SUFFERING
The worst pain of suffering
lies in rejecting it.
— Interior Freedom, p. 46
What really hurts is not so
much suffering itself as the fear of
suffering. If welcomed trustingly and peacefully, suffering makes
us grow. It matures and trains us, purifies us, teaches
us to love unselfishly, makes us poor in heart, humble,
gentle, and compassionate toward our neighbor. Fear of
suffering, on the other hand, hardens us in self-protective,
defensive attitudes, and often leads us to make irrational
choices with disastrous consequences.
— Interior Freedom, p. 47
[Spiritual trials] are
beneficial, because they lead us to locate our identity where it truly
belongs. The experience can be highly painful when someone who
loves God goes through a phase without an atom
of fervor and even with a profound distaste for
spiritual things. People do not lose their love for God, for their
whole being remains completely oriented toward God;
but they lose the feeling of love. The benefit of this trial
that it deprives us of any possibility of relying on the
good we can do. God’s mercy is all.
— Interior Freedom, p.126
