The mystery of human suffering....

Image by Sacred Destinations via Flickr

From Thomas Moore's, Care of the Soul, comes this quote:

"Care of the soul sees another reality altogether. It appreciates the mystery of human suffering and does not offer the illusion of a problem-free life. "

Care of the Soul is not a book about Lent nor Jesus nor Holy Week. Yet, as it happens, what I read and surround myself with in a holy time of prayer and reflection often leads back to those thoughts in which my soul is deeply immersed. Thus, the quote above jumped out at me this morning in regard to the journey I've been on this last nearly 40 days.

A problem-free life? A would-be disciple and follower of Jesus, how absurd that phrase seems to me in the Holy Week of his suffering and death. In his life he weathered and helped others weather their storms, healed their illnesses, and tried to teach them to love their neighbors. He led by example and with parables/story-telling. He introduced God and the Holy Spirit to us by living on earth as a human. By living and by questioning and by accepting and by giving up his heart and soul to God - even to the God whom he felt had abandoned him.

A problem-free life? Nope - a life full of trial, trouble, disarray, and doubt but also a full life of promise, companionship, love and hope. It's Holy Wednesday...........the remembrance of Jesus' last days is not a picture of a problem-free existence.