Working through the pain, part 2

Working through the pain, continued

     I have found as a sufferer of Fibromyalgia, that those that suffer are rarely understood. No one that has not suffered can ever TRUELY understand what it is to suffer with pain twenty four hours a day. And knowing this, how can we understand the pain and suffering of those that suffer death from torture and injury? Can we truly understand the pain and suffering that Jesus endured at the hands of the Romans?

 I can't imagine, even with the worst days of my flareups, or remembering the pain of a broken ankle and childbirth, all rolled into one, could not equal the suffering that He endured for me in just five minutes of his Passion. I shiver at the thought!

I would have fainted with the first strike of the cat-o-nine tails on my back! The Jews would never have punished anyone the way Jesus was punished that day. The maximum lashes to be given were never to exceed forty, so to ensure no accidental miss-counts, they would stop at thirty nine lashes.

The Shroud of Turin in reverse photography shows the lash mark blood stains.

But the Romans, who had perfected the methods of torture, had no compunction to stop so soon. If the Shroud of Turin is as real as I believe it is, our Lord was struck over 100 times!

How can we, as pampered Americans, who have outlawed all methods of corporal punishment, who have actually made the death penalty as painless as a needle in the arm, ever understand that kind of pain and suffering?
 Simple. We can't.
With that understanding, we should be humbled, and with great humility, surrender ourselves to Christ's love. Anyone that would endure the unendurable for my sorry butt, deserves my un-dying love and gratitude. For myself, I am not a person to let pain stop me from living my life. I decided after a time of feeling sorry for myself, that I would not let it stop me from enjoying life, but it took a while.

1 Peter : 6-10

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. 

7 Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

8 Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour.

9 Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.

10 The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.

I remember crying in my husbands arms shortly after my diagnosis, thinking that I would never be able to enjoy long walks on the beach, again, or playing with my children, and my grandchildren. I was seeing way into the future and crying about things that had not happened yet.

Fibromyalgia is one of those hard to diagnose problems, as the symptoms are similar to so many other conditions. Joint pain is similar to Rheumatoid and Osteo Arthritis. The Chronic Fatigue is similar to RA and Lupus, and Hyper-Thyroidism, heart conditions, etc. First they must test for all the things they have tests for, and then make a conclusion when everything else has been eliminated.

In time, I learned more and found that a person can have FMS for their whole life and it finally manifests itself fully after a stressful event or trauma. The doctor started me out on medications, pain relievers, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants, and because my Blood pressure was raging high, Blood pressure medicine. Yikes! I was feeling older by the minute! Eventually, I had to find ways to reduce my stress, changing jobs, changing meds, but the pain was always there. The fatigue never left me. I trying swimming in warm water, I got a little better. I heard about an alkaline diet but I blew it off for over two years as hokum. Then one year, after meeting my son's Chinese in-laws, they made me see that eating right may be the answer. And I had six months to try it before my son's wedding.

 After two months of eating stir-fry veggies, cutting out meat, and eating more fruit, I was feeling so good I began to wean myself off the meds. I flipped out my rheumatologist, eventually leaving and never going back. God answered my prayers when I got out of my own way. (And I got to dance at my son's wedding!) I could have been off the meds years ago if I had listened to the people He kept sending to me.

So, long story short, I am in control of my pain. It is my decision if I do not follow the proper diet, it is my fault if I let myself get stressed out to the point of causing a flareup. God didn't do it to me, He showed me how to manage it myself. Today, when I find myself unable to stick to my diet, for reasons not important here, I "offer it up" for Jesus. I offer my pain and suffering to him, to accept and use for good. I offer my pain for others needs, for my husband, for my friends, for my own time in purgatory.

    1 Corinthians 10:13 No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. 

Somehow, in knowing that my pain is accepted by Jesus, I find the strength to endure my flareups. I go on with my life, my church and job. I will never lie in bed and surrender to the pain, because to me, that is like surrendering to the evil one. The greatest gift we can give to God, is our suffering; and by putting on a smile and continuing to serve the Lord and loving others even when we hurt, we will receive our reward, if not in this mortal life, in the next life awaiting us in Heaven.

Finding strength in prayer is not always easy, but Jesus is always there, waiting for us to ask Him for His Grace to endure. He is there for you. All you have to do is ask, and it shall be given you, knock and the door shall be opened. Open your heart and mind and allow him to come in.

Have you experienced pain and suffering? Has it caused you to doubt your faith? Have you left church and feel alone? Come home, come back, we will welcome you with open arms, and we will pray for you. Life can be good again, you just have to get out of your own way.

Blessings,

The Catholic Lady©

a message from Dr. Scott Hahn...

I'm sharing a message from Dr. Scott Hahn's Facebook page regarding Pope Benedict the XVI.

Scott Hahn

Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed.

He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb!

Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V.

Few people, however, noticed at the time.

Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way.

