Forced Suffering

In my homilies and talks I used to recall the words of Fr. San Juan SJ that there are two ways of considering or reflecting on suffering. One way is to consider it as a problem; the other way is to see it as a mystery.

As a problem human and physical suffering – understanding, minimizing and eliminating it – has been the object of scientific researches. The native wisdom of the indigenous peoples (Lumads) has also produced alternative solutions to it.

The other way is to treat suffering as a mystery. By the word “mystery” we refer, not to something difficult to know, but to something in the mind of God as mentioned by the prophets and revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth especially in His passion and death. The proper word for this is “paschal mystery”. He embraced suffering or in the words of John the evangelist “he was glorified in his suffering”.

This is the reason for the many penitential practices in the so-called spirituality of the Cross. We have fasting, abstinence, way of the cross, wearing a thorny belt and hermetic life. This is also called voluntary self-imposed suffering.

But what about forced or imposed suffering caused by others?

Based on Scripture, the following have been the responses motivated by the example of Jesus: turning the other cheek, self-defense, peaceful protest-actions, fasting to death as protest, and public statement. The entire process is called conscientization as a result of prayer and meditation. Those who for reasons of faith suffer in these actions are called martyrs.

Because Christ predicted this suffering as a blessing in disguise those who suffer in this way are expected to be happy and joyful.