{"id":212,"date":"2018-03-15T04:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T08:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=212"},"modified":"2018-03-13T19:55:51","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T23:55:51","slug":"emptying-ourselves-day-9-hope-in-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/marian-consecration\/emptying-ourselves-day-9-hope-in-suffering\/","title":{"rendered":"Emptying ourselves Day 9 – Hope in suffering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 9 – Hope in suffering<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s encyclical Spe Salvi #39:<\/em><\/p>\n

To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves\u2014these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself. Yet once again the question arises: are we capable of this? Is the other important enough to warrant my becoming, on his account, a person who suffers? Does truth matter to me enough to make suffering worthwhile? Is the promise of love so great that it justifies the gift of myself? In the history of humanity, it was the Christian faith that had the particular merit of bringing forth within man a new and deeper capacity for these kinds of suffering that are decisive for his humanity. The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities. It has shown us that God \u2014Truth and Love in person\u2014 desired to suffer for us and with us. Bernard of Clairvaux coined the marvellous expression: Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis<\/em>\u2014God cannot suffer, but he can suffer with<\/em>. Man is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with<\/em> man in an utterly real way\u2014in flesh and blood\u2014as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus’s Passion. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio<\/em> is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love\u2014and so the star of hope rises. Certainly, in our many different sufferings and trials we always need the lesser and greater hopes too\u2014a kind visit, the healing of internal and external wounds, a favourable resolution of a crisis, and so on. In our lesser trials these kinds of hope may even be sufficient. But in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great hope of which we have spoken here. For this too we need witnesses\u2014martyrs\u2014who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way\u2014 day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day\u2014knowing that this is how we live life to the full. Let us say it once again: the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.<\/p>\n

Reflection:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In our humanity, apart from God, solitude becomes like a tomb for us where there are dead and dying things. But as Christ enters into our solitude it becomes like a womb for us, where we are little and loved and there is life and growth. In this way, every suffering, every threat, every difficulty becomes only a reminder that I am in the womb of Mary, with Jesus. As things become more intense and the pressure increases, it is only because I am growing and drawing closer to birth, which is a victorious emergence into Eternal Life.<\/p>\n

Do I have the certitude of the great hope that will not fail\u2014Jesus Christ? Do I find strength in that hope even to suffer for the sake of truth and for the sake of others? Let us reflect on the little hopes and the great hope in our lives and then make an act of hope:<\/p>\n

O my God, relying on Your almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Your grace and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.<\/p>\n

Prayers:<\/a><\/p>\n

Veni Sancte Spiritus<\/p>\n

Ave Maris Stella or Sub Tuum Praesidium<\/p>\n

Litany of Penance or Radiating Christ<\/p>\n

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 9 – Hope in suffering From Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s encyclical Spe Salvi #39: To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves\u2014these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[49],"tags":[53,12,38,40],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marian-consecration","tag-hope","tag-mary","tag-pope-benedict-xvi","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Andrea_Mantegna_108.jpg?fit=1200%2C1629&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-3q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8435,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/st-maximilian-kolbe-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":212,"position":0},"title":"St Maximilian Kolbe","author":"monks4christ","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Humble Prayer No one in the world can change Truth.What we can do and and should do is to seek truthand to serve it when we have found it The Immaculate will conquer, through us, the whole world and every single soul. 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