Catholic Outlook Magazine Ordinary Time Winter Edition 2022

Looking Deeper
“When was Jesus at his most powerful?”
Fr Alan explains his answer.
“When anyone experiences suffering, Jesus is
sharing His cross with them,” he says.
“If they are prepared to accept it and offer it with
Jesus to the Father, especially at Mass, then they are
co-redeeming with Him.
“They may feel their contribution is small by
comparison - and it is - just the way that small boy's
seven loaves and two fish were too tiny to make
much difference among 5,000. It is what Jesus can
do with it that counts, and that turns on the faith in
Jesus of the person who suffers with Him.”
When we suffer with Jesus, three things happen
says Fr Alan.
The first he says, is that He suffers less. “Secondly,”
he continues, “we are suffering here for our sins
instead of Purgatory, and it is better to do it here than
there because here we can merit in the eyes of the
Father because we accept suffering through faith
in Jesus.”
“You can't do that in Purgatory,” he reminds us.
“Thirdly, and more importantly, we are involved in
saving the souls of others.”
“If you think about it, this is a real expression of
the twofold law of love. You know you really love
someone when you share their suffering, and we
do that for Jesus and for the souls of those in need
of salvation.”
Fr Alan returns to his point about the suffering
of the elderly.
“Just as Jesus was at His most powerful on the
cross” he says, “when He was at His most helpless
physically, so any person suffering - and that
includes those experiencing all the problems of
getting older - who accepts their suffering with faith
and trust in Jesus, is the greatest asset to any parish
and to the Church as a whole.”
Fr Alan Layt, Parish Priest of
St Aidan's Parish, Rooty Hill.
Image: Diocese of Parramatta.