Suffering - The Key To The Vault of Grace
In the writings of the mystics, we learn that there is no greater love than the sufferings endured for the sake of Our Lord - for nothing wins more souls to Christ than the prayers, penances, and sufferings of devoted men and women. According to the Saints, such sufferings for the salvation of souls are even greater than external works such as preaching, writing, or even working miracles. As such, a soul who desires to achieve the highest degrees of holiness, must learn to "court" suffering -- to be a "little Christ", as it were; a co-redeemer with The Co-Redemptrix. The following twentieth-century Saints were able to articulate these sublime spiritual truths in a way never seen before in the history of the Church (Our Lord spoke directly to them, with the exception of Saint Therese), drawing from and building on the writings of such Saints as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila;

Saint Gemma Galgani, letters
Jesus spoke these words; "My child, I have need of victims, and strong victims, who by their sufferings, tribulations, and difficulties, make amends for sinners and for their ingratitude."

Saint Faustina Kowalska, diary, January 1934, ¶.279
"And the Lord said to me; 'My child, You please Me most by suffering. In your physical as well as your mental sufferings, My daughter, do not seek sympathy from creatures. I want the fragrance of your suffering to be pure and unadulterated. I want you to detach yourself, not only from creatures, but also from yourself. My daughter, I want to delight in the love of your heart, a pure love, virginal, unblemished, untarnished. The more you will come to love suffering, My daughter, the purer your love for Me will be'."

Saint Padre Pio, Secrets of a Soul, p.40
"I turned to Him [...]; 'O Jesus, if only I could love you and suffer for your as much as I would like, to make you happy and redress in some way humanity's ingratitude toward you!' Jesus allowed me to hear His voice more strongly in my heart; 'My son, love is known in sorrow; you will feel it sharply in your spirit and even more sharply in your body.' But take 'courage, for after the battle, there will be peace'.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul, p.27
"I understood that to become a saint one had to suffer much, seek out always the most perfect thing to do, and forget self. I understood, too, that there are many degrees of perfection and each soul was free to respond to the advances of the Our Lord, to do little or much for Him, in a word, to choose among the sacrifices He was asking. Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: 'My God I choose all!' I do not want to be a saint by halves, I'm not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for I choose all that You will!"

Three Fruits of Suffering
According to the Saints, one may observe the fruits of this suffering revealing itself in three degrees;
1. First, suffering without consolation acts to purify the soul, revealing its own impurities and faults, and causes the soul to realize its own unworthiness. This degree is characterized by purification (the Purgative Way, first articulated by St. Thomas Aquinas). It is the first  and most necessary step towards holiness; the more a soul is humbled and purified of its attachment to sin, the more it is able to be drawn nearer to God. As Thomas A. Kempis said; “God wants you to learn to suffer tribulation without comfort and, submitting yourself entirely to Him, to grow in humility through tribulation. No one so deeply feels what Christ endured as one who has had to suffer as He did.”
2. The second degree flows from the first, in that it draws the soul close to union with God in a way that nothing else on this earth can--for there is no greater proof of love--and God's goodness is quick to lavish the soul with many graces, which in turn causes the soul to cling to God all the more. As Saint Faustina said; "Sufferings, adversities, humiliations, failures and suspicions that have come my way are splinters that keep alive the fire of my love for You, O Jesus."
3. The third degree of suffering builds on the love infused by God and directs it outward towards souls. This highest form of [redemptive] suffering not only expiates for the soul's own salvation, but for the salvation of others; it acts as a shield blunting the sword of God's justice upon the world. Saint Faustina describes how souls in religious communities act in this way;

