26
“Either to suffer or to die!”
St. Theresa of Avila
The thought of Heaven is a comfort
in our tribulations. Our predestination
to glory consists entirely and precisely
in our conformity with Jesus Christ.
Consider our Blessed Savior hanging
on the Cross, stripped of His garments,
all covered with wounds, filled with
reproaches, plunged in an ocean of
agonies, the King of Sorrows from the
first moment of His life unto the very
end. He who shares in His Cross and
sufferings is most sure of partaking
also in His Kingdom. This principle
has been established from all eternity
in the divine law, namely, that the
members of His Body must in all
things be made like unto their Head,
and consequently no one is admitted
into Heaven by any other door than
by the door of tribulation.
T
he inheritance which Jesus has
bequeathed to His elect is that of
rejoicing for all eternity in the life to
come, in exchange for a life of
mourning for a few short days in the
present. It is only right that those who
accept eternal happiness for the
future, should not reject their present
momentary suffering. Christ offers to
us His Kingdom at the same price by
which He purchased it. He who bought
it at the cost of a heavy Cross, gives it
to us in exchange for a cross of straw.
Our destitution, poverty and affliction
in so far as they make us resemble our
Divine Master when on earth, give us the
sure hope of being like Him in glory.
These truths, though now somewhat
obscure, are as certain as faith itself.
Suffering is not only a sign of predestination
to glory but also a means
of meriting it. Heaven is our reward
for having borne the Cross. There is
no triumph without victory; there is
no victory without fighting and there
is no fighting without struggle.
What great disaster for us to be left
without a cross! In this present life,
there is nothing so precious as suffering
for God. It counts for little for us to
bear our darkness and desolation with
patience, if we do not bear them with
cheerfulness and gratitude. Our crosses
are a singular gift of divine goodness!
We do not deserve the name of Christian
unless we confess these great truths in
the face of the world run wild in
search of pleasures. Here on earth, our
suffering is the measure of our joy
hereafter in Heaven. In exchange for a
small number of afflictions, a measure
so light, God sets out for us heavenly
gifts without number and an immense
weight of happiness and joy. Mere
natural love flies from suffering, but
supernatural love seeks after it, because
it knows that the more it shall bear
upon earth for its Lord, so much more
shall it love Him in Heaven, and so much
the more possess Him for all eternity.
True blessings consist in persecutions,
in sickness, in poverty, in afflictions
and desolations, for in these are to be
found the seeds of Heaven. The more
abundant they are, the more abundant
harvest of glory they will bring forth.
Our momentary suffering is preparing
us for an immense happiness in
eternity. The enjoyment of which for
a single moment would be worth all
the torments of the Martyrs. God has
assured us that, those who suffer, He
will strengthen so that the present
happiness of HOPE may, one day, be
exchanged for the eternal happiness
of Heaven.