Suffering and the Gift of Accompaniment

John Baptist

11^th March 2022

Suffering is as old as human beings. People suffer from sickness, natural calamities, exploitation, abuse, broken relationships, old age and death to name a few. Some suffering might be caused by ourselves but not all. Many times people are innocent, yet they suffer. Human beings struggle to understand the mystery of suffering. A few days ago, I was discussing the theme of suffering with one of my friends in Pennsylvania, USA. My friend said something very striking. She said, “The existence of suffering in a world created by a loving God still is beyond our human comprehension. It can only be accepted in surrender and faith". Understanding suffering can become harder when we situate it in the context of God. The question, “If God is so loving, then why did God create suffering or allow it to spread?” might haunt us. There are mysteries of life that we may never be able to solve; suffering is one such mystery. It is desirable to increase our understanding of life, but we need to abandon our futile efforts to solve every problem of life, particularly that of suffering. For we cannot wipe out suffering totally. So, what should we do in the face of suffering?

The concept that comes to my mind is accompaniment. Accompaniment is journeying with the sufferer, understanding their pain as they experience it and being willing to offer help that might reduce their burden and give hope and courage to them. Accompaniment may or may not require words. For instance, a mother who just lost her child may not feel helped by words of consolation but being with her compassionately can bring healing. We cannot solve all the problems of people but we can accompany them in their suffering. We also need to have the courage to acknowledge our own suffering and to humble ourselves to allow others to accompany us in our pain. As counsellors, family members, or friends we can be open to the gift of accompaniment in the face of suffering.