Special Limited Pope John Paul II Commemorative Pope John Paul II To order extra copies of the Commemorative issues click here or call In this issue: Prayer: In the Parishes: Focus on: St. Vincent de Paul, Richboro Profile: Surrendering to God, finding love Michael Harris and Cynthia Thompson say that when they surrendered their lives to God, He led them into each other’s lives. | This Week's Issue The Word Became Flesh Cardinal Rigali's weekly column. Read it here. Lent ‘An opportunity to console the Lord’ Those looking to make a good Lent might consider the woman who washed the Lord’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, or the woman who poured perfume over Jesus’ head in anticipation of His burial. The grace of suffering I often told people at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, where I have been preaching for the past 40 years, that I was afraid for my salvation because I had not suffered much. Making it real: Finding God in cancer It’s easy to talk theoretically about the value of suffering. Such talk is a lot harder to accept when you or a loved one is in pain and the end seems nowhere in sight — or when the end is likely to be death. The meaning of Christian suffering You’ve heard people say it; you may even have said it: “If God really existed, there would be no suffering in the world — a merciful God would not allow suffering, or hell, to exist.” Hero of persecution: Suffering for love “As much as you think you might be suffering, there is someone else who is suffering so much more.” That’s how Vincentian Father John Lawlor puts his suffering of the past several decades into perspective. Deadly humanitarian crisis in Congo While most of the world remains unaware, 1,200 people die every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Carrying the cross together March 13, 2005 dawned a bright sunny Sunday. Everything about it spoke of new life and rebirth — flowers were blooming, birds were twittering, and bunnies were hopping across the yard. It was a glorious day, so fitting for the christening of our first grandchild, Julia Magdalene. Rejoice in suffering? Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for sake of His body, the Church. — Colossians 1:24 The first time I really read this quote from St. Paul I thought he was the most arrogant man on the planet. ‘God ... of course’ It is strange to think that suffering can offer a gift. That is not what we expect when we gird ourselves to bear it — or when we run from it, as many of us have done since birth. Nevertheless, seemingly out of nowhere, there it is: something precious, gift-wrapped just for us. Suffering with or without him? That is the question I am the kind of person who doesn’t take well to suffering, much less embrace it. For me, in the past, suffering was nothing more than an inconvenience, a nuisance, or even a punishment for sins that had to be endured. | The Catholic Standard & Times Catholic Radio St. John the Baptist Parish school to close in June 2006 Consolidated School in Norristown named Our Lady of Victory
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