CFS-WB-CH19

UNIT 7 CHAPTER 19 

Why Would an 

All-Loving God 

Allow Suffering? 

378

Chapter 19 Overview 

Imagine a world in which being selfish, arrogant, or hurtful towards others was not a possibility. Everyone was 

forced to be perfectly loving all the time. It might seem like this situation would be great, but would it, really? 

If someone is not free to make any other choice, have they really chosen love? For love to really be love, it 

must be freely chosen. A person who can love must therefore be free to choose against it. Those choices inevitably 

result in suffering. Thankfully, we know as Christians that God has an infinite ability to transform bad 

into good. We can know that He provides us many paths to transform the suffering we experience into even 

greater joys, if we trust in Him and allow Him to guide us. We will explore what that means in this chapter. 

In this chapter you will learn that … 

■ The reasons why God allows suffering to occur in the world are linked to the free giving and receiving of 

love, and, with it, the advancement of our salvation. 

■ Since agapē requires a free choice, the possibility of suffering is the price of the possibility of love. 

■ God the Father empathizes with our pain, involves Himself in our lives (if we allow Him to), and guides us 

to His Kingdom of unconditional love. 

■ God allows suffering to occur in the world, but His intention is to transform it into love. 

■ Challenges and suffering are a call to develop our natural virtues: they often provide the impetus to grow 

in endurance, courage, fortitude, prudence, rationality, and temperance. 

■ The poor, sick, and grieving may well have more strain, stress, and pain in this life, but if they are open to 

faith and love, they will likely have an easier and more efficacious path to salvation. 

■ Beginning with His Eucharistic words and actions and concluding with His self-sacrificial Death on the 

Cross, Jesus revealed the highest forms of sacrificial love. 

Bible Basics 

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when 

they exclude you and revile you, and cast out 

your name as evil, on account of the Son of 

man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for 

behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so 

their fathers did to the prophets.” 

— Luke 6:22–23 

Connections to the Catechism 

■ CCC 301 

■ CCC 601 

■ CCC 1804 

■ CCC 2015 

I consider that the sufferings of this present 

time are not worth comparing with the glory 

that is to be revealed to us. 

— Romans 8:18 

© Sophia Institute for Teachers 

379

Chapter 19 

The Mystery of Suffering 

In the last chapter we learned about how all suffering is redeemed in the 

Resurrection. As St. Paul says, our faith would be in vain if Christ was not 

raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-17). But if we have hope in 

eternal life, suffering in this life becomes not only meaningful but even 

helpful, leading to the purification of our love and faith, and ultimately 

to our and others’ salvation. 

But you might be wondering: If God had wanted to redeem every 

aspect of suffering in His unconditional love, why didn’t He just get rid 

of suffering altogether? That way we could avoid pain and He wouldn’t 

have to redeem it! 

There are several reasons why God allows suffering to occur in the 

world, and all of them are linked to the free giving and receiving of love 

(and with it, the advancement of our salvation). 

The martyrs bear witness to 

Christ, who suffered, died, and 

rose. 

St. Sebastian, by Il Sodoma. 

380 Apologetics I: The Catholic Faith and Science 

© Magis Center

Let us consider the three major sources of suffering. First there is 

suffering caused by our own decisions about happiness, purpose, and 

identity. Secondly, there is suffering caused by sin — our own and the 

sins of others. Finally, there is suffering caused by natural forces (e.g., 

tsunamis, disease, old age). 

We talked in depth about the first kind of suffering in Unit 6. We 

looked at the unhappiness and emptiness we feel if we focus only on 

sensual pleasures or on winning, or if we reject the contributive or transcendent 

purposes of our lives. As we saw, the pain we suffer in these 

cases can sometimes be positive, as it may be the only path leading us 

to make progress towards our true fulfillment. Since this cause of suffering 

has been discussed, we will spend this chapter examining the 

other two: suffering caused by other people, and suffering caused by 

natural forces. 

Aa 

VOCABULARY 

Kingdom of God: God’s 

reign, or rule, over all things. 

