FACING SUFFERING

Courage and Hope in a Difficult World

In a myriad of forms—acute, violent, dull, excruciating, persistent—pain wears down the body and oppresses the spirit. It abounds in the life of the poor and ruins the life of the rich. It makes a child cry, disfigures a young person’s body, marks an adult’s face, and bows the shoulders of the elderly. From the cradle to the grave, our suffering is relentless. Work and pleasure, dependence and freedom, virtue and vice, love and hate—all can make us suffer. Pain is part of our human condition.

You could say that we are no longer children when we learn that a mother’s kiss cannot take away all our sorrows.

This book is intended to help individuals face suffering with dignity and realism, addressing some of the more practical aspects—psychological, social, philosophical, and theological. Acknowledging the subject’s complexity, the book presents a series of thoughts aimed at understanding the ultimate "why" behind pain and how to cope with it meaningfully.

In addition, written with the layman in mind, this book provides simple resources to face one’s own pain calmly and to address the pain of others with compassion and tact. The objective is to help fight and endure the reality of pain as much as possible, with courage and hope...