4. BEARING WRONGS WITH PATIENCE
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They are the unsung heroes of the Church – living in our midst. We must look out for them; we have so much to learn from them!
Almighty Father, the life of each one of us has its sweet moments and its sour ones, smooth ones and rough ones.
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THE 4th
SPIRITUAL WORK OF MERCY
Bear Wrong Patiently.
Ever been worn out by people filled with self-pity, always
moaning about the way they’ve been ill-treated? Why can’t these tedious
bores show us a little mercy? Why can’t they bear their troubles patiently? That’s
what the 4th Spiritual
Work of Mercy is telling them, us, to do! Bearing
wrongs patiently, out of compassion, out of mercy, for others.
If we attempt to correct them with sweet persuasion or quarrel with them mightily and
savagely, where does this get us? Some of them just can't help being abusive –
verbally, emotionally, physically and even spiritually. Such tyrants (dare I
call them ‘monsters’?) are to be found in the home, in the work-place, in the
sporting arena, and, let’s face it, even in Holy Mother Church herself.
Most of us would
probably think they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. And they might
self-righteously retaliate by telling us we ought to BEAR WITH THEM PATIENTLY!
The
remaining possibility is to choose to suffer in silence, be a martyr. We might well think this might secure a
measure of peace, however wretched and that this would be better than endless
conflict. Others will find the only thing to do is clear out rather than
be crippled emotionally and even physically!
And who can blame them? In my pastoral ministry I’ve seen this ‘Worst possible
scenario’ all too frequently.
We, as Church, must be very diffident in the advice we offer
to those who are victims of such oppressive behaviour. Out of mercy towards
them we must try to protect them from being coarsened by seemingly justifiable anger,
hatred, bitterness and even a lust for revenge.
I’m thinking of deeply wounded people whose self-esteem has
been badly damaged. They need to be
affirmed, cushioned by love and compassion, and healed by the grace of God. All
this is necessary if they are ever going to be able ‘Bear Wrongs Patiently.’ Don’t let
anyone dare to say, ‘All you have to do…!
Out of his own often tormented pastoral
experience St. Paul was still able to write, ‘If your enemy is
hungry, give him something to eat; if thirsty, something to drink’(see Proverbs
25.22). By this, you will be heaping red-hot coals on his head. Do not be mastered by evil, but
master evil with good, (Rom.
12.20).
Jesus carries this approach yet further. For Him ‘Bearing Wrongs Patiently’ meant
sacrificial love; healing mankind through patiently welcoming the very wounds
mankind so unjustly inflicted upon Him. This is what His Heavenly Father intended for
Him, as was described by the prophet Isaiah,
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with
his stripes we are healed."
Taking
Jesus as his mentor St. Paul presumed to identify his own
persecution and suffering with that of Jesus,
I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet
it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that
I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in
faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and
gave himself for me,” (Gal. 2.19).
St. Paul himself suffered persecution, imprisonment,
scourging and much more, as he proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ. He
realized he was a member of the Body of Christ, with Jesus Christ Himself being
the Head. It was not fanciful, therefore for him to see himself bonded with
Jesus, in His suffering and in His mission. Sharing in the vulnerability of
Jesus, the Suffering Servant, St. Paul would be contributing to the Salvation
of Mankind.
What St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, we can, and should, make
our own:
“It makes me happy to be suffering for you now, and in my own
body to make up all the hardships that still have to be undergone
by Christ for the sake of His body, the Church,” (Col. 1.24).
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It has been humbling for me to hear people telling me
that, in union with Jesus in His agony, they are enduring their own acute pain.
Whether in their sickness or trapped in hideously tense relationships they have
told me, ‘He suffered from me. Now I’m suffering for Him.’ Their carrying their crosses in union with Jesus
has been offered for the healing of some sick person, for the patching
up of a family that is falling apart, or for world peace....
In bearing patiently wrongs done to them and misfortunes that
befall them they are not surrendering to the unavoidable. They are grasping the
opportunity to take up their crosses alongside Jesus.
They are the unsung heroes of the Church – living in our midst. We must look out for them; we have so much to learn from them!
Let
us Pray
Almighty Father, the life of each one of us has its sweet moments and its sour ones, smooth ones and rough ones.
We implore your grace always to trust you and to have confidence
in you - no matter what is happening in our lives.
Come
to our rescue when we are being treated unkindly, unjustly, even violently. If needs be we beg your grace to bear these wrongs with patience.
Your
Son, Jesus was rejected, scorned, maligned and cruelly tortured and put to
death.
It
was by His innocent wounds that He healed the wounded sinfulness of the
human family. Grant to us the serenity that filled His sinless, loving heart.
Grant
we may follow the example of Jesus in accepting our pain creatively for the
well-being of others. Amen
For the sake of His Sacred Passion have mercy on us and the
whole world.
Peter Clarke, O.P.
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