"The Son of Man must suffer" by Father Philipon

In his divine wisdom... God preferred to bestir us rather to a deep and poignant awareness of our vocation as members of a crucified Christ. Hence, our weakness in doing good is intended to throw into sharper relief the sublime power of Christ, a power that enables us to support a life that is divine by grace in a vessel that is fragile, in a body inclined to sin and evil. The root of inclination to evil persists, and this provides us with opportunity for striving and conquering. Furthermore, in Christ lies the clue to the mystery of suffering. The adequate explanation must be sought in the contemplation of Christ crucified; only in the light of his suffering can we find the real meaning of human suffering. Thus, in the first place, according to God's own plan suffering is to be expiation and reparation. It is the way for sinful man to atone for his faults and those of his brothers. Suffering is also to be purification. It weans us from the fleeting and hollow pleasures of sin. A soul lifted by suffering, like Christ on Golgotha, above the things of earth turns to heaven and away from all that is not God. Also, suffering is to be meritorious and co-redeeming. That is why Saint Paul could say: "What is lacking of the sufferings of Christ I fill up in my flesh for his body, which is the Church." When a soul suffers out of pure and disinterested love without regard to itself, it is more useful to the Church militant and to the whole world than when it is engaged in a most brilliant and successful apostolate. Souls are saved by dying for them. It was not by his words, nor by his miracles, that Jesus saved the world, but by giving his life. To add to this, suffering is also to be sanctifying; through it we become like unto Christ in the highest degree possible on earth. God produces saints by conforming souls more and more to Christ crucified. Lastly, suffering makes us more like unto God, more nearly divine... To allow oneself to be crucified by suffering with Christ is to grow in the likeness to God. Who are the saints that regret having suffered? Suffering passes; having suffered, never.

Father Philipon (died 1972) was a twentieth-century French Dominican priest, theologian, and author.