{"id":5405,"date":"2019-08-05T22:14:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T02:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=5405"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:16:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:16:58","slug":"embracing-our-cross-redemptive-suffering-healing-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/embracing-our-cross-redemptive-suffering-healing-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Our Cross: Redemptive Suffering &#8211; Healing 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LkLCLMFaciE?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>We all have this worldly notion that suffering is a bad thing. In this talk, Joshua Mazrin discusses how there are beauty and holiness in suffering. &nbsp;He shares two steps we can take to remember that as Catholics we should try to practice looking at suffering as a way to get closer to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2019-healing-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"downloads\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"audio-mp3\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/11-Joshua-Mazrin-Redemptive-Suffering.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-study-guide-pdf\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Embracing-our-cross.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-transcript-pdf\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/11-Joshua-Mazrin-Embracing-Our-Cross-Redemptive-Suffering-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to download transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reflective-study-guide-questions\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cThen Jesus said to his disciples, \u201c\u2018Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.\u2019\u201d <\/p><cite><em>Mt. 16:24<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>All of us are inclined to try to escape from suffering. Sometimes we even go to great lengths to make our lives more comfortable and to escape unpleasantness. How have you attempted to escape from suffering in your life? Has it ever caused you to suffer more in the long run?  <\/li><li>You may have heard well-meaning religious people say that we should \u201coffer it up\u201d when we suffer. But Joshua points out that this mentality can lead to merely being passive in accepting suffering that comes to us, which is not as spiritually fruitful as actively embracing our sufferings. How can you be more active in accepting suffering in your life?  <\/li><li>Mortification is important for our spiritual lives, because it helps us to detach ourselves from the things of this world. What steps can you take to help you grow in detachment from things of this world?  <\/li><li>God often works through our suffering to purify us and to lead us toward the proper disposition for mystical union with Him. What sufferings in your life are unavoidable right now? How might God be trying to perfect you through them? <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"text-embracing-our-cross\">Text: Embracing Our Cross<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Hi, and welcome back. My name is Joshua Mazrin, and in this talk we\u2019ll be going over redemptive suffering. Let\u2019s pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"opening-prayer\">Opening Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank You and we praise You for this opportunity to draw from the well of Your love, to draw the Holy Spirit from the scriptures, and to receive deep healing, especially as we meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Mother Mary, please intercede, that, like you, we would suffer well, and that we would truly come to know the meaning of suffering. We ask this through your intercession as we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"we-are-all-trying-to-escape-suffering\">We Are All Trying to Escape Suffering<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So again, suffering. There\u2019s a lot we could say about that. Basically, I think &#8211; maybe some of this is from my personal meditation, or maybe from some reading &#8211; but it seems to me that all the religions of the world are trying to escape one thing: Suffering. It seems like our day-to-day lives, <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/living-redeemed-people-broken-world-advent-2016\/\">people that live in the secular world<\/a>, we do things to try and be comfortable. We do things to try to get away from suffering. We work hard, we buy things, we try to get a nice car, a nice house, or the newest phone, or&#8230; You know, we take care of our health, we go on these fad diets and all of these things to try to be comfortable and to get away from suffering. It seems to be kind of the MO of the world. \u201cLet\u2019s be comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And the crazy thing is that it makes you suffer more, because you become so preoccupied with trying to fill this void, with trying to fill all of these empty spaces that we have. And, you know, you hear that you have this hole in your heart, and it\u2019s a God-sized hole, but you\u2019re trying to fill it with everything else. But there is some truth, even though that may be a little cheesy, there\u2019s some truth to this. We\u2019re constantly after the newest thing, or getting rid of little obstacles or barriers or inconveniences in our lives, ultimately to get away from suffering. And all the other religions, besides Christianity, are doing the same thing. Even the Jews for a while were after \u201cHow can we have this worldly power?