"During the renewal of the vows, I saw the Lord Jesus on the Epistle side (of the altar), wearing a white garment with a golden belt and holding a terrible sword in His hand. This lasted until the moment when the sisters began to renew their vows. Then I saw a resplendence beyond compare and, in front of this brilliance, a white cloud in the shape of a scale. Then Jesus approached and put the sword on one side of the scale, and it fell heavily towards the ground until it was about to touch it. Just then the sisters finished renewing their vows. Then i saw Angels who took something from each of the sisters and placed it in a golden vessel on the other side of the scale, it immediately out weighed and raised up the side on which the sword had been laid. At that moment, a flame issued forth from the thurible, and it reached all the way to the brilliance. Then I heard a voice coming from the brilliance: "Put the sword back in its place; the sacrifice is greater."
- diary of Saint Faustina, Feburary, 1935, ¶.394

"I know that I live, not for myself, but for a great number of souls. I know that graces granted me are not for me alone, but for souls. O Jesus. the abyss of Your mercy has been poured into my soul, which is an abyss of misery itself. Thank You, Jesus, for the graces and the pieces of the Cross which You give me at each moment of my life." - ibid., ¶.382

What if I am Afraid of Suffering?
The Saints tells us that there is no reason to fear such suffering, for when God permits sufferings for His sake, He helps the soul by infusing into it the grace necessary to bear affliction (whether physical or spiritual) faithfully and joyfully. A soul that loves God in this highest way, always receives a deep and lasting peace, even in moments of greatest affliction. At times the Saints would have moments of such profound joy and rapture, that they felt as if their soul would depart from its body if it were not for God to temper this grace.

If a soul is uneasy about suffering, let it pray to God and to the Blessed Virgin to change its heart. Let it pray for confidence in God's goodness; for any soul that trusts in God's goodness cannot fear suffering for His sake; for God will not advance unless we permit Him to do so (Our Lord honors our free will). As the Apostles rejoiced in their sufferings for the sake of the Kingdom (cf. Acts 5:41; also Col. 1:24 , 1 Cor. 1:23, Rom. 8:17, Matt. 16:24, John 12:24) so too must we; for there is nothing that gives Him greater pleasure than this proof of our love. Remember always, that even the Saints had to grow in this love;

"At the beginning of my religious life, suffering and adversities frightened and disheartened me. So I prayed continuously, asking Jesus to strengthen me and to grant me the power of His Holy Spirit that I might carry out His holy will in all things, because from the beginning I have been aware of my weakness." [p. 56] She later writes; "From the moment I came to love suffering, it ceased to be a suffering for me. Suffering is the daily food of my soul." - Diary of Saint Faustina

"Once, when I was in the kitchen with Sister N., she got a little upset with me and, as a punishment, ordered me to sit on the table while she herself continued to work hard, cleansing and scrubbing. And while I was sitting there, the sisters came along and were astounded to find me sitting on the table, and each one had her say. One said that I was a loafer and another, "What an eccentric!" I was a postulant at the time. Others said, "What kind of of a sister will she make?" Still, I could not get down because sister had ordered me to sit there by virtue of obedience until she told me to get down. Truly, God alone knows how many acts of self denial it took. I thought I'd die of shame. God often allowed such things for the sake of my inner formation, but He compensated me for this humiliation by a great consolation. During Benediction I saw Him in great beauty. Jesus looked at me kindly and said, "My daughter, do not be afraid of sufferings; I am with you."

To Court Suffering
Padre Pio was known to be a great lover of suffering. In this exert from his letters to his superiors, he give us small glimpse into the "game of love" with which he often described; 

"When Jesus wants me to understand that He loves me, He allows me to savor the wounds, the thorns, the agonies of His passion...When He wants to delight me, He fills my heart with that spirit which is all fire; He speaks to me of His delights. But when He wants to be delighted, He speaks to me of His sorrows, He invites me -- with a voice full of both supplication and authority -- to affix my body [to the cross] in order to alleviate His suffering. Who can resist Him? I realize how much my miseries have caused Him to suffer, how much I have offended Him. I desire no other than Jesus alone, I want nothing more than His pains (because this is what Jesus wishes). Let me say--since no one can hear me--I am disposed to remain forever deprived of the sweetness Jesus allows me to feel. I am ready to suffer Jesus hiding His beautiful eyes from me, so long as He does not hide His love from me, because then I would die. But I do not feel I can be deprived of suffering--for this I lack strength.

