Daily Life Meditation: Accepting Suffering

Flávia Ghelardi shares a guided meditation on accepting the suffering God has permitted in our lives.

In this practical session on meditation using Father Kentenich’s method, we will reflect on the attitude of the child who accepts the suffering permitted by God the Father. What do you think God wants to say to you through this message?

Meditation is a personal encounter with God, to grow in love for Him. Because it is personal, each person will experience this encounter in a different way, in a unique way. Thus, each proposed exercise is intended only to present an example of what this conversation with the Father can be like, so that you can get an overview of the whole process.

Opening Prayer

We are in the place we have chosen to meditate, already prepared with some image that reminds us of the spiritual world, a lit candle, instrumental music, in short, whatever helps us most to concentrate on what we are about to do: have a personal encounter with God.

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and place yourself in God's presence. Make the Sign of the Cross.

My holy guardian angel helps me to meditate well so that this moment of prayer may transform my hard, fickle, selfish, and negligent heart into a pure heart, capable of loving and serving God with joy and generosity.

We implore the help of the Holy Spirit:

Holy Spirit, you are the soul of my soul. I humbly adore you. Enlighten me, strengthen me, guide me, comfort me. Reveal your wishes to me as far as this is in accordance with the will of the Eternal Father. Show me what Eternal Love wants of me. Show me what I should do. Show me what I should suffer. Show me what I should humbly and thoughtfully accept, bear and endure. Holy Spirit, show me your will and the will of the Father, for I want my whole life to be nothing else than a continuous, an everlasting yes to the wishes, to the will of God, the Eternal Father! (Father Joseph Kentenich, HW 639)

Meditation Topic:

Today´s text is in the prayer book Heavenward written by Father Kentenich while he was arrested in Dachau Concentration Camp, during World War II.

Even when the Father has permitted suffering, the child knows how to embrace it in love and kisses the hand that guides all things and constantly turns to the Father in prayer. Unlike the dog that snaps in rage at the stone which suddenly disturbs its rest, the child sees behind each stone the Father’s hand which kindly invites us to enter our homeland. (RW 422-423)

What Is God Trying to Tell Me?

What is the Father trying to tell me through the attitude of the son who accepts suffering without rebelling?

Without the cross, there is no salvation. Our nature became disordered after it was wounded by original sin. Human beings possess instincts, which are more closely tied to the body; intelligence and the will, which are part of rationality; and the immortal soul, which always seeks the infinite: God. Before sin, the soul dominated the intellect and the will, which in turn dominated the instincts. With the upheaval caused by the disobedience of our first parents, there was a disruption, and the instincts now seek to dominate the intellect and the will, which, in turn, barely even remember that the soul exists.

Our struggle as children of God is to reorder this and put the soul back in charge. But this causes us pain and suffering, for our brain is programmed to seek pleasure and flee from pain. Without this order, without doing what is truly good — even if it is not pleasant — we can fall into sin and lose our salvation.

The Father never abandons us and wants each of us to be, one day, in the eternal joy of Heaven, together with Him, the Blessed Virgin Mary, His angels, and His saints. In the plan of love He has for each of us, He allows suffering that is meant to help us rid us of our sins and imperfections, so that we may continue steadfastly on our path to Heaven.

To adopt the attitude of a child who kisses the Father’s hand — even when He is wearing “iron gloves” and allowing pain — we need unshakable trust in the Father’s goodness, in His infinite wisdom, and above all in the infinite love He has for each one of us. Only with the certainty of this love can we thank the Father in moments of pain and anguish, for we see the loving hand that seeks to free us from our selfishness and lead us to Heaven.

What Do I Say to Myself Based on This Reality?

How many times have I reacted like the dog that bites the stone that disturbed its peace! I rebelled against the Father, complaining about my pain, thinking it wasn’t “fair” for this to happen to me ... and by biting the stone, by rebelling against the pain, I only increased my suffering even more.

But who am I to criticize God? What do I know about the workings of the world, about people’s needs, about my own needs? Where are my faith and my trust?

I think of chemotherapy: a very painful, lengthy treatment with so many side effects, yet one that is necessary to save the life of someone suffering from cancer. In this case, I see that even though it isn’t pleasant, even though it causes pain, the person wants to undergo chemo because they know that without it, they will die.

The Father acts this way with me too. To free me from the cancer of sin, from that which can cause my eternal death, He allows suffering, pain, and anguish … and I complain!

How Do I Answer the Lord?

Father, my Father in Heaven, I almost forgot that Your love watches over me. I ask for forgiveness for my rebelliousness and ingratitude. I believe, Lord, but increase my faith! Increase my faith in Your fatherly care for me. Increase my faith that all things work together for the good of those who love God. Increase my trust in Your loving providence for my life. As Father, You rule the whole world; You are sovereign over all the events of history, but You also rule my life. And You love me! You love me with infinite love, as if nothing else mattered, only me ... And You only ask that I love You in return. I want to grow in love for You every day. On my own, I cannot do it. My Immaculate Mother, please help me to love God as you loved Him.

We conclude this moment of prayer by writing down the inspirations we have received in our personal notebooks. We give a brief thanksgiving for having been able to spend a few minutes talking with our Father. We can make a resolution to meditate again the next day and ask our holy guardian angel to remind us throughout the day of these brief moments we have spent together.

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Copyright 2026 Flávia Ghelardi 
Images: Canva