\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/renewing-covenant-god-lent-lent-2018\/\">God<\/a> was building up their people, and they would pray for this physical comfort. And you look through all the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/facing-goliaths-famous-old-testament-story-weve-never-heard-lent-2018\/\">Old Testament<\/a>, they\u2019re trying to get themselves in a good position materially speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"buddhism\">Buddhism<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>But look at all the other religions, and even look at&#8230; I want to focus on one &#8211; maybe it\u2019s a religion, maybe it\u2019s a philosophy &#8211; but Buddhism. So Buddhism is trying to achieve this harmony, trying to achieve this sense of peace through detachment. So the reason I want to talk about Buddhism is because there is a similarity here with Christianity when it comes to detachment, but we\u2019re going to talk about it from completely different ends of the spectrum. Buddhism is trying to detach yourself from everything in the world, everyone, every material thing, every possession. Complete detachment from all, so that nothing can make you suffer. Because attachments, they believe, are things that make you suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So, 1, you can\u2019t actually completely detach yourself from things. But also, they\u2019re getting rid of the good with the bad so that nothing can harm them, and they think this brings them to a state of tranquility. So it\u2019s actually impossible to truly detach from everything, because you\u2019ve still got physical <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/embracing-vulnerability-to-overcome-pain-lent-2021\/\">pain<\/a>. You might convince yourself that you\u2019re detached from physical pain, but you still have it. So, basically, I think that\u2019s what these religions of the world are trying to do. We\u2019re running away from suffering. But Christianity handles it differently. Instead of Jesus coming to take all of our temporal suffering away, His method for saving us is the most excruciating suffering of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"christianity-is-not-about-escaping-suffering\">Christianity is Not About Escaping Suffering<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So basically, what the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/overcoming-the-lies-of-the-devil\/\">devil<\/a> uses to try and bring us down and harm us, God takes and flips it over on him. He takes the devil\u2019s biggest weapon against us and turns it into a weapon against him. That\u2019s amazing. So we\u2019re saved through suffering. And then even in Romans 8, where it says we\u2019ll be glorified with Him, provided we suffer with Him. So Christianity isn\u2019t about escaping suffering, it\u2019s about embracing it and using it, to where you will still have it &#8211; you\u2019re not going to get away from the difficulties of the world. Maybe you can avoid some of them, but we\u2019re going to have suffering no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So it\u2019s about taking what\u2019s going to be there inevitably, and utilizing it for our own holiness, and also to save other people. So, eventually, or soon, we\u2019re going to get to talk about witnessing to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-joy-to-be-loved-healing-2020\/\">loved<\/a> ones. This is something that I want you to keep in mind: That you can take your suffering and use it, 1, to witness to other people, but also to merit for others\u2019 salvation, as well as your own. So we utilize suffering in this positive way, instead of just passively, like \u201cO, offer it up,\u201d that you hear all the time. Suffering is this beautiful thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the crazy, mysterious, miraculous, supernatural thing that happens here is, as the saints get holier and holier, as we grow in holiness, it\u2019s possible for us and will happen &#8211; and I\u2019ll go over the detachment from a Christian perspective in a second, specifically a Catholic perspective &#8211; but as we go through this growth and holiness, suffering starts to become sweet to us. And that\u2019s not in some weird masochistic kind of way, but truly spiritually. Suffering becomes this beautiful thing because it\u2019s uniting us to Christ. We start to participate in His life. And the school of holiness, as taught to us by Christ, is the school of the cross, or the cross is the school of holiness, however you want to say it. Basically, the closer we get to Him, the more united we are in His passion, and the less this suffering can kind of hold us down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">It&#8217;s crazy to think about now, and I know many of us when hearing this will be like \u201cOh my goodness, that\u2019s not me,\u201d but saints like Padre Pio would actually crave more suffering, would ask for more, because he knew the redemptive <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/standing-with-the-suffering-the-power-of-showing-up-healing-2019\/\">power and quality that came with suffering<\/a>, and his biggest thing was to be united to Jesus Christ. So that suffering was uniting him. And it\u2019s not that he wanted to experience pain, it\u2019s that he had become so united to Jesus that he wanted more and more and more for his own growth in holiness, but particularly for everyone else. And this is what Christianity does; it gives suffering a purpose, and the purpose is our salvation and the salvation of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"life-is-not-a-test\">Life is Not a Test<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is really, you know, as I said before, we\u2019re not called to just be good Catholics, we\u2019re not called to sit and say our prayers only; we\u2019re meant to have a very intimate, deep, personal relationship with God. That\u2019s what we\u2019re created for. We\u2019re not created to have a nice life, to live a test, and then to go to heaven. I don\u2019t like looking at this life as a test. This is a time that we get to do so that we can prepare ourselves for our eternal relationship with God, you know, where we end up in heaven. Like, there is a hierarchy &#8211; you will end up higher or lower. Yes, everybody will be completely filled with joy, but it\u2019s according to their capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So maybe you grow enough in holiness to where you have a little thimble, and you get to heaven and your little thimble is filled to overflow, and you\u2019re completely content because you can\u2019t fathom anything more. Maybe you\u2019ve got a teacup, because you did more on earth. Maybe you opened yourself up and you opened yourself to God more and you\u2019ve got a bathtub of capacity. Or maybe, as one of my professors said at Franciscan, he\u2019s like \u201cWhen people are coming up to receive the Eucharist, it\u2019s infinite that they can receive, but it depends on how much capacity they have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So he\u2019d make little jokes like that, and he\u2019s like \u201cYou\u2019ve got the little old lady that shows up, the one that\u2019s there an hour early to pray the Rosary, and she really lives her faith. She\u2019s the one, you know, backing up