Thoughts on Suffering

By Natalie A.

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When it comes to people’s thoughts on Theology and Catholicism it seems that our class is on all ends of the spectrum. I have been a Catholic all my life and have never really questioned my faith much. Although, recently the topic of suffering has crossed my mind multiple times. In Catholicism, it is normal for everyone to suffer and we must go through bad times to have good times. The other day we climbed the Scala Santa Holy steps to resemble suffering and the pain people go through, especially as Jesus did. Some of us climbed these steps on our knees in honor of those that are suffering or have and are no longer alive which I found to be very interesting. It didn’t take much thought for me to want to climb these steps in honor of a close family member who just passed away from pancreatic cancer at a young age. She had a tough nine-month battle, and I know her suffering was nothing like climbing these steps and her battle was much more extreme. I knew this was something I could do to show my love for her today. But that makes me question, why do we have to suffer? If Jesus suffered and died for us, why must we also suffer? I find this as a way of following in his footsteps and leading to an acceptance into heaven. It’s just hard to understand. It’s also hard to understand why some people suffer in different ways than others, and more than others. I feel like this should be a equal thing among all people in how it affects them.