Jesus did not come to bring a message of earthly happiness nor to establish in this world an era which would banish all tears and grief. Rather, he came to take upon himself the full weight of human suffering in order to transform it into a means of salvation, and, therefore, of eternal happiness in that blessed land where alone “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying nor pain” (Rev 21: 4). The life of man redeemed by Christ is a beginning of this endless happiness.
Christ’s paschal mystery is a web of grief and joy, of death and resurrection; the life of the Christian, which springs from this mystery and is based upon it, reproduces its characteristics. And just as the paschal mystery is not exhausted in the passion and death of Christ, but through pain and death culminates in the joy of the resurrection, so Christian life, in spite of its earthly tribulation, is constantly oriented toward eternal joy.
Suffering is the gate that introduces us into the paschal mystery of the Lord and lets us live it in its aspect of passion and death to prepare us for that of resurrection. It is impossible to share in the resurrection of Christ if we do not first suffer and die with him.
Even when God does not grant us relief, and permits the suffering to be prolonged, we must continue to trust in him. Only he knows what is for the real good of each of us. Certain tribulations which seem absurd and unfair from our human point of view have a very real place in his divine plans; our personal salvation, and that of many others, may depend on our acceptance of these. “In everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom 8: 28).
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