During His public ministry, 

Jesus proclaimed that the 

Kingdom of God was at hand. 

The Church is the seed, or 

beginning, of the Kingdom 

here on earth. The Kingdom 

will be fulfilled in Heaven. 

God Does Not Look Passively on Our Suffering 

As we begin, we must keep in mind the fundamental revelation of 

Jesus: that God is with us. He does not passively look upon our suffering. 

Like the father of the Prodigal Son, God the Father empathizes 

with our pain, involves Himself in our lives (if we allow Him to) and 

guides us through that pain to His Kingdom of unconditional love. God 

may be compared to unconditionally loving parents who would rather 

shield their children from pain and suffering instead of allowing them to 

experience it themselves, but who know that wisdom requires them to 

step back and allow their children to experience the hard world that will 

develop them in virtue, contribution, and love. 

God allows suffering to occur in the world, but His intention is to 

transform it into love. If He does not do this now, He could do it later in 

this world, and if He does not do that, He will do it in the eternal world 

to come. The key idea to remember is that God has an eternal perspective 

and that He will transform all suffering in this world into love for all 

eternity — if we let Him. The only completely tragic kind of suffering is 

the one we can inflict on ourselves if we freely choose to reject love and 

exclude ourselves from God and the blessed — the pain of Hell. 

In the Christian view, suffering is complex. It includes the genuine 

experience of deep grief, loss, and pain, as well as the experience — arising 

out of faith — of God redeeming that suffering completely and eternally. 

Grappling with grief and hope at the same time can be incredibly 

difficult, but as St. Paul reminds us in a remarkable passage: “I consider 

that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing 


Unit 7, Chapter 19: Why Would an All-Loving God Allow Suffering? 

381

Consolation: Help or 

comfort given to someone 

who is suffering. A spiritual 

consolation is a movement in 

our soul that allows us to know 

God is with us in our daily life, 

especially during times of trial. 

Sin: A deliberate offense 

against God. It is something 

we say, think, do, or fail to do 

that is against the eternal law 

of God. It is a failure to love 

God and neighbor. 

Moral Evil: An objectively evil 

act that a person commits. 

The rejection and murder of 

God’s only Son is the greatest 

moral evil ever committed. 

with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). It also includes 

an experience of peace and consolation, if we choose it. In suffering, 

we are given a myriad of opportunities to grow in faith, love, and 

service, as well as the inspiration, protection and guidance of the Holy 

Spirit, if we are attentive to Him. 

Suffering Caused by Sin 

Imagine for a moment what life would be like if we did not have the capacity 

to choose unloving behaviors. It might seem at first like the world 

would be better because we would not have to worry about hurting 

anyone through selfishness, pride, anger, jealousy, or any other unloving 

disposition. But the unfortunate part about choice is that we must 

have both options — choice is not choice if we have only one option. 

Likewise, love (agapé) requires free choice, otherwise it is not love. So, 

in this scenario where we would not have the capacity to choose unloving 

behaviors, we would also be incapable of love; we would be mere 

robots. 

Here, then, is the dilemma! God could create a perfectly loving being 

incapable of initiating love, or He could create an imperfectly loving 

being capable of choosing love, as well as choosing its opposite. Since 

the first condition excludes the second condition (and vice versa), God 

can only choose one of them — He could not create a being which can 

and cannot initiate love in the same respect at the same time. Failure 

to love God and/or our neighbor according to the eternal law of God is 

called sin. We sin when we freely and deliberately commit unloving actions 

against God or others and when we fail to do something we should 

have done. Our sinfulness — our own sins and the sins of others, which is 

called moral evil — are a significant cause of suffering in the world, suffering 

we inflict on one another. 

So why would an unconditionally loving God allow human beings to 

cause suffering to one another? Because love requires the freedom to 

choose. With only one option, there is no true choice. And if there is no 

true choice, there is no true love. Forced love is not real love. Choosing 

love requires having the choice to be unloving, and unloving actions 

frequently cause suffering. 

