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| MOTHER'S JOY AFTER GIVING BIRTH. Image from liferunners.org via google.com |
"When a woman is in labor,
she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world."
Pain, suffering and even failure may hinder us from doing something that is challenging even if we are assured of a reward at the end. It is natural for us to evade pain, suffering and failure because we tend more to have comfort, convenience and easy life.
But as the saying goes, NO PAIN, NO GAIN.
In the Philippines, we hear stories, and watch on movie and television screens, about women who would cry out during their labor that they won't let their husbands make them pregnant again and then when asked if it was the first baby, the answer would be given as six, seven or even more. In other areas of life, we can also observe the same attitude. Some drinkers would promise they won't drink again when they encounter trouble after drinking or when they seem to have drunk excessively and feel various pains afterwards. But then after some days, indulge themselves again with the same vice.
The Lord Jesus Christ tells us that pain and sufferings are part and parcel of being His followers. But these pains and sufferings must be truly meaningful, that is, they must be pains and sufferings that are offered to God, for the glory of God, the perfection of our lives or the attainment of holiness, and the salvation of souls. It cannot be any pain for there are endeavors on this earth that may be painful and truly requires sufferings and yet not ordered to the ends set by God but only for purely human or worldly glorification.
That is why He challenges everyone who wish to be His disciples to deny one's self, take up one's cross and follow Him. This is important because a person who would rather assert him or herself, reject his or her cross and walk on his or her own path, would not be able to be totally conformed into the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and continually question the meaning and purpose of pain, suffering and what seems to be a failure, in living the Christian vocation. In short, he or she won't be a true Christian at all. That is why St John of Avila, our Saint of the day, also advises that we must withdraw our hearts from the world because if we do not, pain and sufferings would only mean meaningless burden in our goal of achieving worldly glory, fortune and power.
But we must never forget that He doesn't stop at telling us about the need to accept pain and sufferings in our lives. He tells us also that after pain and suffering, we shall experience joy and attain glory. Christian life is not only living in pain and suffering for these are merely some manner of training and disciplining us to be truly prepared to accept the eternal reward of life in the Father's house.
As a mother who experiences labor pains for a while and then joyfully receives her newborn baby in her arms, we who suffer due to our Faith, Hope and Love will also achieve our glorious reward in heaven at the proper time. We only have to hold on to the promises of the Lord and fulfill His command to love one another, to wash each other's feet and to remain in His love.
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