How to Suffer Well

02/26/25 • 37 min

Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)

When you’re facing suffering, it’s very natural to ask why. However, if we suspend that question and instead ask ‘God, how can I love the most at this moment?’, you’ll get more answers than if you were to actually get the answer to your question. Today, Mike Gormley and Dave VanVickle give tips on how to suffer well and weather the storms of difficulties.

Snippet from the Show

Tips from Mike and Dave on How to Suffer Well:

Remind yourself that everyone is fighting their own battle. Remembering that everyone is suffering in their own way can take your focus off yourself and shift your focus to others.
Have a reason for your suffering. Offering up suffering keeps your focus strong and your faith big.
Be bluntly honest with God. Bring your anger to the Lord and allow Him to change your heart.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Colossians 1:24)

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10)

Quote from C.S. Lewis
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.

Quote from Fr. Jacques Philippe
What really hurts is not so much suffering itself as the fear of suffering. If welcomed trustingly and peacefully, suffering makes us grow. It matures and trains us, purifies us, teaches us to love unselfishly, makes us poor in heart, humble, gentle, and compassionate toward our neighbor. Fear of suffering, on the other hand, hardens us in self-protective, defensive attitudes, and often leads us to make irrational choices with disastrous consequences.

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Snippet from the Show

Tips from Mike and Dave on How to Suffer Well:

Remind yourself that everyone is fighting their own battle. Remembering that everyone is suffering in their own way can take your focus off yourself and shift your focus to others.
Have a reason for your suffering. Offering up suffering keeps your focus strong and your faith big.
Be bluntly honest with God. Bring your anger to the Lord and allow Him to change your heart.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Colossians 1:24)

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10)

Quote from C.S. Lewis
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your questions/comments
Don't forget to text “EKSB” to 33-777 to get the shownotes right to your inbox!
You can also find the full shownotes at www.ascensionpress.com/EveryKneeShallBow

Support Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)

Previous Episode

The Problem with Pain

How can there be pain and a loving God? Gomer and Dave explain how the Cross is the answer to the problem of pain and how we need to find our place in the crucified Christ. They also unpack the things that separate us from God in the midst of suffering.

Snippet from the Show

When you look at the Cross, you see the love of God, for you poured out.

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your questions/comments
Don't forget to text “EKSB” to 33-777 to get the shownotes right to your inbox!
You can also find the full shownotes at www.ascensionpress.com/EveryKneeShallBow

Support Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)

Next Episode

The Purpose of Lent

What is your plan for Lent? Is there anything you’ve been avoiding that the Lord is tugging at your heart to revisit? Michael Gormley and Dave VanVickle explain where our focus should be and how Lent is a time to become more disciplined, virtuous and free.

Snippet from the Show

“The purpose of Lent is a time of quickening, a time of intensity, it’s a time of renewed focus. It is a time where we don’t give up our sin... it’s a time where we renounce good things.”

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your questions/comments
Don't forget to text “EKSB” to 33-777 to get the shownotes right to your inbox!
You can also find the full shownotes at www.ascensionpress.com/EveryKneeShallBow

Support Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)