Beautiful and loving as God’s objective is, it presents an incredible 

risk, for He has given us immense power in our self-consciousness, intelligence, 

free will, and transcendental awareness to do tremendous 

evil, if we choose to turn these powers in an egocentric (instead of loving) 

direction. Though God intended to redeem the suffering brought 


© Magis Center

Moral evil is a significant cause 

of suffering in the world. 

Cain murders Abel, York Minster East Window, panel 

14a, image courtesy Jules & Jenny. 

about by human evil, He could not prevent it without destroying the 

freedom necessary for love. 

In essence, the possibility of sin and suffering is the price of the 

possibility for love. And God paid the price to save us from sin through 

the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of His Beloved Son. 

Suffering from Natural Forces 

It is a little easier to understand why God would allow suffering to occur 

through human actions than through nature. Why does He allow 

natural disasters? Couldn’t God have created the natural order to be 

perfect, thereby eliminating the possibility of hunger, weakness, pain, 

and similar suffering? 

The brief answer lies in the fact that a perfect natural order would 

leave no room for need, weakness, and vulnerability; yet these kinds 



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of suffering frequently open the way to love, virtue, and community. 

They give us the possibility of contributing to the common good, and 

the possibility of contributing to the Kingdom of God. It is also important 

to remember that sometimes the suffering that is caused by natural 

forces is in fact due to human action, at least in part. For example, we 

know that earthquakes commonly occur along fault lines (areas of the 

earth where ever-shifting tectonic plates pull away from each other or 

collide). Scientists also believe that the slow shifting of tectonic plates 

over time helps regulate the temperature of the planet and may in fact 

be a key ingredient for life on earth. And yet, human beings have for 

millennia settled near these fault lines in earthquake prone regions, inevitably 

leading to suffering and loss of life when earthquakes do occur. 

As we will see, however, God’s plan is for suffering to help everyone. 

The Call to Develop our Natural Abilities and Virtues 

The imperfect human condition and world tells us that life is not going 

to be easy, and that we — and the human spirit — will have to rise to the 

occasion and deal with the challenges confronting us with strength, 

As a young soldier, St. Ignatius 

was badly wounded. His 

suffering led to his conversion 

experience and to his great 

missionary work. 

St. Ignatius of Loyola, French School, anonymous. 


© Magis Center

hard work, resilience, courage, and prudence. These are forms of the 

Cardinal Virtues, which are natural virtues. Ironically, we need hardship, 

suffering, and challenge to actualize the full potential of our human spirit. 

A purely hostile world would of course be joyless and overwhelming. 

But our world that is benevolent and beautiful, but not perfectly so, is 

a setting where the human spirit can come alive, find its inner courage 

and resilience in the midst of challenges, and actualize itself in overcoming 

them. 

Why is it that some people seem to have more than their fair share 

of these hardships and challenges, and some less? The answer seems 

to lie in natural causes (climate and environment, for example) as well 

as human causes (family conditions or poor responses to natural crises, 

for example). In God’s eternal plan, such inequities in the imperfect 

world are only temporary conditions of darkness within an infinitely extending 

perfect light. 

In the Christian view, there is an additional purpose for an imperfect 

world and its inequities — the call to loving service. When we see 

that one person has more than their fair share of burdens, hardships, 

and challenges, it is incumbent upon us to help alleviate them to the extent 

that we can — by generously giving of our time, advice, resources, 

love, and prayers — or to find other avenues of relief where possible. For 

Christians, all such inequities of burdens and challenges will be ultimately 

and completely redressed in the Kingdom of God in accordance with 

Jesus’ proclamation, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall 

be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). And we know that these inequitable 

sufferings will not ultimately be unfair — for they will be transformed into 

unconditional life, love, and joy, if we “seek God with a sincere heart … 

and try in [our] actions to do his will as [we] know it through the dictates 

of [our] conscience” (Lumen Gentium 16). 

Finally, our imperfect world tells us that we are not an island, but 

part of a social reality that precedes us, goes beyond us, and succeeds 

us. The imperfection and incompleteness of our human condition mean 

that we depend on the larger community. Further, we have an obligation 

to protect and assist the community that protects and assists us. 

