Troublesome Thorns and God's Will
Saturday, June 21st Readings Reflection: Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
In today’s Epistle, St. Paul recounts how he experienced a thorn in his flesh that caused him great suffering. We do not know what exactly this thorn was; St. Thomas Aquinas records that some held this thorn to be a physical pain while others held it to be the temptation of concupiscence, which can be very painful and arises from the flesh (Commentary on 2 Corinthians). Whichever the source of St. Paul’s pain, the apostle admits it to be difficult to bear, and he thus prayed that God might remove the suffering from him. In response to his prayer, St. Paul heard these beautiful words from God: “My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity” (2 Cor 12:9 DRB). Upon hearing these words, St. Paul began to rejoice in his sufferings and the weakness they betrayed, recognizing that “when I am weak, then I am powerful” (2 Cor 12:10).
St. Paul’s situation of praying for relief from a suffering is quite familiar to us. Perhaps we might even experience some sense of frustration at St. Paul’s willingness to embrace his suffering after praying for it to be removed. St. Paul’s holiness in this is admirable but can sometimes feel impossible to imitate.
As always, St. Thomas Aquinas provides the key to understanding this Scripture passage and to applying it in our own lives. The Angelic Doctor explains that some things—such as medicine—are unpleasant and even harmful in and of themselves. If a healthy person takes medicine, he can make himself sick, because the medicine is a poison to his healthy body. However, as Aquinas illustrates, certain circumstances make this unpleasant thing desirable “in relation to something else able to be sought” (Commentary). When a person is sick, this same medicine can heal his body.
Aquinas explains that in St. Paul’s initial understanding, the thorn in his side was bad for him, being a hinderance to his work in the Church. However, God showed St. Paul that this suffering was a means by which the apostle would grow in virtue, and at this realization, St. Paul embraced the very suffering he previously thought a hindrance.
In our own lives, we often pray for God to remove something that we consider to be bad for us. This prayer is not itself wrong, as long as we remain open to God’s Will, even if that means the suffering remains. In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, “[A] thorn in the flesh according to itself is to be avoided as troublesome, but inasmuch as it is a means to virtue and an exercise of virtue, it should be desired” (Commentary). When we pray for these troublesome thorns to be removed, we must at the same time pray for the grace and strength to make use of the suffering in accordance with God’s Will, so that we might not waste any opportunity to grow in virtue and make reparation for sins.
Today is the Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a Jesuit novice who died after contracting the bubonic plague from the sick to whom he was ministering. While St. Aloysius lived only twenty-three years on earth, he spent his short life always striving to do God’s Will. When his father initially prevented him from joining the Jesuit Order, St. Aloysius persisted, confident in God’s Will. He embraced suffering, living a life of asceticism and joyfully accepting his illness of the plague, which ultimately claimed his life after much suffering. He knew that the sufferings of this life were but an instant in light of eternity, and he welcomed all opportunities to do God’s Will.
On this his feast day, may St. Aloysius Gonzaga pray for us in our sufferings, that we may not inordinately seek their alleviation but rather make use of them to grow in virtue as we joyfully embrace God’s holy Will in all things.
