Deacon James Keating reflects on how suffering often feels unbearable precisely because it touches innocence and faithfulness, which can make pain seem like punishment. Rather than avoiding those questions, they lead directly into the mystery of Christ, whose own innocent suffering on the Cross draws human pain into the life of God. In this light, suffering is not something God inflicts from a distance but a place where Christ chooses to dwell with us, transforming isolation into communion and opening a path toward redemptive love.

Heaven is the true “light at the end of the tunnel,” a reality already tasted through prayer, the sacraments, and especially the Eucharist. There is a spiritual danger of self-sufficiency with the freedom of poverty of spirit: the parable of Lazarus to shows how dependence on God opens the heart to grace. Meditation on heaven does not remove us from the world’s pain but equips us to endure it without despair and to love the poor more deeply. Embracing the Cross ultimately means embracing the Person who hangs upon it, trusting that every sharing in Christ’s suffering is already oriented toward resurrection, healing, and lasting joy.

1. How do I react interiorly when suffering touches innocence or faithfulness in my own life or in the lives of those I love?
2. In moments when I ask God “why,” do I allow that question to draw me closer to Christ on the Cross rather than into isolation or resentment?
3. How have the Eucharist and the other sacraments become places where Christ meets me personally in my suffering?
4. In what ways might my own sense of self-sufficiency keep me from deeper dependence on God and openness to grace?
5. How does meditation on heaven shape the way I endure present trials and relate to those who are poor, sick, or lonely?
6. When I accompany someone who is suffering, am I aware of how God is also ministering to me through that encounter?
7. What does it mean for me, concretely and daily, to embrace the Cross as a Person rather than as an abstract idea?

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page