“𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩‘𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝.“ ~ 𝙎𝙩. 𝙋𝙖𝙪𝙡 (𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 1:24)

This is one of my favorite passages from Holy Scripture. It’s probably also one of the most difficult to wrap one’s mind around.

What could possibly be lacking in the afflictions of Jesus Christ who died once for all and declared from the cross, “It is finished”? Why is St. Paul rejoicing in his sufferings? How can he add anything to Jesus’ finished work?

St. Augustine understands this verse to mean, “𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘦 [𝘚𝘵. 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭] 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘵. 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩: ‘𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚“ (𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 2:20). St. Augustine then reminds us of the words of St. Paul in 1 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 12:12-13, “𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮...“

St. Thomas Aquinas states about this verse, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 ‘𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨‘, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘵. 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵“. Dr. Scott Hahn, in a talk about suffering, draws on St. Thomas’ commentary on Col 1:24 and phrases something like, “We unite our suffering with Christ’s suffering and He invests our suffering with His redemptive value”. This is why St. Paul rejoices in his suffering, because he knows that “𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙‘𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨“ (1 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 3:9) and that his suffering won’t compare to the glory of what’s been revealed (cf. 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 8:18).

St. Paul, who suffered greatly spreading the Gospel, knew the demand Jesus put on His disciples, “𝙒𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚, 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚“ (𝘓𝘶𝘬𝘦 14:27).

It’s an incredible thing of which to be demanded… to take up the cross of one’s own suffering, to bear it, and then follow Jesus, God incarnate, along the way of sorrows.

When Jesus foretold His own death and resurrection, St. Peter took hold of Jesus and rebuked Him saying, “𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪“ (𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 16:22). I think St. Peter’s response is much like our own, particularly in our own lives and for those we love. We recoil at suffering, even the thought of it. The want of a christ without the cross. To want the promise of resurrection without the crucifixion. But, a christ who doesn’t demand we take up our cross is a counterfeit. A christ without scars is antichrist. This is why Our Blessed Lord then rebuked St. Peter, “𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚, 𝙎𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚; 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚𝙣“ (𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸 16:23). Jesus then says that if we would come after Him, we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him (cf. Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34). We can not be His disciples otherwise.

Not only His disciples, but also “𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨, 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 (𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 8:16-17). As members of Christ’s body, disciples and co-heirs with Christ, we can know “𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨“ (𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 8:18). St. Paul does not tell us we won’t suffer or that we won’t experience significant suffering. He does tell us that our suffering won’t compare with God’s reward. St. Paul guarantees our suffering as Christians saying that we are only co-heirs with Christ provided we suffer with Him. We plead with God to alleviate our sufferings. Just as St. Paul thrice pleaded with God that his thorn in the flesh be relieved. Jesus responds, “𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲.“ God’s grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness (cf. 2 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 12:7-9).

Speaking of those in Christ, St. Paul says that the predestined are to be conformed to the image of Jesus (cf 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 8:29). Jesus who appeared to the disciples and showed them the wounds of His hands and feet; and invited St. Thomas to place a hand in His side where the Sacred Heart is pierced (cf. 𝘓𝘶𝘬𝘦 24:40, 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 20:27). This is the Christ we are to image. This is the Christ of whom’s body we are members. It’s as members of His body that we conform to His image in our lives, that He would live in us, in whom we take up our crosses and follow as fellow laborers and co-heirs whose suffering is invested with the grace of His redemption.

How hard is it to have ears to hear this in our times? The world proclaims almost any kind of suffering as evil and to be avoided or ended by any means, even means that include separating ourselves from God in sin.

Our Blessed Lord, a sign that is spoken against, a sign of contradiction (cf. Lk 2:34), looks at us, points to our cross and says “𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲”. Jesus speaks to us, “𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿. 𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆. 𝗠𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱. 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲.”