Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know

by Mark Giszczak

Just as Job was tried, all of us are tested by suffering. It comes to us in many different grief about the past, pain in the present, and sadness about what might have been. The personal dimension of suffering means that it marks our experience and, in some ways, makes us who we are.

Coping with suffering as Christians includes certain spiritual practices that lead us to surrender our lives more fully to the Lord. By offering our suffering as a spiritual sacrifice, joined intentionally to the suffering of Christ through prayer, we engage with the most profound Christian teaching about that it is redemptive. Suffering can transform us to be like God.

Genres: Catholic

175 pages, Paperback

Published February 26, 2024

Reviews

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all the other books in this series, I am impressed by how they tread the line between being overly detailed and not just a summary treatment. I also liked the distinctions made regarding suffering and this is really a resource to go back to individual chapters.

[Tommy Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome job

Thank you! I’m recent convert to Catholicism. I was confirmed a couple of years ago. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the concept of redemptive suffering since my introduction to it, and this book has given me a deep dive into the meaning! Very well written! Thank you again!

[Daniel Adsit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. I thought the narrator was “toiling” with his meaningful rhetoric from his personal experiences I imagine he was hunting for. Tearing up was not an experience I had; however, I was feeling jovial throughout. I think I will be kindred to praying with this writer; may he continue flowing.

[Fr. Brisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible review of the Church’s teaching on suffering

Giszczak walks the reader through a comprehensive summary of the Church’s teachings on suffering in a way that is sufficiently rigorous but not too academic. It will help anyone trying to wrap their head around a subject as confounding as human suffering.

[Alex Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struggle is inevitable so let’s do it well.