Perhaps I have not yet expressed myself clearly with regards to the secret of this suffering. Jesus, the Man of Sorrow, wants all Christians to imitate Him; He has offered this chalice to me yet again, and I have accepted it. That is why He does not spare me. My humble sufferings are worth nothing, but Jesus delights in them because He loved [suffering] on earth. Therefore, on certain days when He suffered greatly on earth, He allows me to feel my sufferings even more. Now shouldn't this alone be enough to humiliate me, to make me seek to be hidden from the eyes of men, since I was made worthy of suffering with Jesus and as Jesus? Ah, my father! I feel too keenly my ingratitude toward God's majesty." - Secrets of a Soul, pg. 44

If suffering is the greatest form of love, then meditation on Our Lord's passion is the greatest form of meditation. As Jesus told Saint Faustina once; "There is more merit to one hour of meditation on My sorrowful Passion than there is to a whole year of flagellation that draws blood; the contemplation of My painful wounds is of great profit to you, and it brings Me great joy."   A soul that always has the His Passion on the forefront of its mind will make rapid progress in the spiritual life, for it is through the passion of Our Lord that God's love for man is revealed in its highest form. We read similar sentiments in a vision given to Saint Faustina, during a time when she had great dryness of prayer;

"I tried to make a Holy Hour, but began with great difficulty. A certain yearning started to tear at my heart. My mind was dimmed so that I could not understand the simplest forms of prayer. And so passed by an hour of prayer, or rather of struggle. I resolved to pray for a second hour, but my inner sufferings increased - great dryness and discouragement. I resolved to pray for a third hour. In the third hour, which I resolved to spend kneeling without any support, my body started to clamor for rest. But I in no way relented. I stretched out my arms and, though I spoke no words, I persisted by sheer will. After a while, I took the ring off my finger and asked Jesus to look at the ring, that sign of our eternal union, and I offered Jesus the feelings I had on the day of perpetual vows. After a while, I feel my heart inundated with a wave of love. A sudden recollection of spirit, the senses quiet down, and God's presence pervades my soul. I know only this: that it is Jesus and I. I saw Him just as He had appeared to me in that instant after my perpetual vows, when I was likewise making a Holy Hour. Jesus was suddenly standing before me, stripped of His clothes, His body completely covered with wounds, His eyes flooded with tears and blood, His face disfigured and covered with spittle. The Lord then said to me, "The bride must resemble her Betrothed." I understood these words to the very depth. There is no room for doubt here. My likeness to Jesus must be through suffering and humility. "See what love of human souls has done to Me. My daughter, in your heart I find everything that so great a number of souls refuses Me. Your heart is My repose. I often wait with great graces until towards the end of prayer."
- Diary, October 11, 1933

In sufferings, the soul must trust that it is in God's care, and that nothing will harm it--for God's goodness will never give a soul more than it can bear, or more than it permits to bear. Our trust in His goodness must be unerring and absolute;

"[Jesus says;] Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me. Even My death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these gifts." - diary

"Your great trust in Me forces me to continuously grant you graces. You have great and incomprehensible rights over My Heart, for you are a daughter of complete trust." - diary

"O what precious moments these are. It is a happiness that the Lord gives me to relish almost always in moments of affliction. At these moments, more than ever, when the whole world troubles and weighs on me, I desire nothing other than to love and to suffer. Yes my father, even in the midst of so much suffering I am happy because it seems as if my heart is beating with Jesus' heart." - Padre Pio

