The mystery of suffering, Part Nine

In this post, the final one in our series on the mystery of suffering, we will attempt to address suffering that does not appear to be directly a result of sin, but rather, of nature.

First off, original sin is responsible for weakening all of man’s faculties.   This includes not just his will but his intellect as well.  Therefore, it makes more culpable man’s ability to make good decisions.  For example, let’s say a plane blows up because of faulty mechanical issues.   While we cannot say definitively that sin was the reason the plane blew up and people died, we can say something was lacking in the preparation of the plane, which we can say, is an effect of original sin.   I am not sure if I quoted this specifically before, but regardless, the Catechism (#405) says this about original sin:  is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called "concupiscence".  You can see here a reference to a weakened intellect.

Part of the ignorance that original sin fosters is ignorance of original sin.  This has consequences for individuals, and for society at large.  We read in #407: Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals.    When we try to make man a supreme being in our social thoughts, or ourselves in our day to day lives, and think he/we are capable of only good, inevitably we are disappointed and we suffer. 

So, at this point, I believe we have covered adequately suffering causes by sin and ignorance.   But there is one more type of suffering that we need to address before closing out this series, and that is, suffering caused by natural causes.  This encompasses both what we would typically term natural disasters, as well as diseases such as cancer.

There are explanations for natural disasters.  Science can explain why things like wildfires and hurricanes occur.   That helps a little bit in our understanding of them.  However, when they touch upon our lives, and even sometimes cause death, we have to ask why do they occur instead of not occurring?  Why could they just not happen?   Why did God create a world where those things occur?   

The answer is God did not create such a world.  In the original account of Creation in Genesis 1, we see God created everything out of nothing, and he looked at everything, and saw that it was “very good”.  However, after the original sin of our first parents, in a mysterious way, sin affected creation as well.   Let us look at a couple of relevant Scripture passages here, as well as a quote from the Catechism.  I will underline especially relevant portions.

And to the man he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
    and have eaten of the tree
about which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.  Genesis 3:17-18

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God;  for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;  and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.   Romans 8:19-23

The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject "to its bondage to decay” Catechism #400

The bottom line is when creation interacts with our wounded human nature, creation is affected.   It is a mystery that we cannot fully understand.  

Our response to this type of suffering has to be the same as it is to suffering that is clearly attributable to human sin.   We must acknowledge that God allows it for a reason.  God allows moral evil to continue for the same reason he allows physical evil to; to draw a greater good out of it.   Out of this type of suffering comes, in the words we used last post, an “unleashing” of love.  (Think about how people respond to one another in natural disasters and you will see this point made manifest.)

Finally, we come to suffering as a result of sickness or illness.  I think really the words we used above apply here.  If all “creation is groaning in labor pains” as a result of sin, then we cannot expect the human body, the pinnacle of God’s material creation, to be exempt from this.   When sin enters the world, all creation, including the physical body, is affected. 

This type of suffering can unleash love, as well, in the loved ones and families who care for the sick, as well as the doctors and nurses.   It also, in a very special way, can be redemptive, and the person undergoing it can suffer with Christ, and make his or her suffering part of the story of the redemption of the human race.

With this, we conclude our reflection on the mystery of suffering.   I would like to conclude this series with the same words Saint John Paul II used to close his apostolic letter on suffering, from which we have quoted in this series.    In this quote, John Paul II addresses Christians, all people of good will, and everyone in the world who is suffering. 

And so there should come together in spirit beneath the Cross on Calvary all suffering people who believe in Christ, and particularly those who suffer because of their faith in him who is the Crucified and Risen One, so that the offering of their sufferings may hasten the fulfilment of the prayer of the Saviour himself that all may be one.   Let there also gather beneath the Cross all people of good will, for on this Cross is the "Redeemer of man", the Man of Sorrows, who has taken upon himself the physical and moral sufferings of the people of all times, so that in love they may find the salvific meaning of their sorrow and valid answers to all of their questions.

Together with Mary, Mother of Christ, who stood beneath the Cross, we pause beside all the crosses of contemporary man.

We invoke all the Saints, who down the centuries in a special way shared in the suffering of Christ. We ask them to support us.

And we ask all you who suffer to support us. We ask precisely you who are weak to become a source of strength for the Church and humanity. In the terrible battle between the forces of good and evil, revealed to our eyes by our modern world, may your suffering in union with the Cross of Christ be victorious!

I join the Holy Father in prayer and encouragement for all of you who are suffering, that you may be inspired to still love in spite of it, and help redeem the world, and that you also receive love from others in your trials.   May the mystery of suffering not solely be a burden, but also a discovery of the real power of love and redemption.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.