A thoughtful, faithful guide to understanding suffering

“Suffering is, in itself, an experience of evil,” Pope St. John Paul II once said.

These words open the first chapter of the recent book Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know. They also set the tone for a sensitive and fresh meditation on the Catholic theology of suffering.

As catechists have long taught, the Catholic Church views suffering as a material evil, encouraging believers to avoid it when possible but embrace it bravely when unavoidable. Like Jesus traveling to his death on Good Friday, we lean into the cross with dignity when providence thrusts it upon us, but seek to avoid inflicting gratuitous suffering on ourselves and others.

“Everyone suffers,” author Mark Giszczak writes in the acknowledgments of the book. “I wish it were not so, but it is.”

Giszczak, a professor of Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, uses many biblical passages and stories about suffering, ranging from the Book of Job to the Gospels.

He also mines the depths of his teaching experience and Catholic tradition for insights into the redemptive graces of suffering — including John Paul II’s distinction between the moral evil of sin that is “somebody’s fault” (and can therefore be negotiated or resisted) and the natural evil that is “nobody’s fault”.

“Just as Job was tried, all of us are tested by suffering,” he observes.  “When we experience pain, we look for relief. And it turns out that the quickest routes to relief do not actually solve the problem we have.”

Dedicating the book to a childhood friend who died in his thirties, Giszczak emphasizes that suffering is disorienting and always a deeply personal experience of grief.

“We somehow need to accept the fact of the problem rather than finding a solution for it,” he explains. “Or, as many personal trainers have said, we cannot go around the pain; we need to go through it. Personally, I do not find that thrilling, but I think it is true. Adjusting our expectations to align with reality is the main work of grief.”

On a personal level, he pointed to COVID and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta as two examples of suffering that have informed his theology.

“I think the pandemic revealed the depth of the crisis of loneliness,” Giszczak told Catholic World Report in an email. “As technology has taken up more and more of our time, friendships and community have fallen by the wayside. The lockdowns and the time alone at home showed us that we need each other and that one of the greatest sufferings is to be lonely.”

He noted that he quoted Mother Teresa, who said the greatest suffering is to be lonely and unwanted, several times throughout the book.

“One of the most valuable lessons of her life was the lesson of cheerfulness: that a Christian can be cheerful even in the midst of challenges and sufferings,” Giszczak told CWR. “If our hope is fixed on heaven, we can find joy and live it even in the most difficult circumstances. Her sisters and their famous smiles are a beautiful testament to this spiritual reality.”

The book does not delve extensively into cases of moral evil where a Catholic should resist suffering that arises from sin as an obligation of justice. It is not a treatise on conscientious objection and how to respond to injustice.

However, Giszczak acknowledges that some suffering is preventable for those who seek to live an upright life.

“Moral evil arises from a person’s moral choice,” he writes. “It is the result of personal sin. People who have been robbed, swindled, beaten, or abused have experienced moral evil. Of course, our own sins harm us too, and they are also moral evils.”

Ultimately, this accessible book offers a faithful and concise Catholic theology of suffering. It accomplishes that with a thoughtful way of treating the most difficult topics with sensitivity and clarity.

Giszczak also includes several helpful appendices that demonstrate the book’s solid and scholarly grounding. They include a bibliography, Scripture index, and topical index. It’s clear he did his homework and has reflected deeply about the mystery of suffering.

Throughout the book, the author also acknowledges the insights of modern psychology, such as the well-known five stages of grief that psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross coined in 1969.

He manages to include these more contemporary views without losing sight of his theological perspective—and that alone recommends this book to those looking for a thoughtful read about God’s ability to transform painful experiences into Easter joy.

“As we empty ourselves like Jesus, we start to love like he loves,” Giszczak writes. “Giving ourselves away in love actually transforms us.”

Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know
By Mark Giszczak
Augustine Institute/Ignatius Press, 2024
Paperback, 176 pages