by Wayne Leon Learmond

Created on: March 06, 2011   Last Updated: March 14, 2012

Christ is the epicentre of what it means to suffer. It is Jesus who epitomises the very meaning of suffering. Christians understand this because suffering is what it means to be a Christian. It is through suffering that Christians are as one with Christ, carrying their own cross...as Jesus carried His. For as Jesus said, 'Anyone who wishes to follow me must pick up thy cross.' And this is what we, as Christians, should do. We carry our cross through all of life's pitfalls awaiting us. But we have faith that we can carry the burden because the Lord is with us.

The Christian understanding of suffering may differ from those of other religions - who may understand suffering in a different way. We, as Christians, understand suffering to be as follows: that Jesus came, as God - in human form. That He suffered greatly for our sins - but yet showed us the way to face up to our suffering, with dignity and courage. And that His subsequent Crucifixion, and Resurrection, opened the gateway to life everlasting.

This is the promise that Jesus made to His Apostles, and the promise that He continues to make to us today. That through suffering, will we learn about the sanctity of life. That through our sorrows and tears, will we eventually find joy, peace, and happiness. And, that through the suffering of Christ, who shed His blood for us, will we be saved.

We, as Christians must have faith in Christ, that when we do suffer He will be not just our Guide, and Comforter.but that also, He will be suffering with us. This is our understanding of suffering. This is by what the whole of Christ's Church was once based upon. But it seems that somewhere along the way the Church has lost her way.

The Church does not know in which direction she should be going, and it seems, to many followers of the 'faith', that it is the Church, with all her cardinals, bishops, archbishops, priests and nuns,  that has lost the meaning of Christ's Message. This 'meaning' has been lost, it seems, for many many years, as too many of the clergy live the life of luxury. Indeed, there are many of the clergy within the Church, that do not know the meaning of suffering - the way Christ meant it to mean.

This has seen many Christians lose faith with the Church, because many see suffering all around them. Every day, it is the same - the acute and bitter suffering of man - while those within the Church seem to shield themselves from such sights. It is the Church that should

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