Level VI · Reparation · practice 4 of 4

Union in suffering

When suffering comes — illness, loss, betrayal, dryness in prayer — unite it consciously to the Heart pierced for love.

Why this practice

There is a place in the Sacred Heart devotion for what older spiritual writers called the victim soul — the soul that consciously offers its own suffering, joined to Christ's, for the salvation of others. This is not a vocation for everyone in the same form; but every Christian eventually meets suffering, and what one does with it can be the deepest act of the Sacred Heart devotion.

St. Margaret Mary herself lived this; so did St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Faustina, and countless others. The pierced Heart and the pierced soul become, in suffering, one heart.

How to begin

1When suffering comes — small or large — explicitly offer it to the Heart of Jesus, in union with His Passion, for a specific intention.

2Resist the urge to flee suffering through distraction. Sit with it briefly each day in His presence.

3Keep the offering quiet. Do not advertise your suffering; the Heart of Jesus does not.

4If God should call you to a more sustained vocation of intercessory suffering, accept it in spiritual direction. This is not a path to walk alone.

I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church.

— Colossians 1:24

A prayer for this practice

Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced for me, take what little I can offer. Let my small suffering — joined to Thine — be salt and light for those who need it. Where I cannot understand, let me trust Thee.

Amen.

Go deeper — Level VII

Personal Consecration →