Episode 3274: The Meaning of Suffering: Modern Philosophy vs. Catholic Tradition

October 28, 2025
Episode 388: Sts. Simon & Jude
3 years ago
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Book Recommendation of the Day
St. Francis de Sales – Consoling Thoughts on Sickness and Death
A deeply pastoral book that teaches how to suffer patiently, die peacefully, and see afflictions as paths to holiness.
The Meaning of Suffering: Modern Philosophy vs. Catholic Tradition
Introduction
In our own time, one of the greatest tragedies facing the Catholic faithful is that the modern Catholic Church has too often aligned its view of suffering with modern philosophy rather than with Catholic Tradition. Instead of preaching the redemptive value of suffering something the saints and martyrs lived and died for the modern Church often speaks of suffering only in therapeutic or worldly terms: as something to be managed, minimized, or explained away psychologically.
This is no small matter. Once suffering is detached from the Cross, it becomes meaningless. It is no longer a participation in Christ’s Passion, but simply a burden to be escaped. Many Catholics today, influenced by secular thought and the spirit of the age, do not understand why God permits suffering, nor how to unite it with Christ for their own sanctification and for the salvation of souls.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen saw this danger with clarity. He lamented: “Oh what wasted suffering.” He meant that countless souls endure hardship, sickness, grief, and loss, yet never unite it to the Cross. They bear pain without turning it into prayer, without offering it for the reparation of sin, without discovering the supernatural value hidden within it.
The reason for this tragedy is clear: when the Church speaks the language of modern philosophy detachment without God, therapy without grace, and consolation without the Cross she deprives the faithful of the true Catholic meaning of suffering. And so Catholics live and die with wasted crosses.
But the faith of the ages tells another story. The Church has always taught that suffering is not meaningless but profoundly redemptive when united to Christ. This is the difference between modern illusions and eternal truth: the Cross transforms everything.
Today’s world is full of voices offering solutions to suffering. Modern philosophy often tells us to deny pain, detach from it, or pretend it has no higher meaning. But Catholic tradition proclaims something radically different: suffering is not meaningless it is the path to glory when united to Christ.
This episode will explore five contrasts: the source of suffering, our response to it, its goal, the role of the self, and whether it leads to despair or hope.
Segment 1: The Source of Suffering
Modern Philosophy:
Many modern thinkers see suffering as meaningless a result of chance, psychology, or social imbalance suggested it was an illusion created by resistance. Existentialists like Camus saw suffering as absurd in a universe without order.
Catholic Tradition:
Genesis tells us suffering entered the world through sin (Genesis 3:16–19). Yet God did not abandon us He turned even suffering into a means of mercy. St. Augustine wrote that suffering humbles the proud and opens us to grace. For Catholics, pain is not random; it has a cause and, through Christ, a redeeming purpose.