If the divine plan of the unconditionally loving God is to bring us to an 

eternal life with Him through our free choices, then He will have to create 

a world in which these choices can be made. In order to create this 

world, He must create us with an imperfect human nature in an imperfect 

world. It is not enough to reveal His presence to us, He must also provide 

a way for us to choose piety, honor, respect, and justice, or their contraries. 

Suffering often moves us to grow in endurance, courage, fortitude, 

Cardinal Virtues: Virtues 

acquired by human effort. 

They are the key moral virtues 

which all other moral virtues 

are grouped around. They are 

the fruit and seed of morally 

good acts and help prepare 

the powers of human beings 

for communion with God’s 

love. They are prudence, 

justice, fortitude, and 

temperance. 

Our imperfect 

world tells us 

that we are not 

an island, but 

part of a social 

reality that 

precedes us, 

goes beyond us, 

and succeeds us. 



385

prudence, rationality, and temperance. If the all-loving God had not subjected 

us to imperfections in ourselves and in the world, He would have 

deprived us of most of the profound opportunities to choose the character 

that would define us throughout eternity. 

When the imperfect world incites us to seek God’s help, we naturally 

become more interested in Him. At this point, God steps in and inspires 

us to know Him with ever greater depth — to move from the domain of 

His transcendence, intelligence, and creativity (science and logic) to His 

heart (which can only be known through His self-revelation). This may 

cause us to find theology and spirituality fascinating and important in 

ways we had never previously conceived, and we will discover the center 

of Jesus’ revelation: that He and His Father are unconditional love. 

Suffering and Faith in Jesus Christ 

In following 

Jesus, we 

become 

interested in 

serving others 

and alleviating 

their suffering. 

At this juncture, the imperfect world serves an even greater purpose, 

for in following Jesus, we become interested in serving others and alleviating 

their suffering. It is true that even without faith, suffering can 

lead to expressions of love (contributions to family, friends, organizations, 

community, and culture), and to greater empathy, humility, compassion, 

and self-sacrifice. But its effects are greatly enhanced with 

Christian faith. Why? Because the revelation of Jesus teaches us how 

to express and purify love (agapē), and a relationship with Him opens 

us to the inspiration and grace of the Holy Spirit who moves us deeply 

toward the imitation of His heart and loving actions. 

The need, weakness, and suffering brought on by our imperfect 

human condition and world provide the occasion to make a significant 

contribution to others. Imagine a life where there is no contribution to 

make, no sacrifice to offer for the good of others or humanity, no way 

in which you could positively affect the lives and salvation of others. 

This scenario would negate the central purpose of our short mortal life, 

which has as its end eternal self-definition through the decisions we 

make in the face of need, vulnerability, weakness, and suffering in ourselves 

and others. 

You may want to ask, “Why would a loving God let some people 

suffer so other people could help them?” but the thought behind this 

question not quite accurate — the imperfect world will invariably cause 

all of us to suffer, and we are all called to help others. When we embrace 

God’s purpose for suffering — along with the gifts provided from 

Jesus — we can no longer view suffering as ultimately tragic, or even ultimately 

negative. This life, with all its sufferings and joys, is a temporary 

but hugely important moment in which to make fundamental choices. 


© Magis Center

While the poor may have 

more pain in this life, they will 

likely have an easier path to 

salvation. 

The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, by Domenico Fetti. 

Without the needs and vulnerabilities which allow us to make a positive 

difference to the world, we would not be able to freely choose who we 

are and who we will be throughout eternity. 

One might still be troubled about why some people must suffer 

more than others. But this concern assumes that more suffering is bad 

for us, which is not necessarily the case from the perspective of eternity. 

The poor, sick, and grieving may well have more strain, stress, and 

pain in this life, but if they are open to faith and love, they will likely have 

an easier and more efficacious path to salvation. Jesus promised this 

very truth in the Beatitudes in Luke 6:20–26: 

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: 

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of 

God. 

“Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be 

satisfied. 



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“Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall 

laugh. 

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and when 

they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your 

name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice 

in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward 

is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to 

the prophets. 