In the year 1294, this man (Fr. Pietro Angelerio), known by all as a devout and holy priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his 80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps of this venerable model.

Our Dear PaPa, we will miss you! 

Thank you Dr. Hahn for sharing this message, I hope to see you in Florida again soon!

Blessings,

The Catholic Lady©

Working through the pain

Working through the pain 

 I don’t know about you, but I always think the trainer is crazy when they try to tell you to “work through the pain”. I mean, hey, if your body is telling you that something hurts, isn’t that supposed to tell you that you need to stop what you’re doing? That was always my thought; until I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. 
Working through the pain became working with the pain. Up until that point, I always thought that everyone felt the way I did. Until the flare up that sent me to a Rheumatologist. I have always lived with fatigue, believing that I was just a weakling and that was why I had always been poor in sports. I was one of those children that were always picked last for teams. It was humiliating and embarrassing being the last one to finish track. I was a healthy teenager, not over weight, so why did I have trouble keeping up? Pain. 

 But we’re talking about physical pain. Many of us also deal with emotional pain. They can be one in the same at times. I’ve had both in my life as have you and everyone. We’re all human, we all have the same problems. But time and again, people convince themselves that their problem is unique, and no one else has suffered like they are suffering. 
 We are the ultimate masters of our pain, in that we can choose how it will affect us. Either it can be a Blessing or it can a curse that claims our health and our happiness. It is our decision how we deal with the pain, not God. If we choose to be unhappy, we will be unhappy and spread that unhappiness to others in the way that we look and behave. Have you ever known someone, that every time you ask them how they are, you get a diatribe of complaints? Have you ever been that person? If you are honest with yourself, you will know that you have indeed been that person at some point in your life. 

Even Blessed Mother Teresa  wrote, that at times she felt that God had abandoned her. But she kept these feelings to herself and continued to do the work that she was called by God to do, to serve the poorest of the poor with love. In her later years she suffered from many ailments including heart attacks, but she continued her work until six months before her death in 1997. 

 I have found myself in this situation from time to time. It kind of sneaks up on me, and one day I hear myself complaining to someone and I am mortified at myself. I turn red when I am embarrassed, I mean hot red , and can feel it out to my ears. 

 What is pain? 
 Webster’s Dictionary says this:
               1 a : localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder
                        (as a disease or an injury)
                         b :  acute mental or emotional distress or suffering : grief 
                      2 a : one that irks or annoys or is otherwise troublesome —often used in such phrases 
                         as pain in the neck 
                      OR: punishment- a : suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution 
                                                  b : a penalty inflicted  on an offender through judicial procedure 

 We have our physical pain and suffering from our illnesses, diseases, broken or damaged bodies. We ask God “why is this happening?” St. Teresa of Avila once wrote: “If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few!" St. Teresa suffered from many issues from Malaria to Paralysis during her life, but she discovered the power of prayer and shared this with others and wrote prolifically. 

Most of the great Saints suffered for years before their final calling to Heaven, but the key to their becoming a Saint was in how they entrusted themselves to God and shared in the Redemption of the world through their suffering.

A Saint might be described as someone who has suffered long, but suffered well. I mean they took their suffering and used it to Glorify God. 

One example of suffering is the pain that comes from being wrongly accused. Kitty Cleveland, the singing missionary with the voice of an Angel, tells of her father Carl, who was accused and convicted, wrongly, of political corruption in the state of Louisiana. A reading from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
played a part in their 10 year struggle to clear her fathers name.

   Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Lighthouse Catholic Media has her story on a CD, God will Provide

Kitty's story touched my soul and her music soothes my soul.

Also Jeff Cavins, a renowned Catholic Author, and star of EWTN, tells a story of his suffering when he had neck surgery on his C67 vertebrae, on a CD titled "15 Things to Do in the Midst of Suffering" and he talks about ways to deal with your pain, rather than surrender to it. 

He asks us what does it mean to "Offer it up?" People say "just offer it up" all the time but what does it truly mean to "offer it up?"

For me, it was surrendering to Jesus, and telling him "I trust in you." The peace of mind that comes from surrendering your will to God's Will, is wonderful. When we truly turn over our suffering to Christ, we are releasing that pain and giving it to Him. We are offering our pain to Jesus to share in His suffering on the Cross. We become purified in our pain! 

1 Peter 2:21-23

22 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

23 When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.

Pain is different for everyone, and we must find ways to get through it.  If we learn to call on Christ and give him our pain in order that he may make good from it, we can also learn to smile through that pain. It isn't easy, we all are not like Job, who suffered through so many losses and never lost his faith.

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"(Job 1:21)

So wash your face, ladies put on some makeup, put on nice clothes, and most importantly, put on your smile. For Jesus told us:

16 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."Matthew 6:16-18

We will talk more on this topic at a later date. 

Blessings!

The Catholic Lady©