Consoling the Suffering Christ
By James R., Student
During my spring break this past March, I had the opportunity to visit Con-solatio in New York City with 9 other student missionaries from my university. When we arrived at their house in Brooklyn, the Con-solatio missionaries there welcomed our group with incredible joy and hospitality. After sharing lunch with them, two of the missionaries brought a group of us to a nearby nursing home to visit their friends.
About midway through our visit, I had a moving encounter with one of the residents that changed my understanding of Con-solatio’s ministry of presence. As one of the missionaries and I sat next to a resident, she shared with great sadness the loss that she’d experienced within her family. We gave her some words of comfort, but there followed a long period of silence in which all we could do was remain there, physically close to her, and bear her sadness with her for a time. When we went to leave, she gave us a little smile, and joined us in prayer.
Reflecting back on this experience, I came to recognize that we were not able to remove the difficulties she was experiencing; rather, all we could give in that moment was the consolation of our presence. My experience with Con-solatio taught me that in simply being present with others in their suffering and solitude, you both console the suffering Christ in them and offer them the comfort of God’s loving presence