Originally Posted by
Saint_hard
walay Saint Hard diri....hehehe..btw very touching keu ilang story, im just wondering y one has to suffer to be called saint.....
basin ikaw nana who knows di ba?
In answer to your question I found this article which I believe sufficiently rationalizes the said subject:
We live in a world that runs from suffering. Since the time of our youth, we have been conditioned to view suffering as an impediment to happiness. This worldview which is so imbued in our culture, tells us, that the less we suffer, the happier we will be. Yet, in the writings of the Saints, we find an entirely different reality; that it is precisely suffering that strengthens us, humbles us, and forges us into saints. But more than this, we discover that suffering is of such inestimable redemptive worth, that nothing equals it in heaven or on earth. As Our Lord told Saint Faustina; "If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering." (p.1805) But why is this so? Why has the motto of the Saints down through the centuries always been; "to love and to suffer"? Why is it not;"to love and to do good works", or "to love and to preach"?
According to the Saints, when we seek to deny our wills and offer sufferings in love for Our Lord, we draw down from heaven more grace than any other action we can possibly make. In fact, the saints teach us that suffering is of such great merit, that it is greater than external works such as preaching, writing, or even working miracles. The defining moment of redemption for the human race was not when Our Lord healed the sick or preached in the synagogues. It was when the God-Man was nailed to a cross and drained of His blood out of love for mankind. We see then that there is no greater measure of our love than our willingness to follow in the footsteps of Our Redeemer, that is; our willingness to be affixed to a cross and to suffer, just as the apostles (Acts 5:41, 14:21, Rom 8:18, 2 Corinthians 12:10, etc.). By doing so, we join in the redemptive work of Christ through our sufferings (Col 1:24). We become little co-redeemers, and merit the conversion and sanctification of souls. This is the final end of suffering; the salvation of mankind. As Our Lady told the world at Fatima; "Many souls go to hell because there is no one to sacrifice themselves and pray for them." And if this is so, should it then be any coincidence that that which is so cherished by Our Lord, is that which is most feared and misunderstood by the world?
"Anyone who wants to be a true Christian must mortify his flesh for no other reason than devotion to Jesus, who, for love of us, Mortified His entire body on the Cross." - Padre Pio