“But woe to you that are rich, for you have received 

your consolation. 

“Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. 

“Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn 

and weep. 

“Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so 

their fathers did to the false prophets.” 

When suffering comes, we 

must trust in God as Jesus 

did when he prayed at 

Gesthemane the night before 

He died. 

Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hofmann 


© Magis Center

In fact, given the warning about the rich having a hard time entering 

the Kingdom of Heaven, we might consequently worry whether 

those with less suffering — those who have an abundance of goods or 

success in this life — have less hope for eternal salvation and happiness. 

Ultimately, those with more gifts and less suffering can find salvation by 

turning to God and trying to remain faithful — the same way that everyone 

can. It will be harder though, because those with more abundance 

can more easily become attached to and distracted by what they have 

in this world. Of course, suffering can often enter the lives of the rich in 

other ways to shock them out of this attachment and help them focus 

on God, salvation, contribution, and love. Nonetheless, for Jesus, those 

who have proportionately more suffering in this life may well be more 

fortunate than those who have proportionately less suffering. 

Offering our Suffering to God in Imitation of Jesus 

Beginning with His Eucharistic words and actions and concluding with 

His self-sacrificial Death on the Cross, Jesus revealed the highest 

forms of sacrificial love. Throughout history, this invisible form of love 

has been central in the lives of many saints — self-sacrifice in the face of 

suffering either from the imperfect world, or from the unjustified acts 

of other people. In both types of suffering, we will want to follow the example 

of Jesus — offering our suffering to the Father as self-sacrificial 

love instead of resenting our misfortune. 

Note that this does not mean we have to be passive: if we have a 

disease, we should seek medical help; if we are lonely and depressed, 

we should seek friends who can help, and so forth. But if the suffering 

persists after our efforts, then we must trust God and believe, as Jesus 

did when He prayed at Gethsemane on the night before He died, that 

there are invisible opportunities of self-sacrificial offering in that suffering. 

We will not know the true effects of our loving offering until we understand 

it through the eyes and heart of God in His Kingdom. Yet if we 

trust in Him, we will be confident that each little bit of suffering will — like 

the mustard seed — be turned into an abundance of grace available to 

those who need it most — grace that will strengthen the Church — and 

through it — the culture. 

We will explore more fully what it means to offer our suffering for 

others in the next chapter. 



389

Focus and Reflection Questions 

1 What do all the reasons God might permit suffering in the world have in common? 

2 What are the three sources of suffering in the world? 

3 What lesson can we take from the Parable of the Prodigal Son with respect to God’s love for us 

when we suffer? 

4 What is the only truly tragic suffering we can experience? 

5 Why can it be said that suffering is the price of love? 

6 How did God pay that price for us? 

7 What is one reason God may permit us to suffer as a result of weather disasters, illnesses, and other 

natural causes? 

8 As Christians, what are we called to do when we see that one person has more than their fair share 

of burdens, hardships, and challenges? 

9 God’s plan is to bring us to an eternal life with Him through our free choices. What is the irony, then, 

in our desire for a life free of suffering? 

10 Suffering can lead everyone, even non-believers, to greater love, empathy, humility, and selfsacrifice 

for all. Why, then, are its effects greatly enhanced with Christian faith? 

11 Why is the thought behind the question “Why would a loving God let some people suffer so other 

people could help them?” not quite accurate? 

12 Why should we not assume that more suffering is bad for us? 

13 What can we do to follow the example of Jesus when we experience suffering? 

14 When will we know the full meaning of suffering in our lives and the lives of others? 


© Magis Center

Straight to the Source 

ADDITIONAL READINGS FROM PRIMARY SOURCES 

Salvifici Doloris 3, an Encyclical Letter of Pope St. John Paul II, February 11, 1984 

3. The theme of suffering in a special way demands to be faced in the context of the Holy Year of 

the Redemption, and this is so, in the first place, because the Redemption was accomplished through 

the Cross of Christ, that is, through his suffering. And at the same time, during the Holy Year of the 

Redemption we recall the truth expressed in the Encyclical Redemptor Hominis: in Christ “every man 

becomes the way for the Church”. It can be said that man in a special fashion becomes the way for the 

Church when suffering enters his life. This happens, as we know, at different moments in life, it takes 

place in different ways, it assumes different dimensions; nevertheless, in whatever form, suffering 

seems to be, and is, almost inseparable from man’s earthly existence. 

