Try Praying Instead of Posting

Presentations on suffering remind Leigh Ann Roman that our faith teaches us how to make a difference in the world.

In an age of social media, everyone wants to become an influencer. People seek to gain followers in their areas of expertise, such as parenting, fitness, or faith.  

The desire to become an influencer often trickles down to regular folks who feel compelled to post their hot takes on current events, initiating debates on social media for those who care to participate. 

I would suggest that our greatest hope for influence is not among our “followers” but among our friends and family. And we can do a lot more good for others by praying than by posting. 

Uniting our Suffering with Christ 

I recently attended a presentation on Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy that brought home to me the importance of prayer and suffering in bringing about change in the world.  

We all know that much in the world is wrong, but we often fail to realize that the most important way we can make an impact is through our prayers and through uniting our suffering with that of Christ for the redemption of sinners. These sinners can include ourselves and others.  

As the presenter said, “Everyone suffers. Why waste it?” Offer that suffering for someone in need of healing, conversion, or hope. 

This message of redemptive suffering was reinforced in recent episodes of The Bible in a Year podcast, which I started listening to again this year.  I have never actually completed the Bible in a Year, and I am usually at least a day behind. But it benefits me every time I listen. 

Changing our Perspective 

Father Mike has been reading from the Book of Job. Not only is the language lovely, but the perspective is perfect because it reminds us that humans are indeed creatures. We don’t know what we don’t know. God speaks to Job, asking him a series of questions.  

Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place? ... Have you entered into the sources of the sea,  or walked about on the bottom of the deep?  Have the gates of death been shown to you,  or have you seen the gates of darkness? (Job 38: 12, 16-17) 

God is not trying to put Job down. Rather, He is trying to help Job to see that his individual perspective does not reflect the big picture. As Father Mike says, “If you don’t understand the meaning of this moment, this moment has meaning.” 

And he reminds us that God sees the full story when we cannot. If the complete story is a mosaic, one person’s contribution is often a single small stone. But each person’s contribution is vital. God can use our suffering for our redemption and the redemption of the world.  

That is a message that gives me hope, and I have really come to believe that hope is one of the most important virtues for human flourishing. Without it, life can be bleak indeed. 

Making a Change in my Prayer Life 

This realization has resulted in one change in my prayer life, which is that I now pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily for people in my life. 

Into suffering, our faith brings hope. Into suffering, our faith brings trust. When we pray and offer up our own suffering, we are making acts of faith and hope. By praying, we bring light and hope into this fallen world.  

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Copyright 2025 Leigh Ann Roman
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