"A Blueprint For Life": A Reflection on the Second Reading for October 7th, 2018: Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Hebrews, 2 :9-11
- Bíblia Católica Online

9. but we do see Jesus, who was for a short while made less than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he submitted to death; so that by God's grace his experience of death should benefit all humanity.

10. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should, in bringing many sons to glory, make perfect through suffering the leader of their salvation.

11. For consecrator and consecrated are all of the same stock; that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers" 

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​I am reminded of how suffering is not only inevitable, but necessary for our salvation — and that Jesus lived, suffered and died to lead us on the path to eternal life. 

When I ponder how He lived, I am full of inspiration and gratitude for having such a role model; a hero to emulate. Jesus’ life is an amazing example of love, mercy, forgiveness, strength, wisdom, fortitude... I could go on, but I think you get the message. How blessed are we to have such a perfect blueprint for life?

However, when it comes to accepting suffering as a part of this blueprint, I’m a little less enthused. How much of our life do we spend finding ways to avoid, minimize, reject, and even blame others for our suffering? I would suggest — quite a bit. But I have to believe that when Scripture states that Jesus was brought to glory through suffering, it only makes sense that we, too, are brought to glory through our suffering. We are made perfect through suffering. There’s a depth of self-knowledge to be found in our pain, that can only be appreciated when we unite it with Jesus’. Who am I to think that we shouldn’t suffer — when Jesus’ suffering resulted in a complete surrender of His life for our salvation?  

When life brings us to our knees, we are then in a perfect state of vulnerability in which God can penetrate our false beliefs. For, it is true that suffering has the ability to reveal our attachments. To the extent that we feel entitled to happiness, comforts, love, security, success, respect, good health — and don’t get them — will be the degree by which we will feel hard done by. That attitude or disposition of entitlement can cause us to become ungrateful, angry, unkind, insecure, disrespectful, fearful, or controlling.

As sisters in Christ, I pray that we will be blessed with the grace to surrender all to our Lord; the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is nothing more powerful and life-giving than to consecrate our suffering with that of our Lord Jesus, who consecrates all things to Himself. I believe we could avoid much of our suffering if we not only read the Word of God daily, but heard the one overarching message: Be Love.

Let us pray:
May we be perfected in our suffering, Lord. Let us unite our suffering with Yours for the salvation of all peoples. Let it be a source for our dependence on You, and may it teach us to be more compassionate and loving toward others, and ourselves. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Patricia Cosgrove

"There is nothing more powerful and life-giving than to consecrate our suffering with that of our Lord Jesus, who consecrates all things to Himself." - Patricia Cosgrove (Ora Reflections)

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