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That God will embrace in His merciful love Pope John Paul II.
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MOURNING THE LOSS OF OUR HOLY FATHER
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Over the past week, the community of Tagaste Monastery and the parish of Sacred Heart Church have been observing a period of mourning for the loss of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II. It has been a sad time, but also one with a certain happiness. For it also offered us the opportunity to recall how the Holy Spirit has touched the lives of us Catholics in a very concrete way in the person of John Paul II.
This past Monday, Sacred Heart Parish offered a special memorial Mass in remembrance of our Holy Father. Many people from our Hispanic community joined the rest of the parish community in such prayer. Two days later at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, the Hispanic community of Sacred Heart Parish joined with other parishioners in a candlelight procession and rosary around the parish church grounds, culminating in a brief video biography presentation of the life of the Pope. Father Ronel and Monsignor Meehan were in attendance, with Father Ronel leading the service.
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TRANSFORMING YOUR SUFFERING INTO THE SUFFERING
- by Deacon Julián
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Your pain, profound as it is, can be related to certain circumstances. You do not abstractly suffer your pain. You suffer because somebody has hurt you at a particular moment and at a certain place. Your feelings of rejection, abandon, and uselessness are rooted in very concrete events. In this way, all suffering is unique. This is especially true when we look at the suffering of Jesus. His disciples abandoned him; Pontius Pilate condemned him; the Roman soldiers tortured and crucified him.
However, as you focus on the specifics of your pain, you may begin to lose the total meaning of your pain. You could fool yourself into believing that if the people, circumstances and events were different your pain would not exist. This might be partially true, but the deeper truth is that the situation which produced your pain was really an opportunity to get in contact with the human condition of suffering. Your pain is a concrete means of partaking in the pain of humanity.
Paradoxically, to heal yourself implies moving from your own pain to pain itself. When you dwell on the particular circumstances of your pain, you can easily get angry, become resentful and even vengeful.
One tends to want to do something from the exterior to alleviate the pain, because one usually looks for vengeance. True healing comes from the discovery that your particular pain is actually part of the pain of humanity.
Such a discovery allows one to pardon one's enemies and embrace a life that is truly merciful. This is the way of Jesus who prayed on the cross: "Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing"(Lk. 23, 24). The suffering of Jesus was actually the suffering of all humanity. His pain was the pain.
Every time you draw your attention away from the external causes of your pain to unite it with the pain of humanity in which we all participate, your suffering becomes much easier to handle. It becomes a "light burden" and a "easy yoke" (Mt. 11,30).
Once you discover that, you are able to live in solidarity with those who hunger, are homeless, imprisoned, sick, etc. Then, your personal pain begins to transform itself into the pain, and you discover a new strength to overcome it. Herein rests the hope of all Christians.
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