By: Monsignor David J. Baumgartner, JCL
At the beginning of November, the Church invites us to look toward heaven and remember those we love.
On All Saints’ Day, we celebrate all who share in the glory of God, including the countless saints whose names we will never know. On All Souls’ Day, we pray for the faithful departed, entrusting them to God’s mercy and asking that they be purified and welcomed into the fullness of His presence.
Together, these days bring our deepest hopes and sorrows into prayer. We remember the people we miss. We give thanks for the love they shared. We consider our own call to holiness and the promise of eternal life.
They also invite a question that touches every family: What place does suffering have in our journey toward God?
The life of Servant of God Annella Zervas, OSB, offers a significant witness for this.
Sister Annella’s Witness to Love Amid Suffering
An early biography of Sister Annella bears the title Sister Annella, O.S.B.: Apostle of Suffering in Our Day. It is a striking description. An apostle is one who is sent. But what could it mean to be sent to proclaim a message about suffering?
Certainly, it does not mean that suffering is good in itself or that we should seek pain. It means that suffering, united to the Passion of Jesus Christ, can become an offering of love.
Sister Annella’s witness draws our attention to this mystery. She did not choose the illness that brought her such terrible affliction. Yet amid suffering, she continued to turn toward Christ through prayer, trust, humor, and love. Her physical weakness did not exhaust her capacity to give.
Related: Sister Annella: What Do I Do With My Pain?
Holiness through the Burdens We Carry
For those of us carrying burdens today, the witness Servant of God Annella Zervas, especially matters.
We may be caring for an aging parent, grieving a spouse, living with illness, or facing difficulties within our families. We may be trying to pray while feeling tired, lonely, or afraid. In such circumstances, a life of heroic virtue can seem far removed from ordinary life.
Yet the saints remind us that these very circumstances can become places of encounter with God. The patient act of care, the prayer whispered through tears, the willingness to receive help, and the decision to love again all have a place in the Christian life.
Suffering does not automatically make us holy. But Christ can meet us within it and help us respond with love.
This reaches into marriage and family life, too. The presence of suffering does not, by itself, mean that love has failed. Sometimes love is expressed most faithfully in keeping vigil beside a hospital bed, accompanying someone through uncertainty, or remaining attentive when there is little we can do to make things better. Christian faith also calls us to seek treatment, protection, justice, and support where they are needed. Uniting suffering to Christ never excuses abuse or neglect.
On All Saints’ Day, we remember that the Cross leads to the Resurrection. Those who now rejoice in God’s presence have reached the fulfillment of the hope we still carry.
Related: The Story of Sister Annella Zervas: Finding Hope in Suffering with John Paul II
Prayer Allows Us to Continue Loving
On All Souls’ Day, that hope becomes a particular act of love: we pray for the dead.
We can have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, pray the Rosary, and remember them in our daily prayers. We can also offer our own difficulties in union with Christ, asking Him to receive these offerings for the faithful departed. Even when death has ended the familiar ways we cared for someone, prayer allows us to continue loving them.
Responding to God’s Grace This November
As the Church studies Servant of God Annella Zervas’s life, her story invites us to consider how we are responding to God’s grace in our own circumstances.
Whom can we accompany? Whom can we remember in prayer? What burden can we entrust to Christ today?
This November, may we ask the saints to pray for us, commend our beloved dead to God’s mercy, and renew our hope in the Resurrection.
Suffering and death do not have the final word. Jesus Christ does.
About the Author
Monsignor David Baumgartner, JCL, serves as President of the Sister Annella Guild, Episcopal Vicar for the Cause, and Rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston, Minnesota. He holds a Licentiate in Canon Law and brings pastoral experience and canonical expertise to his work. His enthusiasm for the story of Servant of God Annella Zervas, OSB, animates both his leadership of the cause and his priestly ministry.