Page 24 - Nurturing the Nurturer 2018 Flip Page Program

“OFFERING IT UP” – REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING
PART II: PATH TO GREATER MERIT

In part I, we talked about the mystery of merit and its problem and solution. Today, we will
discuss how the growth in spiritual maturity depends on the interior discipline in living out
each for four factors.

A reader asks: 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?

Having marveled at the amazing truth that
Jesus not only redeemed us, but through
his grace has desired to give us a real,
consequential role in the building up of his
everlasting Kingdom through merit, now
we are ready to tackle your question. If we
are in the state of grace, our prayers,
virtuous actions, and even our sufferings
can become a source of merit. When we
unite them to Christ (“offering them up” as
you put it in the question), they become
pipelines of grace extending from the heart
of Christ into our hearts and through us
into the Church and the world around us.
That said, we also must remember that the
diameter of the pipeline is not fixed. It
depends upon four factors. Growth in
spiritual maturity depends to a great extent
on the interior discipline required in living
out these four factors.

First, there is the amount of sanctifying
grace present in my soul. The more I am
filled with grace, the more merit my
prayers, virtuous actions, and sufferings
will have when I offer them to God. The
more grace I am infused with, the higher the wattage on the lamp of my soul. This is
because grace is what makes us more like God, more united to him. A kind word from a
stranger can be pleasant, but a kind word from someone dear to me is much more
meaningful. The Christian who prays regularly,
receives the sacraments regularly, and makes an effort
to practice all the Christian virtues, rooting out sinful
tendencies and avoiding sin, is more united to God.
They are in a better position to merit. As the Bible
puts it, “The Lord keeps his distance from the
wicked, but he listens to the prayers of the
upright” (Proverbs 15:29). And lest you think this is
just an Old Testament anachronism, here’s St. James
making the same point in the New Testament: “…The

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