Pints With Aquinas - That's NOT The Point! w/ Mthr. Natalia

Episode Date: September 23, 2024

💌 Support the Channel: https://mattfradd.locals.com Mother talks about a thought from a recent Mass at the Monastery about the uselessness of Mary and John at the cross. She talks about the point is not to not suffer, but neither is suffering. 🎧 Mother's Podcast: https://whatgodisnot.com/ 🖥️ Website: https://pintswithaquinas.com/ 🟢 Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/pintswithaquinas 👕 Merch: https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com 🔵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattfradd 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattfradd  

Glory to Jesus Christ. I'm Mother Natalia, a Byzantine Catholic nun from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, and this is Pines with Aquinas. We just celebrated yesterday the leave-taking of the exultation of the cross, and so this past week I've been continuing to pray with this concept of of suffering, of why we look at the cross and what it's supposed to mean to us, what it's supposed to teach us, what the death and resurrection of the Lord is supposed to teach us. And in the midst of that, I've been reflecting particularly on the words of the priest who had liturgy for us for the exaltation of the cross. I won't share his name because I think he would get embarrassed, but he's a very beautiful homilist and in his homily for the exaltation of the cross he talked about how

John and Mary at the foot of the cross were what he called the useless presence of love. Useless. the useless presence of love. Useless. Because they didn't solve the problem. Their presence didn't solve the problem, the problem. It didn't remove the cross for Jesus. And this is what we are supposed to do. We should be the useless presence of love in people's lives. And so often we just want to solve the problem and take people's crosses away as opposed to just suffering with them and being present with them in their suffering and helping them to bear their cross. And so as I've continued to reflect on that homily and just think about how terrible it must have been for Mary to see her son

endure suffering, like for any parent to see their child endure suffering and to feel useless to prevent it. Mary can't relieve the suffering of her son. And having that in the back of my mind, I was particularly struck this year by the prologue entry, The Lives of the Saints, for September 17th we celebrate the Holy Martyrs Vera, Nada, and Lubov, and their mother Sophia. So that's faith, hope, and love and their mother wisdom. Interestingly, when I was Tantra to Nun, I submitted three names for Tantra, Natalia being one of the three, and Nada or Nadia for hope was one of the three that I submitted.

But anyways, so faith, hope, and Love and Sophia, they all lived and suffered in Rome during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. And I was so struck by this prologue entry. I mean, I'm moved by it every year, but it just so much, it so coincided with everything that I've been praying with with suffering. When the persecuting hand of Hadrian extended even over the virtuous home of Sophia, Vera was only 12 years old, Nada 10 years old, and Lubov 9 years old. Brought before the emperor, these four held each other's hands like a woven wreath, humbly but steadfastly confessed their faith in Christ the Lord,

and refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan idol. Before their suffering, the mother encouraged her daughters to endure to the end. Your heavenly bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is eternal health, inexpressible beauty, and eternal life. When your bodies are slain by torture, He will clothe you in incorruption, and the wounds on your bodies will shine in the heavens as stars. One by one the torturers inflicted cruel torments, first on Vera, then on Nada, and then on Lubov. They ended with the youngest. Sofia took the dead bodies of her daughters outside the town and honorably buried them.

She remained at their grave for three days and three nights, praying to God. Then she gave her spirit to God, flying off to paradise where the blessed souls of her glorious daughters awaited her." And I just am so moved that she encouraged her daughters to endure torture. Like, I can't imagine, if if I were a biological mother, I can't imagine having that strength of not just watching my daughters suffer but encouraging them in it. But she knows, Sophia knows that the goal is not to not suffer. So, I want this to be, this is going to be the first of a two-part series because I think that, I don't know, we'll name the series That's Not the Point or something, because

we get this confused all the time in our lives. We think that the goal is to not suffer. We want to relieve everyone's suffering. We want to relieve our suffering. And that's good, right? We want to relieve suffering. We're called to relieve suffering, actually, as much as we're able. But the goal is not to not suffer.

The goal is union. The goal is union with God, and union will mean not suffering, but the union itself is the goal. And we can attain that goal through our suffering. And indeed, if we suffer well, the things that, the suffering that can't be avoided, if we suffer that well, if we open ourselves to grace in the suffering, that aids in the union. It doesn't drive us away from Him. So, not suffering is not the point. The point is union.

But also I think it's important to say because for those of us who just want to at any cost not suffer, that's a problem. If we're just avoiding suffering, even when that means avoiding a good that will cause suffering. It's also important to say that suffering is also not the point. Because so many times we have this idea that we need to seek out suffering, that we need to suffer more. The more we suffer, the more we will please God. The more He'll love us if we suffer for Him. And just as not suffering is not the point, suffering is not the point. And this is, again, I mean, I quote Romans 8 all the time, but so if you've listened to other things by me, then you've probably heard me say this, but God uses all for good for those who love Him.

by me then you've probably heard me say this, but God uses all for good for those who love Him. He uses our suffering. He uses our lack of suffering. And there's plenty of suffering in our lives, in our circumstances, in the world, in our families, in broken relationships, the suffering of our own sin. We don't have to seek it out, and we also don't need to avoid it. We relieve suffering where we can and when we can't, we just ask God for encounter, for the grace to encounter Him, the grace to be with Him in our suffering, to allow Him to be with us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of this day. Thank you for the gift of endurance that you've given us in our suffering. In the ways that we haven't suffered well, I ask that you make up for what is lacking.

Give us the graces. I ask boldly that you give us the graces that we rejected in running away from suffering. Give us those graces now. Help us to act to relieve suffering in the ways that you desire us to do so and to joyfully embrace the sufferings that you're not calling us to avoid. Help us to keep our minds, our eyes, our hearts focused on your son or bridegroom, especially on the marriage bed of the cross. I ask all of these things and thank you for these things through the prayers of Saint Severa, Nada, Lubov, Sophia, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint

Nathaniel, Saint John Paul II, Saint John, the Most Holy Theotokos and all the saints, and through the prayers of our holy fathers, the Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.