Praying

ESPRESSO SHOT: Finding Jesus in Your Pain

by Father Brian J. Soliven on Tuesday July 22, 2025

Modern man flees from suffering as if it were a thief in the night, yet the Catholic Church dares to call it a treasure. In the divine paradox so dear to the Catholic mind, redemptive suffering is not a mark of defeat but a participation in the grand drama of salvation. The world sees pain as meaningless, but the Church—scandalously, gloriously—sees the Cross. She teaches that our sufferings, united with Christ's, are not merely endured but offered, like incense rising to heaven, fragrant with love. The martyrs did not die because God abandoned them, but because He invited them to draw nearer. This is not stoicism; it is a song sung in agony—a song that shakes the gates of Hell.