Have you ever seen someone misuse a tool?

Sometimes when we hand a hammer or paintbrush to a child we see them not know how to use it. They might try to hammer with the paintbrush or paint with the hammer!

Similarly, we need to know how to use our suffering. One of the biggest tragedies in life is when we don’t know how to use our suffering. What does “using our suffering” mean? Our friend St. Margaret Mary Alacoque can tell us!

While praying before the Blessed Sacrament on the Feast of Corpus Christi, Saint Margaret Mary suddenly saw a person standing before her glowing with fire. It was a Benedictine monk who had heard her confession before and was now in purgatory.

To help him, St. Margaret Mary agreed to offer up three months of suffering. The burning figure stayed near her at all times, so she felt the heat herself. With support from her superiors, she endured. At the end of three months, the monk appeared to her purified and joyful. He told her he’d been granted heaven.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque shows us that suffering is not a waste. We can offer up our suffering for those in need of grace.

Suffering is a great mystery. No human person can fully understand the depth of the mystery of suffering. The one thing we can understand is that we are never alone in our suffering. Jesus Christ joins us in our suffering – even suffering death on a cross. God is with us even in the darkest moments.

PRAY WITH US AT 7 PM CT

Join us tonight on the Family Rosary Across America. Let’s lift each other up in our suffering, pray together as a family, and offer up our own suffering to intercede for our friends and family.

And now, you can also join our Family Rosary Across America text group by texting “PRAY” to 914914 for updates and reminders to pray with us during this novena.

See you at the Rosary!