Suffering is a part of human life. Living faith enables us to see it differently by joining it to the sufferings of Christ

Jesus does not take away human suffering; rather he transforms it and gives it new meaning. In his book Compassion, Henri Nouwen, no stranger to sorrow and pain,  expresses this idea with these words:  "The mystery of God's love is not that our pain is taken away, but that God first wants to share that pain with us.  Out of this divine solidarity comes new life.  Jesus' being moved in the center of his being by human pain is indeed a movement toward new life.  God is our God, the God of the living.  In the divine womb of God, life is always born again.  The great mystery is not the cures, but the infinite compassion which is their source"

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - A young newly ordained priest was assigned by his superior as the chaplain of a large Catholic high school.  The priest, enthusiastic and engaging, was very endeared by the students.  He was so well liked, that the parents of the students would call him, instead of the local parish priest, for all of their pastoral needs, including sick calls to the local hospitals and funerals. 

One of Father's closest friends at the high school was a doctor who taught mathematics in the morning and worked at his medical practice after school hours.  The doctor, so immersed in human suffering, noticed that the young priest was becoming overwhelmed by the numerous sick calls and funerals that were becoming part of his ministry.