By Bishop Cozzens
A reflection on the Gospel of Suffering by the Most Reverend Andrew H. Cozzens, S.T.D., D.D., from the Mass for the Opening of the Cause of Canonization for the Servant of God Annella Zervas, O.S.B.
The Call to Sainthood
What makes a saint? I would argue that the key element is: an unconditional yes to God. This is not an easy thing to do – try it! Tell God you want whatever he wants, when he wants it, as long as he wants it. To do this, it is necessary to live the whole life of grace, to experience deep healing, and to grow in a deep prayer life. In the end, it is saying yes to God that makes a saint. This is especially difficult in suffering.
Each saint, and each person, makes present in the world some aspect of the life of Jesus. Saints are incarnate in their lives and give full expression to different aspects of the Gospel. Saints allow Jesus to live in them fully, to continue to live his mission in the world in different ways. You can think of many examples of this. Saint Teresa of Calcutta lived Christ’s truth of love for the poor. She incarnated in her own life this deep attraction that Jesus lived for those who are poor and most in need. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux lived the spiritual childhood which Jesus taught. She explained and lived what it means to follow the little way. Saint Carlo Acutis, lived and loved the mystery of the Eucharist. Saint John Paul II, the courage of Jesus, telling all not to be afraid!
Sister Annella, like many other saints, lived what St. John Paul II called, “The Gospel of Suffering.” The words of Job from our first reading could have been written about Sister Annella, “My bones cling to my skin, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.” She experienced profound suffering. But she believed her suffering had profound meaning.
This is what Saint Paul is talking about in our second reading when he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body which is the Church” (Col 1:20). How does one learn to rejoice in suffering? This is a great mystery – perhaps the great mystery of the Christian life.
The Redemptive Meaning of Suffering in the Light of the Cross
Saint John Paul II wrote an encyclical letter on suffering entitled “Salvifici Doloris” on the Salvific value of suffering, which I highly recommend. Suffering is a great mystery in our human life. It comes to us in many ways, physical, psychological and even moral. And when it comes there are natural and painful questions that come to our mind. Why me? Why would God allow suffering? These are normal human questions, but they have no simple answers?
There is an answer that Jesus proposes: It is the answer of his Cross. Jesus proposes that human suffering can have value. Jesus proposes that human suffering can be redemptive. Jesus even proposes that suffering can lead to joy, as Saint Paul also said. This is because Jesus reveals that suffering can be a way of love. A way that leads to new and deeper life and love.
Jesus does not take away human suffering, he entered into to it, to transform it from within. He turned it into a way of love, a way that leads to the resurrection. He invites his followers to their own share in this path of redemption. He invites all of us in different ways, as members of his body, to also live in our lives the Paschal Mystery.
This is clearly how Saint Paul understood his own suffering. He was carrying about in his body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus might be manifest in his body. It was no longer he who lived but Christ who lived in him. He believed that his sufferings, because he was part of the body of Christ, were united to Christ’s bringing redemption in his day to the Church.
Finding Meaning in Suffering Through Faith
There is evidence in Sister Annella’s life that this is the way she came to see her suffering.
The Lord prepared Sister Annella for the intense suffering that he would allow her to endure in two ways. First, he gave her a loving and faith filled family. Sister Annella knew she was loved by her parents, and it seems she had a special relationship with her father. She mentions how his words of encouragement in her vocation strengthened her. Second, he gave Sister Annella a deep personal attachment to himself. Sister Annella knew that she was loved by the Lord. Because of this deep experience of being loved, she was able to have great confidence in him.
Second the Lord allowed Sister Annella to understand through her life of prayer, that her suffering had value, it was part of his suffering. Of course, like any person who experience suffering, she tried to relieve it.
This is very important. As Christians, we have an obligation to relieve the sufferings of others. It is one of the noteworthy things about the saints who suffer, they always want to prevent the suffering of others. Mother Teresa suffered terrible interior spiritual darkness, but it made her want to take away the sense of abandonment of the poor. Padre Pio suffered terribly, but he opened a home for those who suffered to relieve suffering.
Sister Annella came to understand her suffering had meaning in two ways. First, this was her way to be close to Jesus. It was her share in his passion. And because of this, it was leading to her resurrection. It was her way to heaven. Second, her suffering was helping others. She could offer her sufferings for others so that they would come closer to Jesus. With Saint Paul she could say her sufferings were contributing to the redeeming work of the Church in her day and in ours. She was ready to suffer, if she knew that this was serving the redemption of Jesus in saving souls. She saw this as her particular service to the mission of the Church. These insights allowed her to surrender to it, and to go through her suffering with love.
Second the Lord allowed Sister Annella to understand through her life of prayer, that her suffering had value, it was part of his suffering. Of course, like any person who experience suffering, she tried to relieve it.
I would propose that we need this message of the salvific value of suffering today. We live in a world that believes suffering is something to be avoided at all costs. This may be because of our many comforts and the ability we have to relieve many sufferings. We are under the illusion that all suffering can and should be avoided. This is not the way Jesus approached suffering.
Pope Benedict spoke about this truth about suffering in our modern world back in 2005 when he was reflecting on the end of Saint John Paul II’s life. Saint John Paul II died of Parkinson’s disease, and the world saw him suffering, just as we did recently with Pope Francis’ death who also suffered heroically towards the end. Pope Benedict pointed out that this suffering was a great witness to the world. He said, “Of course, we must do all we can to alleviate suffering and prevent the injustice that causes the suffering of the innocent. However, we must also do the utmost to ensure that people can discover the meaning of suffering and are thus able to accept their own suffering and to unite it with the suffering of Christ.”
Helping people discover the meaning of suffering and thus accept it and unite it to the sufferings of Christ. This is the mission of Sister Annella for us today. Reading of her simple love and asking her intercession, she can help us discover the meaning of suffering in her own lives. There are people in this Church today who have already experienced that her witness has done this.
Additionally, it was Saint John Paul II who pointed out the power of this suffering in our world today. In the Diocese of Crookston, we talk often about the missionary moment in which we live. It is a time of deep need for the Gospel. A time of great struggle to of the powers of good and evil. In this time many people are following away from practice of the faith, from a relationship with Jesus and his Church. I for one am determined not to watch it happen, but to seek to mobilize us for the work of the Gospel.
But to do this, we need those who are willing to suffer for it. This is always the way the Gospel works – the path of redemption is the path of the Cross. As Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies it bears fruit.”
And although we don’t seek suffering, if it comes our way, we should understand its power. Remember you are not alone. This suffering has meaning and can be offered.
It can do great good for the Church. As Saint John Paul II said: “It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption. In that ‘cosmic’ struggle between the spiritual powers of good and evil, spoken of in the Letter to the Ephesians(89), human sufferings, united to the redemptive suffering of Christ, constitute a special support for the powers of good, and open the way to the victory of these salvific powers” (Salvifici Doloris, 27).
What is the message of Sister Annella’s life for us today. All of us have our part to play in living the Gospel of Suffering. What does Jesus want from us? An unconditional yes. Only that we, like her, would offer our life to him completely. That we could become part of his mission of redeeming the world. For each of us life will involve suffering to different degrees. This suffering can be a way draw close to Jesus And a great aid to the redemption of the world.
About the Author
The Most Reverend Andrew H. Cozzens, S.T.D., D.D., has served as Bishop of the Diocese of Crookston since 2021 and also leads the National Eucharistic Revival for the United States. Bishop Cozzens led the way and discerned the opening of her Cause for Canonization. His leadership continues to inspire the faithful of the diocese to embrace holiness and missionary discipleship in everyday life.