Timely strategies for dealing with suffering

One thing is certain in this life. We are going to suffer. Sometimes the suffering can be physical, and at others it is spiritual. A thousand questions will cross our minds. Why me? How can you allow this to happen God? What is the purpose of this? How we handle these situations are a reflection of ourselves and our spiritual maturity. Mother Angelica provides readers with the keys to handling suffering in a way that teaches how to make effective use of that suffering. Mother Angelica on Suffering and Burnout is the third release from EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press.

Before I get too far into this review, let me state the obvious. If ever there was a person that could teach on the topic of suffering Mother Angelica was one of them. Mother faced a life-long series of physical ailments, but this spunky nun from Ohio refused to let them slow her down. Additionally, there were more than some financial issues that cropped up in the early days of EWTN. Mother never batted an eye. Her outlook on life and her commitment to the calling of her God were the foundations for her trust in the meaning for her life.

As mentioned above this book is a compilation of previous publications by Mother Angelica. In case you are not aware, during the early days of her ministry Mother was a prolific writer. She spent much of her time in Eucharistic Adoration writing down thoughts on a pad of paper that ultimately became pamphlets or mini-books. These were printed and distributed widely and were quite popular with some twenty-five thousand copies being printed….per…..day. To have these gems of wisdom from Mother returning to print in a hardback format is a bonus for all readers.

This volume contains the six previously released mini-books: His Silent Presence, Jesus Needs Me, Dawn on the Mountain: The Gift of Dryness in Prayer, His Pain – Like Mine, Spiritual Hangovers, and The Healing Power of Suffering. If you enjoyed any of these mini-books on their own when originally published in the 70’s you can imagine the spiritual punch they have combined into one volume!

Throughout the book, Mother addresses suffering and its meaning in our lives. She explains how suffering can be redemptive and how one can take suffering and put it to good use. That suffering can be physical as her own was or emotional such as at a time of loss of a loved one. All situations can be taken and turned over to God so that instead of becoming a burden they become an opportunity.

You learn how dryness in prayer can be a gift.  A hard concept to understand but one necessary to grasp in a mature spiritual life. We must realize that in our fragile weakness our expectations can be high. We expect constant engagement with the Lord but sometimes He knows that what is best for our growth is His silence. Or more so what we perceive as silence. These moments allow us to begin to see Him working in the unexpected circumstances of our lives.

EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press have done us all a great service in releasing these compilations of Mother Angelica’s works. In today’s rushed and busy world her wisdom and spunky one-of-a-kind style are just as relevant and needed as ever. Lear about suffering from one who endured it. Read along in this volume as Mother Angelica takes you on a retreat of sorts and shows you how to overcome suffering use it for the greater glory of God.

To learn more about this book, check out Episode 024 of Off the Shelf where I interview series editor Brandon McGinley.

I was a provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.