"Frequently I think about how important it is to know how to experience moments of pain, suffering, rejection, loneliness, failure, disappointment, and betrayal. These moments are all part of human life because they are part of human reality.
At times, our Lord wants us to participate in human suffering. We must develop our capacity to suffer and, simultaneously, to offer up this pain. To do this, it is necessary to tell God, to cry out to God, about our suffering, kneeling with our eyes fixed on the crucifix. We must develop this mentality, this way of confronting life, so that when we encounter the cross, we do not trivialize, diminish, or strip away the value of this precious moment in which Jesus allows us to share the pain of His cross, by giving us a splinter. Pain is part of human life. We must not run away from it, cheapen it by venting about it to others superficially!
We have a saying that’s applicable to the moment of suffering and provocation. It consists of four main words: ‘Be silent! Swallow, suffer, and then smile.’ When someone is corrected and justifies himself, the other young men tell him, ‘You missed the boat!’ They’re talking about the boat of maturity, of self-control, of the capacity to be silent and not answer back and to suffer with dignity and in silence.
I teach these things to our young men and women, because . . . they must be prepared. Their boss at work will not admit that he is wrong; their husbands or wives will not want to be at fault; their children will argue and talk back, yet still someone will have to ‘lose’ so that peace can reign. Yes, peace is more important than anything, and to know how to ‘lose’ is our security.
It is the mysterious school of the cross, of a God who did not explain it but embraced it, experiencing it in the flesh of His crucified Son. Jesus invites us to gaze upon Him, to ask Him for faith and love, so that our heart will not lose hope because, through the darkness of Good Friday, our eyes see the splendid light of Easter morning. The Risen Jesus is our true hope, for in Him pain and death have been defeated."
–Mother Elvira Petrozzi