with the dump truck to receive the grace. It\u2019s the same thing with us. As we get to heaven, we\u2019re going to be filled according to our capacity to receive love, and you\u2019ll be completely full, so wouldn\u2019t it be better to have a greater capacity? And this happens through this <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/uniting-our-suffering-to-jesus-to-find-healing-healing-2019\/\">uniting our sufferings to Jesus<\/a> on the cross, so that we suffer with Him, so that we can also be glorified with Him. That\u2019s really the point to all of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"purification-and-detachment\">Purification and Detachment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>But I want to talk about that purification and detachment now. So Catholics, we have this great mystical tradition. I highly recommend reading particularly St. John of the cross and St. Teresa of Avila. But I want to start with in Matthew 16:24. It\u2019s what Garrigou-Lagrange calls the law of universal mortification. And it\u2019s a little theological, but basically it\u2019s Jesus saying <em>\u201cHe who would wish to follow Me, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me.\u201d<\/em> So right there, three things. The first part is the purification, and then we have the mystical life. So it\u2019s asceticism and mysticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So this is what holiness is. All of us are called to truly grow in holiness. And what holiness is, again, isn\u2019t just sitting and being a good praying Catholic in the pews, but it\u2019s about allowing that prayer, and especially allowing the sacraments, to transform your life into what looks like Jesus. So holiness is actually being filled to overflow with the presence of God, with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Being transformed, being rid of our sins, our vices, and the negative, the bad usage of our passions &#8211; which is basically vice or sin, depending on what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it starts off with trying to get rid of all the mortal sin, and then you\u2019re trying to get rid of all the venial sin, and then you\u2019re trying to get rid of all the vice, and then you\u2019re trying to grow in virtue, and then habitual virtue, to where that\u2019s where holiness comes in. It\u2019s not all about action, but it\u2019s about basically the disposition of your heart. So it\u2019s not the perfection of action, but your disposition. How much you love Jesus, and how much love you receive from Him on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course there are ups and downs but, ultimately, you want to be going forwards. And as you get closer, this is something a lot of people don\u2019t realize. It\u2019s not about just doing good stuff, it\u2019s about growing in a relationship that changes you. And as you get closer to God, your relationship with Him should accelerate. So you don\u2019t sit at a casual seventy-five miles an hour going to the Lord &#8211; we\u2019re down in Florida here, so we drive kind of fast &#8211; it\u2019s not going the same speed, but you constantly accelerate. And Thomas Aquinas talks about this: If you have an object of large mass falling towards the earth, it doesn\u2019t go the same speed, but it goes faster and faster and faster. So, as we get closer to God, this, you know, object of large mass, the gravitational pull causes us to accelerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So our growth in holiness should be exponential. We should be getting holier, faster now than yesterday. We should have a greater desire to be in a relationship with God today than yesterday. We should have a greater zeal for the Eucharist today than yesterday. And Garrigou-Lagrange even says this. As you go to approach communion, if possible every day, you should want it more today than yesterday. And that would be a good measure of your relationship with God. Not on an emotional level, but just how much you desire to be in communion with Him. And, again, we\u2019re human, so sometimes you can just be feeling lazy. Don\u2019t think of that as a discouragement. But we want this trend of going faster and closer and closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mortification\">Mortification<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So I want to go through that Matthew 16:24. First, you deny yourself. So that\u2019s mortification. So that\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m choosing to give up cheesecake.\u201d That\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m not going to sleep in, I\u2019m going to get up right when my alarm goes off.\u201d That\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m not going to use seasoning on my food.\u201d Those are some of the physical mortifications. That\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m choosing to pray right now instead of do this,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m choosing to not go see this movie because it\u2019s inappropriate.\u201d Things like that. So it\u2019s the active stuff that you do to detach from the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it starts with getting rid of all the bad stuff &#8211; the worst stuff, and then less worse stuff, and then things that aren\u2019t that bad &#8211; and then just willingly choose to sacrifice even good things so that we have more room in our heart for Jesus. That\u2019s really what Lent is all about specifically, but we\u2019re called to live it every day of our lives. It\u2019s not \u201cOh, I\u2019m just giving this up because it\u2019s tradition,\u201d it\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m getting rid of something, I\u2019m clearing out the garage, the crawl space, I\u2019m making some room in my heart, where I\u2019ve got this junk that\u2019s just taking up space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it doesn\u2019t even have to be bad stuff, it\u2019s just getting in the way, so that I have more room for God in my heart. So maybe think about some of these things that you have that are just kind of clogging up space, taking up your attention. Some of them are bad, some of them are neutral, and maybe it\u2019s time to clear out some of that neutral stuff that you justify by saying \u201cWell, it\u2019s not bad.