We don’t vindicate or sacramentalize suffering; we grieve it, but we can also embrace it as a lifestyle celebration. Let me explain. The perpetrator and perpetration of suffering are not excusable. But through Christ, companionship and hope are found in the midst of our suffering. And this is why we can celebrate it. Through suffering, the wounds of Christ are revealed, providing an invitation to intimacy with God. To the degree that we respond to the wounds, we experience intimacy with the One who suffered for us and bore our wounds. Drawing near to the wounds in our brothers and sisters around the world, while simultaneously acknowledging our own, allows for healing and transformation to take place. In this way we can understand the words of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, “By his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Phileena Heuertz, ‘Pilgrimage of a Soul,’ page 153 (via ifiblogged)