The Benefice of Barlings, Diocese of Lincoln : Parishes of Sudbrooke, Stainton by Langworth, and Barlings with Langworth

Suffering / Injustice Suffered

The Dark Night of the Soul

 

 

 

If I am to complain,let me complain to Jesus fastened on his cross.
But in your presence,my Saviour,what have I to complain of ?
What are my sufferings compared with those you bear without complaining ?
I might perhaps convince my fellow man that I am unjustly afflicted,
but in your presence,Lord,I cannot,for my sins are known to you.
To you,I come.
Give me strength and hearten me to suffer in silence;
As once you did yourself.                                       Claude de la Colombière

 

 

Lord,
Make possible for me by grace what is impossible to me by nature.
You know that I am not able to endure very much,
And that I am downcast by the slightest difficulty.
Grant that,for your sake, I may come to love and desire any hardship
that puts me to the test,
For salvation is brought to my soul when I undergo
suffering and trouble for you.                                         Thomas à Kempis

 

 

O my dear Lord,though I am so very weak that I have not
strength to ask thee for suffering as a gift,
At least I will beg of thee grace to meet suffering well,
When thou in thy love and wisdom dost bring it upon me.
Let me bear pain,reproach,disappointment,slander,anxiety,suspense,
as thou wouldest have me, O my Jesu,
And as thou by thy own suffering has taught me,when it comes.                                                                                                       Cardinal J.H.Newman

 

 

May Jesus Christ,the King of glory,
Help us to make the right use of all the suffering that comes to us,
And to offer to him the incense of a patient and trustful heart;
For his name’s sake.                                                  Johannes Tauler

 

 

 

As the rain hides the stars,
As the autumn mist hides the hills,
As the clouds veil the blue of the sky,
So the dark happenings of my lot
hide the shining of thy face from me.
Yet,if I may hold thy hand in the darkness,
it is enough.
Since I know that,though I may stumble in my going,
thou dost not fall.                                                  Gaelic Prayer

 

 

Tonight,as on other nights,
I am walking alone,through the valley of fear.
O God I pray,that you will hear me
for you alone know what is in my heart.
Lift me out of this valley of despair
And set my soul free.                                           Gitangali

 

 

 

Lord,teach me the art of patience while I am well,
And enable me to use it when I am sick.
In that day either lighten my burden or strengthen my back.
Make me,who so often in my health have discovered my weakness
in presuming on my own strength,
To be strong in my sickness when I solely rely on your assistance.                                                                                             Thomas Fuller

 

 

Lord,
Bless all means that are used for my recovery,
And restore me to my health in your good time;
But if you have appointed that it should be otherwise,
your blessed will be done.
Draw me away from an affection for things below,
And fill me with an ardent desire for heaven.
Lord,fit me for yourself,
And then call me to those joys unspeakable and full of glory,
When it pleases you,
And that for the sake of your only Son,Jesus,my Saviour.                                                                       Thomas Ken