Dealing with Loss (1 of 5)

Dealing with Loss:  Suffering and Spirituality                         
Five-part Series (1 of 5)
By Rev. John Adams
 
    Since the beginning of recorded time, human beings have written about, spoken about, and lamented over suffering, evil, and other negative forces in the world. People have pondered ways to address and to cope with these situations and have turned to many sources including religion to search for explanation, coping techniques and management strategies. Suffering is defined as an aversive experience involving severe distress (Callahan 9). There is no simple definition of suffering even though one has just been offered in the brief statement above. Suffering is highly individual and yet occurs in a cultural context (Johnston-Barrett 329). Though suffering can be a  complex issue and process, individuals have puzzled over its meaning for thousands of years. We have asked such questions as: Why do young people die? Why do the good suffer? Why all the pain and agony in the Ukraine and other parts of the world? A major feature of suffering in our time is its        pervasiveness. Suffering occurs from nature (disasters and illnesses and other “physical evils”) as well as often, inhuman, unnecessary, means (choices made, moral evils) -- the suffering born of human greed, exploitation, oppression, and injustice.

     Pain and suffering, such as the acute type experienced at the unexpected loss of a loved one and/or a death of the innocent shake us to our core bringing changes to our lives that are often not anticipated nor welcomed. And, those sufferings that we cannot understand or own are threats to our identity, sometimes alienating us from others and even within ourselves (Reynolds 108). With the onset of suffering in our lives, our  stability is rocked. We feel vulnerable by those things we cannot control. For example, mourning our losses can create an inner emptiness and bring us in touch with a poverty of spirit (O’Rourke 78). A void is often felt within us that cannot be filled.

      Suffering is a universal condition experienced by all humans. All human beings experience the realities of life in this world, with its pain, cruelty, illness, violence, accidents, bereavement, torture, emotional and physical assaults, and death (Wright 25).

     Some of our education about the suffering in the world comes not only from our painful experiences but from observing the difficulties and struggles of others. O’Rourke (xv) reported that the writings of Henri Nouwen and his insights and knowledge about death and dying were gained by accompanying various friends, family members, and community persons as they journeyed through their own deaths and while reliving his own near fatal accident. Yes, suffering is a universal experience that is fueled in the mind, body, and soul not only by our own suffering but by those painful happenings to the “other” in our lives. One example of this is when we recently journeyed with Jesus during His Passion and Death during Holy Week. This suffering of Christ and the “others” in our lives is seen as the foundation of the Paschal Mystery in our Catholic Faith Tradition as we experience the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord during this Easter Season and throughout our journey in this world. This spiritual view of suffering provides a base for how to address it. All revealed religions are concerned with the agonizing questions that humankind confront in the encounter of suffering and that also offer ways in dealing with pain and death and its aftermaths (Richard, 3).

     While suffering is a consistent force in the world today, one of the most difficult areas to address within this shared experience is when its apparent meaninglessness arises. This occurs when the innocent seems to succumb for no purpose such as when we experienced the recent effects of the COVID-19 pandemic where our loved ones and friends, our parishioners, have suffered and/or have lost their lives. People have a natural quest to find answers to the complexities of life. Since religions are a source of addressing life’s issues, the search for the meaning in all types of suffering have been placed at the foot of the world’s religions, and for us at the foot of the Cross and our Catholic Faith. The Good Books of our religions have provided a hopeful guide to find resolution. Our Catholic Bible, the Christian Bible, the TANAKH (Hebrew Bible), and Koran have all been a source of comfort and hope. One of the major functions of religion has been to offer meaning to our
 experiences of disruption, pain, and suffering (Inbody, 16).

Stay tuned for part 2 of 5 in this series of Dealing with Loss: Suffering and Spirituality.    
              
Note: This series will culminate in our parish families offering individual and group sessions on Coping with Loss, Bereavement and Grief. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of our Grief Support Ministry (see ad on page 4) and/or contact Carol Altieri  at 372-4841 ext. 144 for more information if needing support more immediately.        
 
References
Callahan, Sydney C.  Created for Joy:  A Christian View of Suffering.   New York: Crossroad Book, 2007.    
                                                                
Inbody, Tyron, L.  The Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil. Louisville, KY:  Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.

Johnston-Barrett, Melissa. “Making Space: Silence, Voice, and         Suffering.” Word and World, 25, no. 3 (2005) 328-337.

O’Rourke, Michelle. Befriending Death: Henri Nouwen and a Spirituality of Dying.  Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books, 2009.

Reynolds, Thomas, E.  Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality. Grand Rapids, MI:  Brazos Press, 2008.

Richard, Lucien. What Are They Saying About the Theology of Suffering?   New York: Paulist Press, 1992.

Wright, Christopher J. H.  The God I Don't Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith. Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 2008.