Just Do Something

I'm a convert (2003) and I never understood the concept of "offering it up" until I read your blog post on the topic ( which I found a year or so ago--I read through your archive, too). Cradle Catholics were frustrated with me for not "just doing it".  Only after I read your blog did I realize that the "it" isn't the suffering, but the right to gripe about it.  Since you were so good at helping me understand the concept, I'm hoping you'll be able to willing to help me understand how to offer back to God the suffering of Jesus and the body/blood/soul/divinity of the Divine Chaplet.  They aren't mine to offer and why does God want the suffering back?  What's He supposed to to with it?  I've googled the question and it only comes up with with ever more incessant reasons to "offer it up", not what to actually do.

I'm afraid you've misunderstood me to some extent. We offer the suffering as well!

"Just Do It" shouldn't just be the Nike slogan.

Wait.  Is it the Nike slogan?  It's somebody's slogan, isn't it?

Anyhow, your cradle Catholic friends are giving you excellent advice.  We don't have to understand everything, every second.  Of course, the deeper our understanding the better, but sometimes our actions can lead us to understanding.

Poor dumb little Bernadette didn't know what in the world the lady was talking about when she answered, when asked her name, "I am the Immaculate Conception."  She may just as well have said, "I am Santa Claus, Ho! Ho! Ho!"  It would have made as much sense to Bernadette.  It didn't impact her devotion even a little bit.

So, let's try this again. We do offer up our suffering and our prayers.  Prayers are easy to understand. They are an offering.  We pray for the souls of the departed, offer our prayers for them.  You've got that, right?  We'll get back to the Divine Chaplet in a moment.

Meanwhile: suffering.  I think of it the way mothers think about their children.  If you could trade your suffering for theirs, you would.

So, you stub your toe, and you say to God, "God, I'd like to trade this suffering for my poor Aunt Minnie there in Purgatory. I'll suffer for her for a moment. It's the least I can do."  Although, I don't think you should pick and choose. For all you know, Aunt Minnie has made it onto Heaven. Or she never made it to Purgatory.  Uh-oh.  I recommend just praying for the souls in Purgatory.

My point with offering your suffering gladly was simply to point out that a gift given grudgingly is not a very good gift.  If you're complaining, you're keeping the suffering for yourself, aren't you?  I think so.

I hope the Divine Chaplet won't flummox you too much.  Start with this thought paramount in your brain: here in the Catholic Church, we are One with Christ.  He is the Bridegroom, She is the Bride. We are united.

So, God demanded the ultimate sacrifice from Jesus and Jesus offered that sacrifice.  And since we're one with Jesus, we get to offer that sacrifice right along with Him. The Eucharist makes the same offering.

I don't know what God wants to do with it.  It seemed very important to Him, though, as He went through a lot of trouble to make it happen.  Here's something else Cradle Catholics understand. God didn't make us capable of understanding everything about Him. Some things remain what we call a "Sacred Mystery".

Cradle Catholics understand that "Sacred Mystery" is "Catholic" for "Just Let It Go."