Abstract
Pain comes to us all in varying degrees and in different ways throughout life. Pain is an inescapable aspect of being human. Pain shapes us and at times seems to define our lives by its intensity. Western culture seeks to alleviate or avoid pain at all cost but the reality is that pain is proof of our humanity and of being alive. God is no stranger to pain nor is he ignorant or uncaring of the pain we suffer. When we suffer pain we get the choice to respond to it as Christ did, allowing ourselves to be humbled, willingly relinquishing the right we have to a pain-free existence. If we follow the path Christ trod before us we have the hope of something new emerging from the pain and loss, something perhaps unexpected; an even greater reality than that which we willingly relinquished. The path through pain leads to new life and strength.
