Homily: 30th Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday - Groaning in labor pains

Romans 8:18-25 View Readings	Psalm 126:1-6	Luke 13:18-21 Similar Reflections

At about the halfway point of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans we have one of the most beautiful and descriptive passages from this epistle this morning.

In today’s reading, Paul explains that all of creation is “groaning with labor pains” for the return of Christ.  For Paul, the pain and sufferings that we endure in this life are real—the long days of toil, the illnesses, tragedies of seeing loved ones die, the suffering of the cross we must all endure is very real, yet Paul says here, all these sufferings cannot compare to the coming glory for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

He saw all these sufferings like those of a woman in childbirth.  She experiences pain—but with the expectancy of life.  Her pain is couched in hope, and she has confidence that her great suffering will at last bring about that for which she has waited for such a long time.

Saint Theresa of Avila, whose feast we celebrated at the beginning of this month, said, ““In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than a night in an uncomfortable hotel room.” 

Suffering does not get the last word for Christians.  That is the good news of Easter, the faith which Paul poured out his life. 

Though we have tasted so much of the freedom that comes through the grace of adoption, we still await in sometimes agonizing yearning for the full freedom of the children of God in heaven.  So we mustn’t lose hope, and just as a pregnant woman must wait patiently for the child, so must we, bearing our sufferings patiently, trusting that God is with us, that he prepares us by our sufferings for full and eternal glory. 

On Friday, we will celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints.  They saints teach us how to life, they teach us how to suffer, they teach us how to love of God. 

Saint Faustina, “suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like a Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.”  That is a hard saying, we might not have the spiritual awareness yet to see our suffering as a great grace, but we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to suffer, that our love for Christ might be purified and our joy might be complete for the glory of God and salvation of souls.