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were downcast. I sensed what was happening in the most sweet Heart of Jesus at
that time (Diary, # 408).
Sr. Faustina then concluded, “Let every soul reflect on what Jesus was suffering at that moment.
They tried to outdo each other in insulting the Lord. I reflected: Where does such malice in man
come from? It is caused by sin. Love and sin have met” (Diary, # 408).
II-B. SR. FAUSTINA’S TEACHING ON THE MEANING
AND THE DISCIPLINE OF SUFFERING
Sr. Faustina understood the meaning and the discipline of suffering in this way:
I have come to see that if the will of the Heavenly Father was fulfilled…in His
well-beloved Son, it will be fulfilled in us in exactly the same way: by
suffering…It is through all this that my soul becomes like unto Jesus. And the
greater the sufferings, the more I see that I am becoming like Jesus. This is the
surest way. If some other way were better, Jesus would have shown it to me.
Suffering in no way takes away my peace. On the other hand, although I enjoy
profound peace, that peace does not lessen my experience of suffering. Although
my face is often bowed to the ground, and my tears flow profusely, at the same
time my soul is filled with profound peace and happiness (Diary, # 1394).
And in The Catholic Catechism, Fr. Hardon teaches:
Is there still a more generous response to God’s will? Or, does holiness stop with
merely avoiding sin? Christian holiness aspires to nothing less than the
willingness to suffer out of love for Christ. The essence of this ideal of sanctity
consists in preferring…the cross…to be more like Him… Unlike the lesser
degrees of generosity, the reasonableness of my attitude here is not so apparent,
(but) for the light of faith, it would be quite unintelligible. 133
133
Ibid., Hardon, The Catholic Catechism: Growth in Holiness - The Way of the Saints, 430-431.
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