Q. Since I was young, I’ve been told to offer up my sufferings to Jesus. What does that mean, and how do I actually offer up my sufferings?
A. This is a good question as many Catholics from our early days in Catholic schools or CCD classes were taught to “offer up” our sufferings. The exhortation “offer it up” is good, practical advice which is helpful as we strive daily to live our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The clear, discernible fact is that everyone suffers. Some suffer more than others; we suffer in different ways, but we all experience physical pains and illness, emotional hurts, disappointments, and other setbacks. We don’t always have control over our sufferings; we do, however, have control over our response to these sufferings.
The Catholic Church teaches in the doctrine of redemptive suffering that these sufferings do not have to be endured in vain and can be of spiritual benefit to us and the entire Church.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us what daily discipleship looks like: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). It’s not mere coincidence that Our Lord describes the endurance of our sufferings as taking up our “cross daily.” We know that through the cross Jesus has redeemed the world.
The doctrine of redemptive suffering or “offering it up” is simply uniting our crosses to the cross of Jesus. This is possible for us because Jesus has called us to be members of his Mystical Body, the Church. St. Paul alludes to this Mystical Body in his Letter to the Colossians: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).
We might ask, “what can be lacking in Christ’s suffering?” It’s not to say that Christ’s redemption was deficient in any way. What is lacking is the application of the merits of Christ’s redemption to individual souls.
When we love our neighbor, give worship to God, and turn to the Lord in our suffering, we are building up the Mystical Body of Christ. This can be of benefit to ourselves, others, or both. We will only really know the power of these offerings in the world to come, and so we offer them in faith. The building up of the Mystical Body of Christ is fundamentally why we “offer up” our sufferings.
And so, in terms of what “offering it up” looks like, we don’t need to think of it as following an approved formula. Rather, “offering it up” is simply turning to the Lord in moments of trial, telling him that we are offering up a particular suffering in union with his suffering.
Jesus tells us “my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11:30). I think that we will be surprised how the burden of our suffering is lifted when we turn to him and know his presence in difficult moments. That’s not to say that the suffering will go away, but the Lord can grant us peace amidst our sufferings.
It might be helpful to think about the offering of our sufferings like a prayer, in which we are in conversation with God. My suggestion is to start bringing forms of offering into your everyday prayer routine. A good start is to pray the Morning Offering in which we offer Jesus “our prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of the day.” In doing this we will likely be more mindful throughout the day of offering up our sufferings.
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
