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them are: 1st, when we "offer up" a difficulty to God - instead of succumbing to it in a
negative way or trying to push the pain down and not deal with it - it is as if a wall has
come down in our heart and we are giving Him access to an area of our life that He was not
able to come fully into before. We have "opened it
up" to Him. Because He is present there now, we are
not on our own and can intentionally draw from His
strength and power to face the difficulty. His
strength begins exactly where our natural ability
ends.

2nd, now that He is present, so is His self-
sacrificing love, which we can tap into in order to
offer up the difficulty as a prayer of intercession for
others. In other words, He is present in our difficulty
- we are now yoked with him (Matthew 11:28-30) -
so that we can, not only bear it patiently, but, we can
go even further, and offer it up as an act of love for
other people.

“OFFERING IT UP” – REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING
PART I: THE MYSTERY OF MERIT BY FR. BARTUNEK

Dear Father John, I was just listening to a radio show about redemptive suffering – they
were saying that our suffering can have value if we “offer it up.” Is there any more to
this (uniting our sufferings to Jesus') than just saying the words?

Before getting to the heart of this question, we have to peek at the presupposition. It has to do
with a theological concept called merit.

Merit is the right to a reward. Someone who gains merit deserves a reward from others; they
have earned something of value through their own efforts; someone else owes them a recom-
pense as a result of what they have done. A worker merits his wages; a football player whose
performance launches his team to victory merits recognition as the most valuable player; sol-
diers who risk their lives for their country merit respect, and also social security when their
time of active duty is up.

Jesus spoke often about merit. In his Sermon on the Mount he encourages us to look
forward to the reward that will be great in heaven. In his parables about the final judgment
he draws a direct correlation between how we behave here on earth and the reward that we
will receive in eternity. Our modern sensibilities, influenced by a Kantian worldview, are dis-
turbed by the thought of doing what is right in order to receive a reward. Jesus had no such
qualms: “Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven
where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it” (Luke 12:33).

In short, as Christians, our prayers, actions, and sacrifices serve as conduits, in a sense, of
God’s grace. And it is God’s grace that redeems fallen humanity, rolls back the forces of evil,
enlightens sin-darkened hearts, restores hope to those in despair, fills us with joy, wisdom,
and strength… God’s Kingdom flourishes, in individuals, families, parishes, and societies,
when the flow of grace is abundant. To increase our merits is to do our part to increase the
flow of God’s grace in, through, and around us.

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