Is Suffering Redemptive for a Non-Believer?

Dear Catholic Exchange:

Ms. Bergeron

Dear Ms. Bergeron,

Peace in Christ!

The foremost point to keep in mind is that one can never be sure of the value of the sufferings of another person. What we do know is what the Church has taught us with regard to suffering. The Church holds that one’s sufferings, when united to Christ’s own sufferings, can have merit. St. Paul says to the Colossians, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (Col. 1:24 RSV—Catholic Edition). What Paul is trying to illustrate is the idea that we need not suffer in vain; our suffering is directly united to Christ’s suffering on the road to Calvary.

However, this entails the individual’s free and conscious choice to unite his or her suffering with that of Christ. When we suffer, we can chose to do one of two things, we can turn our backs on God and the other members of the body of Christ and try to grapple with the evil of suffering alone, or we can offer up the suffering, realizing that we are united in a body under the lordship of Christ and our suffering can be used for the good of other members since we are intimately united in the same mystical body. That is how suffering for others works. Christ takes our suffering, if we are suffering out of love for him, and applies it, like a balm, to other places on the body that are in need of healing. Our suffering thereby becomes meritorious.

The Church teaches that merit is a divine reward given to a person for the good works he or she executes by the power of God’s grace [Hardon, John A. S.J. Catholic Dictionary (Garden City, New York: Image Books, 1985), 259]. (Click here for the Pocket Catholic Dictionary online.) To receive merit, then, a person must perform a good work and be in God’s grace. In addition to a good intention, a good work includes an act that is ordered to a good. The spiritual and corporal works of mercy are examples. The act of consoling the bereaved is in itself a good thing, as it is ordered to alleviating suffering. Clothing the naked is ordered to bringing about health and justice (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.2447). The offering of the sufferings of the person constitutes such a “good work” for an increase in merit in the Body of Christ.

In addition to the good work, the person must be in a state of grace, that is, without mortal sin and united to Christ in friendship [Ott, Dr. Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1960), 265-6]. The meritorious work is done in charity (Catechism, no.2011). This all seems to imply that the individual believes in the redemptive value of Christ’s own suffering.

However, we can never place limits upon God. The prophet Isaiah declared, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Is. 53:4). Isaiah teaches that Christ bore the sufferings of all, believers and non-believers. In making human suffering His own (cf. Catechism, no.1505), Jesus gave meaning — redemptive meaning, particularly — to all suffering. We cannot determine whether another’s suffering is meritorious, because we cannot know the other’s innermost dispositions or understand how God is working in his or her soul.

For further reading, please refer to our Faith Fact on human suffering.

I hope this response adequately answers your question. If you have found this information to be helpful, please consider making a donation to CUF to help sustain this service. You can call us at 1-800-MY FAITH, visit us at www.cuf.org, or send your contribution to the address below. Thank you for your support as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”

United in the Faith,

Kathleen Rohan

Information Specialist

Catholics United for the Faith

827 North Fourth Street

Steubenville, OH 43952

800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)