Suffering = Knowledge? Clarification

[Richard Ferguson]

When I was talking about the idea of suffering as virtue in itself, I was talking about the
extreme cases, where people think that by whipping themselves until they bleed that they are
getting closer to God.  Or wearing hair shirts that inflict pain on the wearer.  That is the
extreme case that I am saying the professor claimed was invented in Spain about 1200.  I am
not referring to ordinary suffering that occurs as the result of ordinary life or something else,
like walking to Santiago.  Everyone experiences some kind of suffering, but choosing to inflict
suffering on yourself is something else.  I am really only talking about the more extreme
cases, such as is seen in Taxco Mexico, and I understand some places in Spain, during Holy
Week.

I remember offering up suffering as a child also.  Obviously pilgrimages have been going on for
thousands of years.

I really just wanted to clarify what I meant about what was believed to be invented in Spain
around 1200.

Richard

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Date:    Fri, 12 Dec 2003 18:08:33 -0800
From:    Lydia Banales <lydiaaBANALES.NET>
Subject: Re: Suffering = Knowledge?

Being a good little Catholic girl, I was raised with the concept of
"offering it up". The objective was to offer up my pain, suffering,
difficulties, for the benefit of the souls in Purgatory (those who had
died but still had to "make up" for their sins by suffering in Purgatory
for a time before they were allowed to enter Heaven.). I think this
concept must go back a lot further than 1200 because people have been
walking pilgrimages for a lot longer than that. Many of the Saints were
honored because they "suffered in silence" or offered their sufferings
for the benefit of others. Lydia