one another and a “power greater than us.” I thought to myself, ‘She must have been interviewing Christians!’ She came to discover that these people maintained their joy even in the midst of the greatest losses and trauma. Joy was enduring despite the external circumstances.
I have seen this myself over the years while I nursed in the hospital and in patients’ homes. I remember one patient in particular. His name was Max. Max battled with bone cancer—the worst kind of cancer. Yet every time I went to see him, he always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He would share how blessed he was and what the Lord had shared with him that day. Max knew the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
St. Paul lists his sufferings: “…with many more labors and imprisonments, with far worse beatings and frequent brushes with death. Five times […] I received forty lashes less one; three times I was beaten with rods; I was stoned once, shipwrecked three times…” (2 Cor. 11-28). Yet St. Paul, like Max, could say, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again rejoice! [...] Then God’s own peace which is beyond all understanding will stand guard over your hearts…” (Phil. 4:4-7). St. Paul wished “to know Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection” (Phil.3:10).
How can we, like St. Paul and Max, rejoice always, especially in the midst of trials? We can rejoice always because joy, peace, and hope are rooted in our personal relationship with the risen Jesus. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, “I am with you always.” In Jesus’ last discourse, he says, “[…] all this I tell you that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” and “In the same way, you are sad for a time…then your hearts will rejoice with a joy no one can take from you” (John 15:11, 16:22).
Hope, joy, and peace are fruits of Christ’s resurrection. They are the power that carries us through our trials. My prayer for you this Easter season is from the words of St. Paul: “So may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that through the power of the Holy Spirit you may have hope in abundance” (Romans 15:13).
Mother Mary Ann Kessler, T.O.R.
Reverend Mother
