Salvific Doloris - Paperback

Salvifici Doloris is widely considered to contain some of John Paul

II's best writing. In it he tackled one of humankind's most difficult

questions, is there a meaning to suffering? Written in 1984 it was

the first systematic reflection on the Church's teaching regarding

the Christian meaning of human suffering. There are three central

themes explored in Salvifici Doloris: The creative value of suffering:

in that if God has permitted this relationship between life,

suffering, death and resurrection, there must be a deeper meaning

to it than simply the fragility of humanity. Suffering seems to

belong to man's transcendence: it is one of those points in which

man is in a certain sense destined to go beyond himself, and he is

called to this in a mysterious way. The salvific value of suffering:

because the weaknesses of all human sufferings are capable of

being infused with the same power of God manifested in Christ's

Cross. And the Christian vocation in moments of suffering: It is

a vocation. Christ does not explain in the abstract the reasons for

suffering, but before all else he says: Follow me! Come! Take part

through your suffering in this work of saving the world, a salvation

achieved through my suffering