\u201d But maybe there\u2019s room for more good. Maybe God has a calling for you that\u2019s bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"take-up-your-cross\">Take Up Your Cross<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So first, you\u2019re denying yourself. Then, this is what we\u2019re primarily doing with this retreat, take up your cross. So the first is the willing stuff that we choose to do. Now we\u2019re dealing with the things that are given to us. The sufferings that we encounter, the difficulties maybe in our job and our family, obstacles and things like that that are out of our control. We take that as our cross that\u2019s given to us maybe just by the world, you know, things that we encounter through everyday life. Or maybe it\u2019s actually a cross that God is giving you to carry specifically, meant tailor-made for you to overcome your personal vices. So you\u2019ve got to pick that up. So now, it\u2019s&#8230; You went from asceticism &#8211; this is called active purification &#8211; we went from doing things ourselves, to now passive purification &#8211; which is the stuff that we can\u2019t take care of ourselves. It\u2019s what God has to purify in us. And then it leads us or puts us in a disposition to be brought by God, in following Jesus, to where He then brings us into a mystical union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we\u2019re meant to be mystically united to God, where we experience Him in infused contemplation, in mystical union, in spiritual betrothal, and even spiritual marriage for those very few that are blessed to get that far. But the Catholic Church actually has this teaching, this trajectory that everybody follows when growing in holiness. There\u2019s different levels of prayer. We move from the lowest level, which is vocal prayer, and then to meditation, and then to reflective prayer &#8211; which is deeper than meditation &#8211; and then to the prayer of what they call \u201csimple gaze,\u201d where it\u2019s just \u201cI look at the Lord, and He looks at me.\u201d So those are the ones that you can do on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can go through your own purification, you know, the denying yourself to get that stuff done. But then you make a transition. From there, it takes a purification that you can\u2019t do. And this is where John of Cross, we mentioned, comes in. There\u2019s the dark night of the sense and the dark night of the soul. So the dark night of the sense is kind of this first purification, where God rids you of all of these sensual attachments to lead you into the mystical prayer. So you move past that reflective prayer and simple gaze to the prayer of infused contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it\u2019s prayer that He initiates, where you\u2019re actually tasting the presence of God through the supernatural, the gift of wisdom. It allows you to fully experience, like you know that it\u2019s Him. You feel it, it consumes you, and you\u2019re just captivated by God\u2019s presence. And that\u2019s meant for all of us. So if you follow this simple formula of denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him in your everyday life, that gives meaning to your suffering, and it allows you to legitimately actually be conformed to God\u2019s life. It invites you into the life of The Trinity, particularly in imitation of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-call-to-holiness-for-all-of-us\">A Call to Holiness for All of Us<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So this mystical life, this universal call to holiness is for all of us. So take the time, choose to do some of those mortifying practices, really look into fasting. It\u2019s beautiful, but don\u2019t do it as this \u201cOh, I\u2019m great,\u201d or \u201cI have to do this\u201d kind of thing, but find that beauty to where you can clear out the space so you can regulate your own passions, so that you can live your life for God. I know that all of you can think of these little things. Maybe it\u2019s something that you do in excess, or maybe it\u2019s just something that you feel God is calling you to give up or to offer to Him, so that you can live this life of Jesus in the desert, but then also this mystical life of His healing ministry and all this other stuff, these amazing things. And also including the intimate union that He had each day with the Father. So this is what I hope all of us call to mind and approach this, to know that our sufferings unite us to Christ, and to maybe say this and do this with a little more intentionality. So, again, thank you, and God bless you all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-joshua-mazrin\">About Joshua Mazrin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Joshua-Mazrin-Headshot.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5058\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Joshua-Mazrin-Headshot.png 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Joshua-Mazrin-Headshot-243x300.png 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-joshua-mazrin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joshua Mazrin<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;is a Catholic speaker and writer.&nbsp;He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville with a Bachelors and Masters in Theology, while also currently working on his PhD in Systematic Theology at Ave Maria University. Joshua also serves as Director of Evangelization for the Catholic Diocese of Venice in Florida. You can learn more about him&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.joshuamazrin.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-Pray-More-Healing-Retreat-bottom-box.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1544\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary We all have this worldly notion that suffering is a bad thing. In this talk, Joshua Mazrin discusses how there are beauty and holiness in suffering. &nbsp;He shares two steps we can take to remember that as Catholics we should try to practice looking at suffering as a way to get closer to God. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5373,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Embracing Our Cross: Redemptive Suffering - Healing 2019 - The Pray More Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/embracing-our-cross-redemptive-suffering-healing-2019\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embracing Our Cross: Redemptive Suffering - Healing 2019 - The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary We all have this worldly notion that suffering is a bad thing. 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