One of my grandkids loves Sour Patch Kids candy. If you’ve ever had one, you know the experience: that first bite has a sour punch and then the sweet part kicks in.
Our readings today are like that. They hit us first with the sharp challenge: Be ready. Stay awake. But then comes the sweet part — the promise of God’s kingdom for those who live in faith.
Hebrews starts by saying, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”
And Jesus says, “Be ready... gird your loins... the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect... and to whom much is given, much will be required.”
These readings talking about having faith and being ready remind us we all live in a tension – The tension between faith in God and trusting God.
And with that tension we’re confronted with one of the biggest obstacles to having faith – and that’s suffering.
Because the reality of our belief in God is this: faith’s not about having control over your life — it’s about trusting.
Today’s Second Reading gives a highlight reel of Abraham trusting. God told Abraham to leave everything familiar, and Abraham did it.
God promised him descendants as numerous as the stars — Abraham believed. God asked him to offer up his own son—and Abraham obeyed.
Now, we hear this and think: Well, that’s Abraham. He's a spiritual superhero. But the truth is — Abraham was just like us. He had no map. No deadline. No GPS.
No guarantee things would turn out the way he hoped. In fact, the reading says he died without seeing the promise fulfilled.
Abraham’s faith didn’t come from having answers.
It came from trusting the One who made the promise.
That’s where suffering comes in. Because nothing strips us of the illusion of control and out trust in God like suffering.
A medical diagnosis.
A loved one gone too soon.
Or like me, a child leaving the faith.
And all those unanswered prayers.
We say we trust God — but suffering tests whether we really mean it.
But having faith doesn’t mean you get what you want — it means you keep walking with God whether you do or don’t.
In our First Reading the Book of Wisdom talks about the Israelites on the night of the Passover: “In secret, the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice.”
They weren’t charging out with weapons to fight the Egyptians — they were waiting, trusting God would act — even when everything around them said otherwise.
And that’s what makes suffering so sacred: it invites us to trust without seeing. To offer our prayers, our work, our sorrows and suffering — as a sacrifice.
As St. Paul said, Abraham gave up his homeland. The Israelites in the First Reading gave up control.
And Jesus calls us today to give up the need for certainty, success, or even comfort.
Because, faith’s not about controlling the outcome — it’s about trusting while waiting.
So, when suffering and sorrows and disappointments come, we need to learn not to waste it.
Because our suffering can make us bitter… or holy.
When you feel your prayers are not being heard, or your cross feels too heavy…
That’s not a sign of failure. It’s a sign God’s inviting you deeper in faith.
I recently saw a video of a father who’d raised his children in the faith — Catholic home, traditions, prayer, the whole thing.
But several of his 11 children, as adults, turned away from the Church. He described the devastation, the grief, the sense of spiritual failure.
He explained he and his wife thought they’d found the perfect recipe: do everything right, and it'll all be perfect.
And to be honest, I think many of us have felt that way: If I pray more, attend Mass more, say enough rosaries, read enough Scripture, God’ll give me what I want.
Put my prayers and good intentions in, turn the knob, and God’ll spit out every desire.
But as the father realized, while those are great things to do to grow closer to God, that’s not necessarily faith — that’s spiritual vending machine logic.
And so one day, in confession, the priest told the dad something that completely changed his thinking. The priest said:
“Actually… what you are going through isn’t just about your kids, it’s about your sanctification.”
In other words, in his family’s situation God was not only working on the kids, but also working on the dad through his suffering.
And that truth is echoed in all today’s readings: God purifies and sanctifies us not just through answered prayers — but through long nights of waiting and trusting.
We’re called to offer sacrifice.
And what’s the sacrifice we’re offering? Not just bread and wine — but our hurts, hopes, hidden wounds, disappointments and heartaches.
Our incredibly messy lives.
All of it can be laid on the altar.
St. Paul says, “I rejoice in my sufferings, for in them I complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.”
That doesn’t mean Christ’s work was incomplete. It means Jesus allows us to participate in His redemptive work through our suffering.
You and I can become co-redeemers—not because God needs us, but because He invites us.
Your suffering is not useless or shameful. If offered in love to God, it becomes holy.
When you surrender your problems and crosses and say, “Lord, I’m gonna let you handle it”, it takes all the pressure off you.
You stop thinking if I pray more, work harder, or figure ways I can fix it, and instead let him do it according to his will and timing, you make an act of faith and sacrifice bringing you closer to heaven.
Jesus ends today’s Gospel with a heavy truth: “To whom much is given, much will be required.” That’s not a threat—it’s a call to maturity.
If you’ve been given blessings and grace, or if you’ve been given disappointments, sorrows, and suffering, don’t keep it to yourself.
Because suffering is not just pain — it’s potential.
Suffering’s not a detour in the journey to holiness, it’s the road.
Let me say that again – suffering is not a detour in the journey to heaven, it’s the path we all have to take. Everyone.
It’s how we are conformed to Christ, our model for living our lives.
It’s how we become saints.
As Father Jones told me, the path to salvation doesn’t go around the Cross, it goes through it.
So if you’re waiting on something right now…
If you’re hurting and wondering where God is…
If you’re carrying a cross no one sees…
You’re not being punished. You’re being refined.
You’re not being forgotten. You’re being formed.
God’s not done. The same God who fulfilled His promise to Abraham… who rescued Israel in the night… who rose from the tomb… will complete the work He began in you.
You may not see the end of the story right now. But you can trust the Author.
There’s a short prayer I try to say often. It comes from the Surrender Novena:
“Jesus, I surrender my life to you. Take care of everything.”
That’s not a prayer of defeat, but a prayer of suffering, trusting, persevering faith – faith that doesn’t need to see to believe.
So don’t be afraid to suffer.
Surrender it to the Lord. Offer it up and let it make you holy.Because in the end, it’s not about how much we’ve accomplished — it’s about how much we’ve trusted.