Today, Rachel Balducci, co-host of Catholic TV's "The Gist" and best-selling author of How Do You Tuck In a Superhero? And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys, has an interview with me on her Testosterhome blog about my book My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints.
At one point, Rachel gives me the opportunity to talk about how Jesus, through his sufferings, shows us how to live authentically:
I love this quote from the book: “We begin to see that even our most painful times contain beauty, inasmuch as they led us — however tangled our path — to our present life in the love of God.” So are you saying we shouldn’t be afraid to suffer?
Fear of suffering is part of being human. St. Thomas Aquinas points out that Jesus himself was fearful of suffering; he quotes Augustine, who said that the One who had the true body and the true spirit of a man did not have counterfeit human feelings. What harms us is when we live according to our fear. Jesus did not live according to his fear. He lived according to his Father’s will, and he had confidence in that will. We need to have that same confidence. It is very hard–it means taking up our cross daily–but it is the only way to live authentically, learning to pour ourselves out in love of God and neighbor.
Read the full interview for more on redemptive suffering and healing. Many thanks to Rachel for the opportunity to share the message of My Peace!
