Dear friends,
Now we must note something that non-believers will not understand: the redemptive value of suffering. The error of those promoting assisted suicide is that the principle they promote is that to eliminate suffering we eliminate the one who suffers.
But this is not Christian. After all, the greatest revelation of God’s love for us is Christ crucified. The teaching of Scripture, the life of Christ, and the witness of the saints all affirm that suffering—even great suffering—does not render life meaningless or no longer worth living.
Suffering remains an evil, and it is good to reduce and avoid it where possible. However, when humbly accepted in faith and love, suffering can be a powerful source of sanctification and intercession.
In suffering, we experience more acutely the reality of our limitation and need for God, which are always present. For a Christian in particular, to reject the value of suffering as incompatible with God’s love and goodness is to reject the value of Christ’s suffering death, to “empty the cross of its meaning” (1 Cor 1:17).
Through faith, we recognize that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us,” and moreover, that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:18, 28).
Keeping this in mind, we also recognize that everyone is not called to embrace suffering in the same way or to the same degree. This is why the Church has always sought to alleviate suffering wherever she has found it, and in modern times, has affirmed the legitimacy of using medications and other treatments to reduce and eliminate pain.
The Christian perspective on the value of life is utterly opposed to every utilitarian perspective, which only recognizes a person’s value insofar as he or she is wanted by others or thought to be “useful” in some way. Throughout salvation history, God shows a special love for the poor and those overlooked by others. In St. Paul’s words, “God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing” (1 Cor 1:28).
And of course, Christ himself radically identifies with these “least ones,” to the point that we will be judged on how we treated them: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).
It is not up to us to judge whether another person’s life is “worth living” or not. If we do make this judgement, we presume to take the role of God, the Author of Life. When people face the darkness of suffering and are tempted to despair about the value or meaning of their lives, our role is to raise them up and, humbly, to help them to see themselves and their situation from God’s perspective.
With gratitude and joy for the days ahead!
Fr. Seth