The sick, the elderly, the handicapped and the dying teach us that weakness is a creative part of human living, and that suffering can be embraced with no loss of dignity. – Pope John Paul II
Our dignity does not come from our own strength or from our own power. It is not lost with sickness. It isn’t lost with poverty or persecution or even the insults of men. It isn’t lost with suffering or even death.
God gave us this dignity, the dignity of being made into His own image.
One day He is going to complete the good work He has begun in us and we will finally see Him. We will also know fully our great dignity of being His children.
Here on earth however, we suffer from our weaknesses and from the sins of others. We also suffer from our imperfect physical bodies and from various emotional and spiritual struggles. Many times, we suffer involuntarily. At times, we suffer for the sake of those we love. But through all these, we are assured, that for as long as we suffer with the love of God, we do not suffer in vain.
On the contrary, when we suffer with love, our dignity is raised, and we reach our true dignity as human beings created in the image of God. When we suffer in love, we become like Jesus Himself, who offered His own life in order to save many. Can there ever be a dignity greater than this?
Surely he has borne our sickness,
and carried our suffering;
yet we considered him plagued,
struck by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed.
-Isaiah 53:4-5, WEB-BE
“God created through love and for love. God did not create anything except love itself, and the means to love. He created love in all its forms. He created beings capable of love from all possible distances. Because no other could do it, he himself went to the greatest possible distance, the infinite distance. This infinite distance between God and God, this supreme tearing apart, this agony beyond all others, this marvel of love, is the crucifixion.”- Simone Weil, Waiting for God
Find hope in your darkest hour.
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