The Mystery of Suffering

by Hubert Van Zeller, Al Kresta (Foreword)

In this timeless classic first written in 1963, celebrated Benedictine monk, author, and sculptor Hubert van Zeller (1905-1984) offers an eloquent response to the question of human Those who endure suffering with hope and trust in Divine Providence will embark on an ever-deeper path to holiness that leads to eternal glory.

Van Zeller believed that those who surrender to the pain and embrace it as a way to identify with the Passion of Christ discover its deeper meaning, replacing fear with trust, resistance with peace, and defeat with the "triumph of grace."

Genres: Catholic, Theology

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2015

About the author

Dom Hubert van Zeller lived a life of spiritual adventure and holy renunciation. He was born in Egypt when that nation was a British protectorate, and entered the Benedictine novitiate at age nineteen. His soul thirsted for an austere way of life; at one point he even left the Benedictines to enter a strict Carthusian monastery. However, he soon returned to the Benedictines. A talented sculptor as well as a writer, his artworks adorn churches in Britain and the United States. He was a friend of the great Catholic writers Msgr. Ronald Knox and Evelyn Waugh, and is the author of Holiness: A Guide for Beginners, Holiness for Housewives, and Spirit of Penance, Path to God.

Reviews

[Tiffany Shank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely wonderful. It gave me good perspective and some answers. Recently I’ve been so baffled by some of the suffering I’ve encountered over my life, specifically the last year. Why me. Why them. Why. For what purpose? Well, the purpose of coming home to God. For His plan. It is much easier to bear if I see that, I accept His will and see what he’s trying to get me to see. It’s not about me. It’s about Him. It’s about his Glory. It’s about striving for holiness as often as I fall short. Some of my favorite highlighted words from the book. “ I’ll accept suffering as long as it’s the kind of suffering I find okay” I’ve called out there.
“ if it’s going to be purifying, it’s going to be puzzling.” Whew if that isn’t true. “ the problem of human suffering is not that people suffer, but what they can miss when they suffer. If we miss Christ, we suffer more than ever. And if we find Christ, we learn the meaning of his falls.” Ask to be led by grace to a more heroic attitude of mind. God will not allow our suffering to be more than we can bear. God will not scoop out a hollow inside us, the ache of which must drive us to despair. In what may seem to us an emptiness, void of virtue and companionship and the hope of attaining happiness, God himself will come and dwell.
“ if not a bird falls to the ground that God does not know all about, not a human being suffers an affliction with which God is unconcerned. It is a mistake to look upon every unpleasant thing that happens to us as a deserved and God-sent punishment; far better to look upon it as a God-sent opportunity, whether deserved or not. God has not cheated mankind; mankind has cheated itself.
Fiat.
I could go on, but I won’t because you should just pick this book up and read it for yourself.

[Claire Guion · Rating 5 out of 5]

the cross remains fixed while the world revolves
🤯

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful meditation on the value and purpose of suffering. So many times I stopped and reread paragraphs or slowed down to read deeply and slowly. A truly valuable resource for anyone who struggles with suffering.

[Oguz Alhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read on suffering in Christian theology. A lot of highlighting and underlining went into this book. The Catholic faith makes the best and most sense of human suffering and the only one offers solution to it. Not by giving tips how to handle suffering, but by helping us understand how Christ sanctified suffering itself in his suffering. Once a tool in the hand of evil one, suffering is redeemed by crucified Lord.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

The mystery isn't suffering ... the mystery is why anyone would think suffering is a holy virtue. Even more mysterious -- why was this piece of trash published? And why wasn't Huber Van Zeller escorted to a rubber room?

This guy makes NO SENSE. For example, he writes:

Why are dogs healthier when they have something to scratch? Perhaps because if nothing itched, they would sit about having nothing to do.

This guy is clueless. Dogs ARE NOT healthier if they scratch a lot. They do a HELL OF A LOT than just sit or scratch. They are far more productive, active and happier than some idiot who has to brainwash his readers into giving money to the Church.

And you want to take advice from someone who is dumber than dogshit? If you do, you need to professional medical help, immediately.

Yet again, we have an author who couldn't hold down a job, so turned to religion so he could make his living scamming others.

Fuck you, Huber Van Zeller.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very straightforward, logical and practical. Appropriately tied to scripture in a meaningful way. I particularly liked the reference to the sin and downfall of nations.

[Ed Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished Chapter 9.