Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering: How Our Heroes in Faith Found Peace Amid Sorrow by Ronda Chervin, published by Sophia Institute Press. Find it online at Avoiding Bitterness in Suffering - Sophia Institute PressWhen Ronda Chervin's son, Charles, ended his own life, he did so believing that it is pointless to endure inevitable suffering.In the wake of Charles's death, Dr. Chervin set out to discover some of the most basic but all too often misunderstood answers to why God allows us to suffer, and how we can bear it with perseverance and hope.She shares her discoveries in these pages...
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4 min
Chapter 13: Joy in the Midst of Suffering
Chapter 13 urges finding joy amid suffering by uniting our pain with Christ’s. The saints embraced trials as paths to deep intimacy with Him, offering their sufferings for others.…
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33 min
Chapter 12: Meeting Christ in Temptation
This chapter teaches meeting Christ in temptation by imitating his courage in the wilderness. Saints like Catherine of Siena endured fierce, humiliating demonic assaults yet resist…
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30 min
Chapter 11: Meeting Christ in Physical Pain and Fatigue
This chapter teaches meeting Christ in physical pain and fatigue by uniting suffering with his Passion. Saints like Lidwina of Schiedam embraced agony for others’ salvation. Pain c…
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28 min
Chapter 10: Meeting Christ in Confrontation with Error
This chapter explores meeting Christ while confronting error. Using St. Thomas More’s example, it urges defending truth firmly but charitably, hating falsehood yet loving those who…
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42 min
Chapter 9: Meeting Christ in Persecution
This chapter shows meeting Christ in persecution—from ridicule to martyrdom. Saints like John of the Cross, Joan of Arc, Maximilian Kolbe, and Maria Goretti responded with love, fo…
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24 min
Chapter 8: Meeting Christ in Marital Discord
This chapter explores meeting Christ amid marital discord—from abuse and betrayal to emotional abandonment. It highlights saints like Cornelia Connolly, Rita of Cascia, and Marguer…
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42 min
Chapter 7: Meeting Christ in Loneliness and Loss
This chapter explores meeting Christ in loneliness and loss—from isolation, grief over death, or spiritual separateness. It shares saints’ struggles, like Marie of the Incarnation’…
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42 min
Chapter 6: Meeting Christ in Interior Trials
This chapter explores meeting Christ in interior trials like spiritual dryness, boredom, yearning for God, remorse, and despair. St. Catherine of Genoa endured intense mystical suf…
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32 min
Chapter 5: Meeting Christ in Frustration
This chapter explores meeting Christ in frustration, focusing on St. Alphonsus Liguori’s struggles with anger, opposition, and delays. Despite humiliations and betrayals, he persis…
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32 min
Chapter 4: Meeting Christ in the Suffering of Fear
This chapter examines meeting Christ in the suffering of fear, highlighting Blessed Francis Libermann’s lifelong battle with anxiety, humiliation, and illness. It offers spiritual…
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35 min
Chapter 3: Meeting Christ in Failure and Poverty
This chapter explores meeting Christ in the suffering of failure and poverty, highlighting saints like Benedict Joseph Labre who embraced rejection and destitution as paths to holi…
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25 min
Chapter 2: Meeting Christ in the Suffering of Being Exploited
This chapter shows how to meet Christ in the suffering of exploitation, using the example of Praxedes Fernández, who served her family with love despite being treated as a servant.…
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44 min
Chapter 1: Meeting Christ in the Suffering of Doubt
This chapter explores meeting Christ in the suffering of doubt through the lives of saints. St. Thérèse of Lisieux endured agonizing faith-doubt while remaining faithful; St. Ignat…
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8 min
Introduction
After losing her son to suicide, the author wrestled with deep grief and doubt about Christian views on suffering. Turning to Scripture, saints’ writings, and literature, she disco…