I came across the following excerpt over the weekend. It comes from the Father Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, book, The Cross at Ground Zero. As we remember the five year anniversary of 9/11, let us also remember the nature of suffering. Groeschel writes:
The Meaning of the Cross
Many people ask why God did this. Some fundamentalist preachers have even suggested that He did, in fact, wreak vengeance on the United States for its sins. I find this to be a horrible idea--one that especially does not fit with the image of God provided by His beloved Son in the Gospel. Yes, God mysteriously permitted this evil, but as St. Augustine reminds us, "God does not do evil, but does cause that evil should not become the worst."
...
The Presence
For believing and prayerful Christians, the cross is something more. It reminds us that Christ is present to us as we suffer. He is here. The French poet Paul Claudel reminds us that Christ did not end suffering or explain it away. He sanctified it by His presence.
"Sanctified it by His presence." Good to remember.
