13 Reasons the Saints Give for Trials and Tribulations

1. PENANCE AND REPARATION - “Trials and tribulations offer us a chance to make reparation for our past faults and sins. On such occasions the Lord comes to us like a physician to heal the wounds left by our sins. Tribulation is the divine medicine” (St. Augustine of Hippo).

2. GREATER INTIMACY WITH JESUS - “Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus — a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you” (St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

3. DETACHMENT - “And the Lord said to me, ‘My child, you please Me most by suffering. In your physical as well as your mental sufferings, My daughter, do not seek sympathy from creatures. I want the fragrance of your suffering to be pure and unadulterated. I want you to detach yourself, not only from creatures, but also from yourself…The more you will come to love suffering, My daughter, the purer your love for Me will be” (St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul).

4. GREATNESS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD - “Nothing great is ever achieved without enduring much” (St. Catherine of Siena).

5. TO GLORIFY GOD  - “In my deepest wound I saw your glory and it dazzled me”  (St. Augustine of Hippo).

6. HOLINESS - “If God sends you many sufferings it is a sign that He has great plans for you, and certainly wants to make you a saint” (St. Ignatius of Loyola).

7. TO GAIN MERIT FOR ETERNAL LIFE 

• “Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God’s sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God” (Thomas à Kempis).
• "Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the one who tries your patience, who tests your virtue, because with her you can always merit: suffering is Love; the Law is Love" (Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified “The Little Arab”).

8. TO MAKE US MORE LIKE JESUS - "In order to purify a soul, Jesus uses whatever instruments he likes. My soul underwent a complete abandonment on the part of creatures; often my best intentions were misinterpreted by the sisters, a type of suffering which is most painful; but God allows it, and we must accept it because in this way we become more like Jesus" (St. Faustina).

9. TO ACHIEVE GOD’S SECRET DESIGNS - "As iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have" (St. Madeline Sophie Barat).

10. TO RECEIVE GREAT CONSOLATION FROM GOD - "You will be consoled according to the greatness of your sorrow and affliction; the greater the suffering, the greater will be the reward" (St. Mary Magdalen de’Pazzi).

11. TO ATTAIN ETERNAL LIFE - “One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end of the road without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And there numbers were so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska).

12. INCREASE IN DIVINE GRACE 

• Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven" (Saint Rose of Lima).
• “If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men” (fSaint Rose of Lima).

13. FOR A DEEP PARTICIPATION IN THE DIVINE NATURE, THE GLORY OF THE SONS OF GOD AND THE PERFECT HAPPINESS OF THE SOUL - "When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: 'Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from his own lips: We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions. We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul'” (Saint Rose of Lima).