Jesus suffered deeply. I would say that one of the experiences ‘all’ humans have to go through if they survive birth and the first few years, will have to go through more than one “Gethsemane” experience. Where there is great suffering, and the sky is silent so to speak. Heaven seems empty and we are alone. I believe that the anguish that Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane was that reality. Often prayers seem not to be answered and there is suffering that will not let up and is like being in hell. Yet Jesus said “yes” to the Father’s will, as impalpable as that was. Yet it led after much suffering to his Resurrection. Christians, in their suffering, know on some level that they are united to Jesus in his sufferings for the salvation of the world. As St. Paus says: “I make up in my body, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ Jesus”. In other words, the passion of Jesus is lived out in each of our lives. The more we understand that and seek wisdom, the more we can withstand suffering without becoming bitter or sad to say, lose our faith. There is no magic man in the sky, but only, God-With-Us. The deeper we go into this mystery, the more we see our connection with ‘all’ because we are one with Jesus, becoming Jesus, and he lives in us for others. No, we are not pampered, nor can we make deals with God, any more than Jesus could in the garden of Gethsemane with his Father. As it says in the 12th chapter of Hebrews: 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. It is the fear of suffering, and how it fragments our faith that will often drive us to seek out ways to deal with our pain which only leads to deeper suffering. So again, trust, take the next step, and get through the day, each day, for it is in the present where we met the Father and lover of us all.-Br.MD