Hidden Penances
Next to prayer, the Saints considered daily penances and mortification to be of greatest value to the soul. This was so important to the Saints, that they would often ask permissions from their superiors to perform additional acts of penance, beyond the daily rigors of a religious community. Padre Pio was known to be a great lover of fasting (fasting, above all, has great pride of place in Church history), eating only a few ounces of food daily. He would often ask permission to skip dinner, or to be released from recreation, so that he could remain in prayer (although he did not scorn socializing with others, he did not seek it, and his conversions, while witty, always contained some spiritual lesson in them). Saint Therese, in her Little Way, would mortify her will by not defending herself, remaining silent when certain sisters accused her, or refraining from sitting back in her chair. Similarly, Saint Faustina courted silence to the point where she would not even respond to direct questions unless they were about her duties (Jesus had asked this of her certain occasions). She would often ask permission to say extra prayers, spend extra time kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament, to reduce her meal rations by half, or to recite certain prayers with arms extended outwards. On one occasion, Saint Faustina requested to fast for forty days on water and one piece of bread per day. Her superior refused this request, however, due to her poor health (advanced Tuberculosis, or Consumption).

It was especially important to the Saints that these mortifications be done in secret, so as not to attract the attention of other sisters/brothers They desired that only God may know the penances and sufferings they endured. In this way, their action would be more pure. When Padre Pio received the stigmata, he felt ashamed, and pleaded with God to make it invisible, so others may not see it. It was a great trial for him to receive so much attention from people, who always wanted to kiss his hands. He later spoke to a friend; "Lets pray together to ask Jesus to take away this annoyance. I do want to suffer, even to die of suffering, but all in secret." - Padre Pio: The True Story, pg. 79

"I want to become a sacrificial host before You, but an ordinary wafer to people. I want the fragrance of my sacrifices to be known to You alone."... "In the midst of all sufferings, both physical and spiritual, as well as in darkness and desolation, I will remain silent, like a dove, and not complain. I will empty myself continually at His feet in order to obtain mercy for souls." - Saint Faustina, Diary

"Through our little acts of charity, practiced in the dark, as it were, we obtain the conversion of the heathen, help the missionaries, and gain for them plentiful alms, thus building both spiritual and material dwellings for Our Eucharistic God." - Saint Therese, Story of a Soul

"I recall that I have received most light during adoration which I made lying prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament for half an hour every day throughout Lent." -Saint Faustina, Diary, pg. 82

Exterior Penances - Instruments of Mortification
While the Saints regarded interior penance (that is, denial of the will through the vow of obedience) greater than any kind of exterior penance, nonetheless instruments of penance have been used by the Saints throughout history, and were in widespread use in religious communities for centuries up until the 1960's. One type of exterior penance common in religious life was known as "The Discipline" (self-flagellation, using a whip, rod, or lash), which was used in Padre Pio's friary. Saint Pio was known to have continued this penance even when it was no longer required of him to do so. The Discipline was also commonly used in Saint Faustina's convent as well. In 1935, when Saint Faustina was writing her rule of life (Jesus asked her to found a new community), she made into law the following;

"Interior mortifications take the first place, but besides this, we must practice exterior mortifications, strictly determined, so that all can practice them. These are: on three days a week, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, there will be a strict fast. Each Friday, all the sisters – each one in her own cell – will take the discipline for the length of the recitation of Psalm 50 and all will do this at the same time; namely, three o’clock; and this will be offered for dying sinners. During the two great fasts, ember days and vigils, the food will consist of a piece of bread and some water, once a day."

In addition to fasting and the Discipline, Saint Faustina also asked permissions to wear a fine wire belt (known as an "Iron Belt") as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners. On certain occasions, she also asked to wear metal chains around her ankles for a day in reparation for her faults for the day. Saint Francis De Sales also made use of the Discipline, as well as hair-shirts, iron belts, vigils, and fasting. Other Saints who were known to use exterior mortifications include Mother Teresa, and great Marian saints, such as Saint Dominic, Saint Louis De Montfort, Saint Jeane Marie Vianney, and Saint Maximilian Kolbe. The list quite literally goes on ad infinitum. In her letters, Saint Catherine of Siena describes the "rod of discipline" and "cilice of many buds" (chain links with small prongs on them, worn around one's upper thigh);

