Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom. 8:18-23)
What am I waiting for? This is the question we should ask ourselves whenever we are suffering. Suffering indicates that there is something bad we are undergoing in soul or body, and suffering naturally carries with it the longing for the suffering to be over, and for the bad to be replaced by the good we desire. The suffering is greater, the greater the good we are being deprived of. Thus we may even “groan within ourselves.” St Thomas calls this the “anxiety of waiting” and he says that the groaning expresses the affliction of having something we greatly desire put off. This is a suffering indeed. Since we were babies we have known that the delay of the things we desire causes groaning, whether the loud cries of infancy or the deep inner longing of the sufferings of adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
What am I waiting for? Usually we do not recognize at all that the reason we are so anxious for our suffering to be over is much deeper than we imagine. We do not simply want what we are undergoing now to be over–a bodily pain, a social misunderstanding, an overwhelming amount of work, material worries—no, we are waiting for something much more than the end of any of these woes.
What am I waiting for? There was no suffering before there was sin. The sin of our first parents, and the evil envy of the fallen angels brought suffering into the world. Any suffering—the slightest as well as the greatest—is the effect of sin, if not our own personal fault, then of someone else. The whole world of sin is the source of our suffering. But perhaps not quite. We shall see.
What am I waiting for? God did not make us just to be morally perfect or sinless, although he desires this, as we see with Our Lord and Our Lady and the saints and holy angels. God made us to be happy, and not just happy in any old way, not just happy according to some small standard of our own human judgment of no pain and enough pleasure. No—God made us to become sharers in his own infinite happiness by seeing him face to face and loving him with unending delight in our own soul, and also to be glorified and set free from death in our bodies, made perfectly beautiful and immortal.
What am I waiting for? Whether our suffering is at the moment only stubbing a big toe or if it is sickness or the fear of death, in all that we suffer we await nothing less than the revelation of the sons of God and the redemption of our very bodies. All creation is groaning, and we human beings are the bearers of the whole of creation. We are the ones in which the lesser world reaches out for God, and until we are safely blessed with the sight of our God and the risen body—his and ours—we will not stop waiting and waiting. This is not so bad; in fact it is in a way one of the best things about our lives here below.
What am I waiting for? Knowing for what happiness I was created, I can say that every single trial I have, big or small, is a reminder of the life of heaven and the splendor and sweet peace of the resurrection. The expectation we have is born of love for the God who will be our perfect happiness, so waiting deserves a reward and it is a great reminder of why we are here and where we are heading.
What am I waiting for? “Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of anyone, what God has prepared for those who love him.” This waiting in suffering is also called patience, and it earns a greater and greater reward from the giver of every good gift.
What am I waiting for? As the apostle tells us today, the sufferings of the present are as nothing compared to the glory that is to be revealed in us. Imagine, as nothing! We and he have suffered a great deal and there is still more to come. All the more reason to fix our mind in each suffering on the glory to be revealed in us.
What am I waiting for? Not one of my sins, or failures, or injuries, or disappointments can stand in the way of the full redemption of the sons of God if I place my hope in the infallibly certain words of St Paul. I will be set free from slavery to the corruption of sin, and I will be simply following behind Christ with His Cross, our Lady with her sword of sorrow, and all the saints who have gone before. What is more, I have not only their example, but also a share in their prayers and power.
What am I waiting for? I know it is hard, but in the end I promise you, it will seem like so much in return for something, our sufferings, which will then seem to us as nothing. Now that something is truly and solely worth waiting for!
Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
What am I waiting for? This is the question we should ask ourselves whenever we are suffering. Suffering indicates that there is something bad we are undergoing in soul or body, and suffering naturally carries with it the longing for the suffering to be over, and for the bad to be replaced by the good we desire. The suffering is greater, the greater the good we are being deprived of. Thus we may even “groan within ourselves.” St Thomas calls this the “anxiety of waiting” and he says that the groaning expresses the affliction of having something we greatly desire put off. This is a suffering indeed. Since we were babies we have known that the delay of the things we desire causes groaning, whether the loud cries of infancy or the deep inner longing of the sufferings of adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
What am I waiting for? Usually we do not recognize at all that the reason we are so anxious for our suffering to be over is much deeper than we imagine. We do not simply want what we are undergoing now to be over–a bodily pain, a social misunderstanding, an overwhelming amount of work, material worries—no, we are waiting for something much more than the end of any of these woes.
What am I waiting for? There was no suffering before there was sin. The sin of our first parents, and the evil envy of the fallen angels brought suffering into the world. Any suffering—the slightest as well as the greatest—is the effect of sin, if not our own personal fault, then of someone else. The whole world of sin is the source of our suffering. But perhaps not quite. We shall see.
What am I waiting for? God did not make us just to be morally perfect or sinless, although he desires this, as we see with Our Lord and Our Lady and the saints and holy angels. God made us to be happy, and not just happy in any old way, not just happy according to some small standard of our own human judgment of no pain and enough pleasure. No—God made us to become sharers in his own infinite happiness by seeing him face to face and loving him with unending delight in our own soul, and also to be glorified and set free from death in our bodies, made perfectly beautiful and immortal.
What am I waiting for? Whether our suffering is at the moment only stubbing a big toe or if it is sickness or the fear of death, in all that we suffer we await nothing less than the revelation of the sons of God and the redemption of our very bodies. All creation is groaning, and we human beings are the bearers of the whole of creation. We are the ones in which the lesser world reaches out for God, and until we are safely blessed with the sight of our God and the risen body—his and ours—we will not stop waiting and waiting. This is not so bad; in fact it is in a way one of the best things about our lives here below.
What am I waiting for? Knowing for what happiness I was created, I can say that every single trial I have, big or small, is a reminder of the life of heaven and the splendor and sweet peace of the resurrection. The expectation we have is born of love for the God who will be our perfect happiness, so waiting deserves a reward and it is a great reminder of why we are here and where we are heading.
What am I waiting for? “Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of anyone, what God has prepared for those who love him.” This waiting in suffering is also called patience, and it earns a greater and greater reward from the giver of every good gift.
What am I waiting for? As the apostle tells us today, the sufferings of the present are as nothing compared to the glory that is to be revealed in us. Imagine, as nothing! We and he have suffered a great deal and there is still more to come. All the more reason to fix our mind in each suffering on the glory to be revealed in us.
What am I waiting for? Not one of my sins, or failures, or injuries, or disappointments can stand in the way of the full redemption of the sons of God if I place my hope in the infallibly certain words of St Paul. I will be set free from slavery to the corruption of sin, and I will be simply following behind Christ with His Cross, our Lady with her sword of sorrow, and all the saints who have gone before. What is more, I have not only their example, but also a share in their prayers and power.
What am I waiting for? I know it is hard, but in the end I promise you, it will seem like so much in return for something, our sufferings, which will then seem to us as nothing. Now that something is truly and solely worth waiting for!