PARTIAL INDULGENCE: OFFER YOUR SUFFERINGS TO GOD WITH A SHORT PRAYER.
Suffering is part of our life. But God wishes us to seek Him and convert our suffering, not only as a motive of prayer, but also into prayer itself. Besides, by offering our sufferings to God with a pious invocation, for example, “Lord, not my will, but Thine be done,” “Jesus, I trust in You,” “Lord God, help me,” “Lord God, I offer this to you,” etc., a partial indulgence is granted. As the Manual of Indulgences states:
“A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, raise their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation.“ –Manual of Indulgences, Grants, First Concession.
Below you have some quotes taken from the Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska which I hope would help you have peace in the midst of suffering.
JESUS WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH PEACE IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING AND ADVERSITY (ST. FAUSTINA)
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(189) On one occasion, the Lord said to me, Why
are you fearful and why do you tremble when you are united to Me? I am
displeased when a soul yields to vain terrors. Who will dare to touch you when
you are with Me? Most dear to Me is the soul that strongly believes in My
goodness and has complete trust in Me. I heap My confidence upon it and give it
all it asks. (Diary of St. Faustina
Kowalska, n. 453)
When some suffering afflicts me, it no longer causes me any bitterness, nor do great consolations carry me away. I am filled with the peace and equanimity that flow from the knowledge of the truth. How can living surrounded by unfriendly hearts do me any harm when I enjoy full happiness within my soul? Or, how can having kind hearts around me help me when I do not have God within me? When God dwells within me, who can harm me? (Ibid., n. 455)
Jesus wants the soul that is in close communion with Him to be filled with peace, despite sufferings and adversities. Now I understand well that what unites our soul most closely to God is self-denial; that is, joining our will to the will of God. This is what makes the soul truly free, contributes to profound recollection of the spirit, and makes all life‟s burdens light, and death sweet (Ibid., nn. 461-462)
September 29. The Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel. I have become interiorly united with God. His presence penetrates me to my very depths and fills me with peace, joy and amazement. After such moments of prayer, I am filled with strength and an extraordinary courage to suffer and struggle. Nothing terrifies me, even if the whole world should turn against me. All adversities touch only the surface, but they have no entry (199) to the depths, because God, who strengthens me, who fills me, dwells there. All the snares of the enemy are crushed at His footstool. During these moments of union, God sustains me with His might. His might passes on to me and makes me capable of loving Him. A soul never reaches this state by its own efforts. At the beginning of this interior grace, I was filled with fright, and I started to give in to it; but very quickly, the Lord let me know how much this displeases Him. But it is also He, Himself, who set my fears at rest. (Ibid., n. 480)
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