"'In this world, you will have trouble' John 16:33. There are trials so
severe that they seem to render prayer impossible. A soul might want to
pray and may even try to pray, but the ability to actually pray seems
frustrated - drowning in discouragement and exhaustion. It would seem
far fetched to such a person if one were to attempt to explain the
greatness of the gift being offered in the midst of such a difficult
crisis. The gift is not seized in some great sensational feet. Instead, by the frailest act of surrender to love, for love and by love
one offers to the Lord the trial that besets and in this humble
offering, in what seems of so little worth, that unfamiliar inflow of
love untold springs forth. A naked, vulnerable act of faith makes space
in time and space for the glory of God. The threshold of this mystery
is the foot of the Cross, and those who suffer are invited to cross over
this threshold into a new kind of fruitfulness."
In a recent commentary, Dr. Anthony Lilles (assistant professor of theology at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, CO) reflected on how, although offering up one's own suffering to God seems useless, the suffering of the faithful actually participates in the redemptive work of Jesus.
To access the complete post by Dr. Lilles, please visit:
Beginning to Pray: When Nothing Makes Sense and All Seems Useless - Pray (September 2019)
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