Some comforting WORDS ...

Jun 2, 2007 at 6:03 PM
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Taken from 'the onion dome" ...With my Dad's recent death, this really touched me ... thank you.

The pain of suffering is such a great mystery. But within this mystery is a great gift. In our fallen state we are divided and our minds race off in a countless number of directions. Even at prayer, when we should be focused on God, we constantly struggle to quiet our minds and are unable to allow them to descend into our hearts. But when we suffer, the mind centers on the pain of our heart and it is there that we encounter God. When we’re in the midst of pain we are single-minded and all the distractions that seemed so important evaporate into the nothingness that they truly are.

A prayer in the midst of pain is not a distracted prayer. Things such as what we will wear or eat are no longer important. The usual distractions of how someone annoyed us or how we appear to others is suddenly foreign to our minds. We are in the present, the only moment that we ever truly have. To be fully present, to be undistracted, to have our minds centered in our hearts, this is the gift of pain.

“Why does God allow us to suffer?” asks the one without faith. Because through our suffering He can get our attention for just long enough to shower us with His grace.

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Elaine,
I saw your comment on my blog just now and no, I do not mind your posting these words on your blog.

For some reason my comment was cut short. I wanted to add that I have a candle lit for your father. May his memory be eternal. Prayer for you and your family.