Preacher: Christ Redefined Suffering

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Through Christ's passion and death, he not only conquered sin, he gave new meaning to suffereing, preacher of the Pontifical Household

Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa said this in his Good Friday sermon, which he gave today at the Vatican in the presence of Benedict XVI and the Curia.

"Through his death, Christ has not only denounced and conquered sin, he has also given new meaning to suffering," the preacher said. "He has made it an instrument of salvation, a path to resurrection and life.

"His sacrifice exercises its effects not through death, but rather thanks to the conquering of death, that is the resurrection."

Father Cantalamessa explained that in life, "pleasure and pain follow each other with the same regularity with which, when a wave arises in the ocean, a trough follows a crest and pulls down the shipwrecked sailor. [...]

"Drug use, the abuse of sex, and homicidal violence, all provide intoxicating pleasure in the moment, but lead to the moral dissolution, and often even the physical ruin, of the person."

"Christ," he said, "with his passion and death, has inverted the relationship between pleasure and pain."

The preacher explained: "No longer is it a pleasure that ends in suffering, but rather suffering that leads to life and joy. It is not just a different order of events; it is joy, in this way, that has the last word, not suffering, and a joy that will last for eternity."

"So Christ did not come to increase human suffering or preach resignation to suffering; he came to give meaning to suffering and to announce its end and defeat," he said.

Father Cantalamessa recalled a slogan used by atheists for an ad campaign on London buses at Christmastime that stated, "There's probably no God. Now enjoy your life!"

Thinking of "parents who have sick children, [...] lonely people, the unemployed, refugees from war zones, people who have suffered grave injustices in life," The preacher responded: "How?"

"Suffering is certainly a mystery for everyone, especially the suffering of innocent people, but without faith in God it becomes immensely more absurd. Even the last hope of rescue is taken away."

"Atheism is a luxury that only those with privileged lives can afford," he asserted, "those who have had everything, including the possibility to dedicate themselves to study and research."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25631?l=english