"Penance to be sure must be used as a tool, in due times and places, as need may be. If the flesh, being too strong, kicks against the spirit, penance takes the rod of discipline, and fast, and the cilice of many buds, and mighty vigils; and places burdens enough on the flesh, that it may be more subdued. But if the body is weak, fallen into illness, the rule of discretion does not approve of such a method."
- Letters of Catherine Benincasa

"To defend his purity, St. Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, St. Benedict threw himself into a thornbush, St. Bernard plunged into an icy pond... You... what have you done?" [...]  "If you realize that your body is your enemy, and an enemy of God's glory since it is an enemy of your sanctification, why do you treat it so softly?" - Saint Jose Maria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei

It should again be noted that these mortifications were always done within the context of a religious community (with permission from a superior), or under the direction of a spiritual director. We might also recall that the Saints were careful to do these penances in secret, and even went out of their way to hide such instruments from their own communities. To be considered an average religious, to them, was of far more value than to be highly regarded as an austere aesthetic. Any instance that would draw the praises of men was to be severely shunned. As the Lord reminded Saint Faustina that what pleases Him most, above exterior penances, even above fasting, is the denial of one's own will through obedience to superiors and the rules of the community (which cannot be fully practiced apart from religious vows). A humble and obedient soul before God wins the most graces. Saint Faustina recalls an occassion once during her novitiate;

"Once I was asked to pray for a certain soul. I decided at once to make a novena to the Merciful Lord to which I added a mortification; namely, that I would wear chains on both legs through out Holy Mass. I had been doing this already for three days when I went to confession and told my spiritual director that I had undertaken this mortification, presuming permission to do so. I had thought he would not object, but I heard the contrary; that is, that I should do nothing without permission. O my Jesus, so it was willfulness again! But my falls do not discourage me; I know very well that I am misery (itself). Because of the condition of my health I did not receive this permission, and my spiritual director was surprised that I had been allowing myself greater mortifications without his permission. I asked pardon for my self-willfulness, or rather for having presumed permission, and I asked him to change this mortification for another one.

My spiritual director replaced it with an interior mortification; namely, through Holy Mass I was to meditate on why the Lord Jesus had submitted to being baptized. The meditation was no mortification for me, for thinking about God is a delight and not a mortification; but there was a mortification of the will in that I was not doing (simply) what I like, but what I was told to do, and it is in this that interior mortification consists. When I left the confessional and started to recite my penance, I heard these words: "I have granted the grace you asked for on behalf of that soul, but not because of the mortification you chose for yourself. Rather, it was because of your acts of complete obedience to My representative that I granted this grace to that soul for whom you interceded and begged mercy. Know that when you mortify your own self will, then Mine reigns within you." - diary

Obedience - The Greatest Vow
Among the vows of a religious (poverty, chastity, and obedience), obedience is considered to be the greatest of the three--for it is through obedience that the other two vows may reach their greatest expression. It is only through obedience that God is able to work in a soul without the resistance of the will. The Saints cherished obedience above all because it places the will of the superior and the rules of the community above one's own. In this way, a soul develops trust in God by not relying on its own reasoning, but submitting to an authority outsite of itself, namely; the representative appointed by God and the rules of the community. "even the smallest thing should bear the seal of obedience."

