by Brett Manero
There are many reasons for why Christianity is brilliant. There is the truth that in the Christian faith (built up on the Jewish faith), God comes to meet man, and not the other way around. In so many pagan religions, it is humanity that seeks to find the divine, but in the Judeo-Christian tradition, God comes down to meet us. Why? Out of pure and undeserved love.
Another reason for its genius is how Christianity takes the darkness, the evil, the suffering of humanity, and can even use it all for good. There is nothing which is given to God which is wasted, for nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37).
I know a man who suffers tremendously from the cross of depression. It is a very real and a daily cross to bear, which affects his work ethic, his relationships, his prayer life, his daily pleasures, and even desire to get up from where he is sitting. For anyone who struggles with this heavy cross, you are not alone. Seek help, talk to God and others (and especially a licensed professional) about it. You are not alone.
This man, when depression was in its early stages, was tempted to feel defeated by it. While he, like anyone, had experienced plenty of sadness from time to time, this cross of depression was entirely new and all the more devastating. There were very real moments of temptation to despair, a temptation to question: “What’s the point of it all? What’s the point of life? I thought being a Christian and being a Catholic was so much easier than this. This is too much.” Suddenly, Christianity seemed too difficult to endure.
There are some incredibly well-meaning Catholics and other Christians who seem to believe that God is going to heal every infirmity and suffering here on earth. With genuine faith and the best of intentions, they often will claim that if you have enough faith, God will indeed heal you of whatever suffering one is enduring. This particular man was told this with regards to his depression. He was open to the possibility of a miraculous healing, and he still is. But, his depression continues, with some very real moments and seasons of relief, but it has a way of returning and striking at the worst of moments. He continues to carry his cross with as much dignity as he can muster.
It is very true that God will heal every illness, every suffering, and every infirmity – in the life of the world to come:
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).
Jesus also hints at this life of the future world, where pain and suffering are a thing of the past:
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).
And finally, St. Paul sums it up quite well when he writes:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).
Eternal life will be like the resurrected Jesus: because His risen body has overcome death and the laws of physics, suffering no longer has any effect upon Him whatsoever. His body can never be harmed again, and most certainly can never die again. Such will it be with eternal life for the saints.
Perhaps it is fitting that we still suffer here in this world, as a reminder our true home is not here, but in the life of the world to come. The suffering of the present time reminds us that our true home is only in heaven.
And yet, it is also true that healing can and does take place in this present world. This is obvious in the Gospels. This is indeed the primary way that Jesus makes Himself known as the Messiah, by healing many of their physical ailments:
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them (Luke 4:40).
By healing many of their physical suffering, He is also pointing to the need for something so much more important: spiritual healing. As one moves from the Old Testament into the New Testament, one moves from a more physical emphasis into a more spiritual emphasis. The healing of the body points to the need for the healing of the soul.
Miracles of healing also take place in our own time. Saints are still being proclaimed, and their process of canonization requires two miracles that cannot be explained by natural causes. The miraculous water of Our Lady of Lourdes has likely brought healing to tens of thousands of people. Miracles take place every day that go unknown and unreported, and yet they still happen.
And yet, it is also true that many are still unhealed. We even find this in the Gospels as well. Jesus did indeed heal a great many people, but He did not physically heal everyone.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this all-important point about Jesus and healing:
“But He did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through His Passover. On the cross Christ took up on Himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence. By His passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to Him and unite us with His redemptive Passion” (CCC 1505).
In that final sentence lies the secret to the genius of Christianity: God has taken suffering and transformed it into something of value. It is no longer pointless or something to despair about. It can have meaning, it can have very real power. A suffering Christian can take his or her pain and offer it for others, for their own healing, for their own comfort, and most importantly, for their own salvation.
Suffering, therefore, becomes like a superpower. Perhaps this is what has brought a sense of meaning to this man I know: after months of wondering and asking why God will not remove his pain of depression, suddenly the answer dawns on him: your pain is your superpower. Offer this pain up for so many people, people you know and many you don’t know, and see just how powerful this will be.
We have much to look forward to in the life of the world to come. Easter is approaching, and we know that the resurrected Jesus gives us that hope and promise of such a world. But we still live in the present world, where suffering is still a reality. Miracles do and will take place, and if God chooses to heal us, we shall praise Him all the more for it. But if He allows us to keep our present pain – physical, mental, emotional, of any kind – then we shall also praise Him for it, for suffering now has value in the Christian life. And not only does it have value, but it has power.
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