Segment 2: The Response to Suffering
Modern Philosophy:
Modern spirituality tells us to detach, dissolve the ego, or escape suffering through inner techniques. The common thread is to avoid entering into pain.
Catholic Tradition:
Christ did the opposite. He entered suffering completely sweating blood in Gethsemane, scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified. He embraced it for our salvation. St. Paul echoes this: “When I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). The Church does not tell us to flee but to unite our cross with His.
Segment 3: The Goal of Suffering
Modern Philosophy:
The goal is to eliminate or bypass suffering. Nietzsche thought suffering was merely a test for the strong. Camus said it had no purpose only endurance in an absurd universe. Many gurus teach that peace comes only when suffering is dissolved.
Catholic Tradition:
The goal is not escape but transformation. St. Paul says: “I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for His Body, the Church” (Colossians 1:24). The saints knew suffering purifies the soul and wins grace for others. St. John Chrysostom declared: “The Cross is the medicine of our wounds.”
Segment 4: The Self in Suffering
Modern Philosophy:
Some philosophies dissolve the self telling us to merge with the cosmic whole or annihilate desire. Others exalt the self, saying each person must create their own meaning in suffering. In both cases, the self is cut off from God.
Catholic Tradition:
The self is not destroyed, but perfected in Christ. St. Catherine of Siena said: “If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.” Through suffering, the self learns humility, obedience, and love, becoming more conformed to Christ. Far from being lost, the soul discovers its true dignity.
Segment 5: Hope vs. Despair
Modern Philosophy:
At its end, modern philosophy often leaves man in despair. If suffering has no eternal meaning, then death renders all pain useless. The best it can offer is resignation, illusion, or self-made meaning.
Catholic Tradition:
The Cross proclaims hope. Christ’s Resurrection proves suffering is not the last word. The martyrs faced torture singing hymns because they knew heaven awaited. St. Teresa of Ávila said: “Let nothing disturb you… God alone suffices.” Catholic tradition assures us that every tear can be united to Christ and transformed into everlasting glory.
Closing Reflection
Modern thought says: “Avoid pain, dissolve yourself, find comfort.”
Catholic tradition says: “Take up your cross, follow Christ, and find eternal joy.”
Only one perspective gives suffering meaning beyond the grave. Only the Cross transforms suffering into love, sorrow into glory, and despair into everlasting hope.
Epistle – Ephesians 4:7–13
"But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ... And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
Reflection on the Epistle
St. Paul reminds us that the Church is not a human invention but a divine gift. Christ, after His Ascension, poured out gifts upon His Church apostolic authority, preaching, sacraments, and teaching so that His body, the Church, may be built up in truth and holiness.
Saints Simon and Jude were among those first chosen to carry this mission to the ends of the earth. Simon, called the Zealot, channeled his fervor into the service of Christ. Jude, known as Thaddeus, preached hope and perseverance, and is remembered today as the patron of impossible causes. Together, they show us how God uses ordinary men, strengthened by grace, to accomplish extraordinary missions.
For us, the lesson is clear: we are heirs of this apostolic faith. To ignore the teaching of the apostles, handed down through Tradition, is to reject Christ Himself. In an age when even within the Church many voices clamor for novelty, we must cling to the apostolic teaching as preserved in the Deposit of Faith.
Gospel – John 15:17–25
"If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated Me before you... If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also."

Reflection on the Gospel
Our Lord speaks with sobering clarity: to be His disciple is to be hated by the world. The world resists Christ because He exposes sin, reveals truth, and calls souls to conversion. Saints Simon and Jude experienced this firsthand. Their preaching was not welcomed by all, and ultimately they gave their lives in martyrdom.
This Gospel confronts us with a choice: will we seek the approval of the world or the approval of Christ? Too often Catholics today want both—to be comfortable in the world while claiming fidelity to Christ. But the Lord makes it clear: friendship with Him means enmity with the world.
Like the Apostles, we must be ready to stand firm, even when despised or rejected. Our fidelity may cost us ridicule, isolation, or worse but it will win us eternal life.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude
Simon and Jude preached in Persia, where both suffered martyrdom. Their missionary zeal and ultimate sacrifice remind us of the apostolic nature of the Church built not on compromise but on witness, sealed with blood.
Their feast invites us to pray for courage: courage to be faithful in small things, courage to witness publicly to the truth, and courage to persevere to the end, no matter the cost.
Application for Today
• Cling to Apostolic Teaching: Follow the faith handed down through Tradition, not the passing trends of the world.
• Be Ready for Rejection: Expect opposition if you live and proclaim the truth of the Gospel.
• Support Apostolic Works: Help missionaries, priests, and catechists who continue the work of the Apostles today.
• Imitate the Apostles: Live with zeal like Simon and with hope like Jude, trusting God in all things.

Conclusionary Prayer
O God, who through Thy holy apostles Simon and Jude hast brought us to know Thy name, grant that we may advance in the spirit of zeal and perseverance, holding fast to the apostolic faith, and courageously enduring the world’s hatred for love of Thee.
Saints Simon and Jude, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, reign over us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us.