"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5: 3-5). Suffering as it were contains a special call to the virtue which man must exercise on his own part. And this is the virtue of perseverance in bearing whatever disturbs and causes harm. In doing this, the individual unleashes hope, which maintains in him the conviction that suffering will not get the better of him, that it will not deprive him of his dignity as a human being, a dignity linked to awareness of the meaning of life. And indeed this meaning makes itself known together with the working of God's love, which is the supreme gift of the Holy Spirit. The more he shares in this love, man rediscovers himself more and more fully in suffering: he rediscovers the "soul" which he thought he had "lost" because of suffering.
-Saint John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris, 1984If your family is suffering with infertility or pregnancy loss, consider attending A Morning for Hope and Healing this Saturday at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. For those who do not carry this burden, please join us in praying for all of those suffering during this National Infertility Awareness week.
Saint John Paul II, Pope of the Family, Pray for Us!
No comments:
Post a Comment