Master·evangeli.net
Today's Gospel + short theological explanation
The pain according to Christianity: suffering with great hope
EDITORIAL TEAM evangeli.net (based on texts by Benedict XVI) (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)Today, we consider that to accept the “other” who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word “con-solatio”, “consolation”, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.
God became man in order to suffer-with-man in an utterly real way—in flesh and blood—. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence “con-solatio” is present in all suffering, the consolation of God's compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises.
This capacity to suffer depends on the extent of the hope that we bear within us. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done, because they were brimming with great hope.
November 3rd
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Gospel and commentary video
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November 2nd
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Gospel and commentary video
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November 1st
Solemnity of All Saints
Gospel and commentary video
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The calendar of Saints and Solemnities for November
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