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Good morning, By My Side friends.

I hope this post finds you well.

It’s been a crazy few weeks, hasn’t it? With all the disasters that have come upon people, especially the LA wildfires and recent airline crashes, my heart and prayers go out to all the victims who were affected by these unexpected tragic events.

In a world where pain and hardship often seem devoid of purpose, the concept of Redemptive Suffering offers a profound perspective: that our trials can be transformed into avenues of grace and spiritual growth.

“God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for our comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things”. (Corinthians 1:4, 6 NLT)

Your pain often reveals God’s purpose for you. God never wastes a hurt! If you’ve gone through a hurt, He wants you to help other people going through that same hurt. He wants you to share it. God can use our problems in our lives to give us a ministry to help others. In fact, the very thing you are most ashamed of in your life and resent the most could become your greatest ministry in helping others. Who can better help somebody who’s lost a child than someone who has lost a child?

There are many different causes for our problems, pain, and suffering in our lives. Sometimes, the stuff that happens we bring upon ourselves when we make stupid decisions without consulting Jesus first. But some of our problems—we are innocent. We’ve been hurt by pain, stupidity, and the sins of other people. Some of this pain is for redemptive suffering. God allows us to go through problems to give us strength so that we can help others.

The very thing you suffer from most in your life, God wants to use for good in your life. This is Redemptive Suffering.

Redemptive Suffering is the belief that human suffering, when united with the suffering of Christ, can have spiritual value and contribute to the salvation of souls. It is rooted in Christian theology, particularly Catholicism, and is based on the idea that Jesus’ suffering and death brought about redemption for humanity. When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t deserve to die. He went through that pain for our benefit so that we can be saved and go to heaven.

While suffering is often seen as something to be avoided, Redemptive Suffering sees it as an opportunity to participate in Christ’s mission. This does not mean that suffering is good in itself, but rather that it can be offered to God as a means of grace—both for the person suffering and for others.

In practical terms, Redemptive Suffering is lived out when people endure pain, illness, and trials like losing their homes in a wildfire or the death of loved ones in airline disasters, then offer their suffering as a prayer for others, for the Church, or as an act of love.

By embracing our sufferings and uniting them with Christ’s Passion, we not only find personal meaning but also contribute to the salvation of others, participating in the divine mystery of redemption.

Redemptive Suffering—Food for thought this month of February 2025.

God bless you all.

Love,
MJ xo

MJ

MJ

Program Facilitator

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A program of spiritual friendship and healing for separated and divorced catholics

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