Suffering With Joy

He Made Us; His We Are

“From the beginning and before the world was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.” Eccl. 24:14.

Catholics praying the Divine Office will find this Biblical quote in the hour of Lauds from the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is a favorite of mine because not only does it apply to Our Lady, it applies to every person created.  In this one verse God tells us that we are in His mind from all eternity, and that we will live forever after death, worshiping and praising Him. 

I am constantly struck by the love God has for each person – that He made us and His we are. (Ps. 99:3)  When we are struggling with pain and illnesses of all types we can sometimes forget that One greater than we has us in His heart.  Often we are so preoccupied with just getting by under our own power we forget to surrender to His power – to stop and ask what He is asking from us.

With the culture of death gaining greater ascendance daily, it seems to me that we must practice our Faith ever more diligently and especially to pray for the conversion of others.  (We must pray daily for our own conversion, too, but that is another topic.) 

For those of us who cannot do much in the physical realm, there remain the intentions of the heart: the unseen sacrifices we make in union with Christ.  The value of these sacrifices cannot be measured in earthly terms.  We will only know their true worth at the Last Judgment.  Fortunately, we have great examples to follow from Our Lady to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone on before us.  Saints such as Catherine Laboure, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Cantius, and Blessed Herman Joseph of Steinfeld – all spiritual giants who called no attention to themselves but left us the example of quiet holiness and the desire that all come to know and love Our Lord.

Tags: Blessed Virgin, Christ, conversion, Divine Office, pain, sacrifice, suffering

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