By Clement Harrold
May 16, 2025
As Christians, we know that suffering is part and parcel of this present life. But we also know that we are not alone in our suffering, for Jesus Christ has entered into it and redeemed it by the power of His Cross. We take heart, therefore, in the knowledge that “we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:17). And we turn to Sacred Scripture for encouragement and consolation on our pilgrim journey through this valley of tears.
Job 19:25-26
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
Matthew 8:25-26
And they went and woke him, saying, “Save, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm
John 16:33
I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.
Philippians 4:5-7
The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:3-5
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 8:28
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.
Revelation 21:3-5
I heard a great voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
Further Reading
Megan Hjelmstad, Offer It Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering (Emmaus Road Publishing, 2025)
Mark Giszczak, Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know (Augustine Institute - Ignatius Press, 2024)
Peter Kreeft, Making Sense Out of Suffering (Servant Books, 1986)
About Clement Harrold
Clement Harrold earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024, and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First Things, Church Life Journal, Crisis Magazine, and the Washington Examiner.