Assuming then that throughout his earthly life man walks in one manner or another on the long path of 

suffering, it is precisely on this path that the Church at all times — and perhaps especially during the Holy 

Year of the Redemption — should meet man. Born of the mystery of Redemption in the Cross of Christ, 

the Church has to try to meet man in a special way on the path of his suffering. In this meeting man “becomes 

the way for the Church”, and this way is one of the most important ones. 

1 What does Pope John St. Paul II say is the relationship between suffering and man’s earthly existence? 

How is suffering tied to our redemption in Christ? 

2 What does Pope St. John Paul II say about the mission of the Church? How do you think the Church 

accomplishes this mission? 

Spe Salvi 37–38, an Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, November 30, 2007 

37. …Christ descended into “Hell” and is therefore close to those cast into it, transforming their darkness 

into light. Suffering and torment is still terrible and well-nigh unbearable. Yet the star of hope has risen 

— the anchor of the heart reaches the very throne of God. Instead of evil being unleashed within man, 

the light shines victorious: suffering — without ceasing to be suffering — becomes, despite everything, a 

hymn of praise. 

38. The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. 

This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering 

members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” 

is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them 

in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept 

another’s suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification 

and growth in maturity, a journey of hope. Indeed, to accept the “other” who suffers, means that I take 

up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, 



391

though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin 

word con-solatio, “consolation”, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, 

so that it ceases to be solitude. Furthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, 

truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately 

more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence 

and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or 

else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the “yes” to love is a source of suffering, because love 

always requires expropriations of my “I”, in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply 

cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and 

thereby ceases to be love. 

1 How has suffering become a “hymn of praise”, despite the pain and sorrow it causes? 

2 What does Pope Benedict XVI say determines the true measure of humanity? Explain. 

3 What is needed for an individual to accept another’s suffering? 

4 What is the relationship between love and suffering? Explain. 

Salvifici Doloris 25, an Encyclical Letter of Pope St. John Paul II, February 11, 1984 

25. … Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: “If any man 

would come after me ... let him take up his cross daily ‘’, and before his disciples he placed demands of 

a moral nature that can only be fulfilled on condition that they should “deny themselves”. The way that 

leads to the Kingdom of heaven is “hard and narrow”, and Christ contrasts it to the “wide and easy” way 

that “leads to destruction”. On various occasions Christ also said that his disciples and confessors would 

meet with much persecution, something which — as we know — happened not only in the first centuries 

of the Church’s life under the Roman Empire, but also came true in various historical periods and in other 

parts of the world, and still does even in our own time. 

Here are some of Christ’s statements on this subject: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute 

you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors 

for my name’s sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your minds, 

not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your 

adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers 

and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s 

sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives”. 

The Gospel of suffering speaks first in various places of suffering “for Christ”, “for the sake of Christ”, 

and it does so with the words of Jesus himself or the words of his Apostles. The Master does not conceal 

the prospect of suffering from his disciples and followers. On the contrary, he reveals it with all frankness, 

indicating at the same time the supernatural assistance that will accompany them in the midst of 

persecutions and tribulations “for his name’s sake”. These persecutions and tribulations will also be, as it 

were, a particular proof of likeness to Christ and union with him. “If the world hates you, know that it has 


© Magis Center

hated me before it hated you ...; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, 

therefore the world hates you ... A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me they will 

persecute you ... But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent 

me”. “I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of 

good cheer, I have overcome the world”. 

1 What must we do if we wish to follow Christ? What are some ways we can accomplish this daily? 

2 What are some of the things Christ promised would happen to His disciples if they followed Him? What 

are some historical examples that verify Christ’s promise? 

3 What particular proof would the trials promised by Christ accomplish? How does this relate to our own 

suffering? 



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