"Once Jesus told me, 'Go to Mother Superior and ask her to let you wear a hair shirt for seven days, and once each night you are to get up and come to the chapel.' I said yes, I found a certain difficulty in actually going to the Superior. In the evening Jesus asked me, "How long will you put it off?" I made up my mind to tell Mother Superior the very next time I would see her. The next day before noon I saw Mother Superior going to the refectory and, since the kitchen, refectory, and Sister Eyelashes little room are all close to each other, I asked Mother Superior to come into Sister Eyelashes room and told her of the wish of the Lord Jesus. At that, Mother answered, 'I will not permit you to wear any hair shirt. Absolutely not! If the Lord Jesus were to give you the strength of a colossus, I would not then permit those mortifications.'
       I apologized for taking up Mother's time and left the room. At that very moment I saw Jesus standing at the kitchen door, and I said to Him, "You commanded me to ask for these mortifications, but Mother Superior will not permit them". Jesus said "I was here during your conversation with the Superior and know everything. I don't demand mortification from you, but obedience. By obedience you give great glory to Me and gain merit for yourself.' " - diary

"[Jesus says]; ' Obedience. I have come to do My Father’s will. I obeyed my Parents, I obeyed My tormentors and now I obey the Priests.' I understand, O Jesus, the spirit of obedience and in what it consists. It includes not only external performance, but also the reason, the will and judgment. Obeying our superiors, we obey God. It makes no difference whether it is an angel or a man who, acting in God’s stead, gives me orders; I must always obey." - diary

The Need for a Holy Spiritual Director
The Saints teach us that a holy spiritual director is a rare grace to be cherished, for it is a gift granted to few souls. If a soul has been blessed with a saintly spiritual director, it ought to thank the Lord every day for such a grace. As Saint Faustina noted; "Oh, if only I had had a spiritual director from the beginning, then I would not have wasted so many of God's graces." She then explains the reasons of his importance;

"a soul which is faithful to God cannot confirm its own inspirations; it must submit tem to the control of a very wise and learned priest; and until it is quite certain, it should remain distrustful. It should not, on its own initiative alone, put its trust in these inspirations and all other graces, because it can thus expose itself to great losses. [...] Even though a soul may immediately distinguish between false inspiration and those of God, it should nevertheless be careful, because many things are uncertain. God is pleased and rejoices when a soul distrusts Him for His own sake; because it loves Him, it is prudent and itself asks and searches for help to make certain that it is really God who is acting within it. And once a well-instructed confessor has confirmed this, the soul should be at peace and give itself up to God, according to His directions; that is, according to the directions of the confessors."  diary, p. 78

Saint Faustina tells us that a spiritual director is especially necessary for chosen souls, destined for the steep slope to calvary. Such souls, amid the darkest nights, when God is hidden and everything spiritual becomes obscure, find their only solace and comfort through obedience to the counsel of a wise spiritual director. In these moments, the director's guidance is a dim light in a dark chasm, without which a soul would find greater difficulty in advancing through the trial. It is thus that if a soul desires to attain divine union, then it ought to pray daily for the grace of a holy spiritual director; a grace which seems to be a near prerequisite for perfection.

Love Above All
The mystics would say that they are not defined by the great deeds they work, nor are they defined by great miracles. Rather, they define themselves only by love. In this sense, a mystic is not someone who possesses extraordinary gifts, but rather, is simply a person who has fallen "head over heals" in love with Jesus. And it is through this profound love that God delights to send special graces to the soul, which may include extraordinary works and miracles to draw other souls to Christ. The Saints understood that it is only through love that keeps the justice of God at bay, each soul working in its own little way. When Saint Therese of Lisieux discovered her vocation, she wrote; "I understood that the Church has a heart, that this heart was burning with love, and that it is love alone which gives life to its members; that if this love ever became extinct, the Apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, and the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places...in a word, that it was eternal! Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out; O Jesus my love...my vocation, at last I have found it...my vocation is love!" - Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Faustina
"Oh, how sweet it is to toil for God and souls! I want no respite in this battle, but I shall fight to the last breath for the glory of my King and Lord. I shall not lay the sword aside until He calls me before His throne; I fear no blows, because God is my shield. It is the enemy who should fear us, and not we him. Satan defeats only the proud and the cowardly, because the humble are strong. Nothing will confuse or frighten a humble soul. I have directed my flight at the very center of the sun's heat, and nothing can lower its course. Love will not allow itself to be taken prisoner, it is free like a queen. Love attains God." - diary, p.199

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