The Problem of Suffering

Greetings to you, Glory here, It seems to me there is an awful lot of suffering in this world. Jesus suffered all His life, from His birth in piercing cold in a stable to a horrific death on a cross.  What about His Mother? How did she survive watching her son in such agony? I believe that if God had not miraculously sustained His Mother, she could not possibly have survived her martyrdom.
She was His Mother, a Mother more loving than all mothers combined could love.  In her heart were united natural love by which she loved Jesus as her Son, and  supernatural love, by which she loved Him as her God.
At the foot of the cross, Mary was made the Queen of Martyrs, and at the same time she became our Mother, the Comforter of the Afflicted, the Help of Christians and the Refuge of Sinners. 
If you are suffering in any way you have a powerful advocate in heaven your heavenly Mother, Jesus will refuse His Mother nothing, Go and ask her and especially remember her sorrows, She had to withstand them for her Son to redeem us.  I can only tell you that I have a great devotion to Our Mother of Sorrows, she has helped me so much, and got me out of so much trouble, not the least of when I got myself into debt with my spend first, worry about paying later!
Here is a little extract from the Stabat Mater prayer:

"At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last".
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had passed.
Oh! how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother highly blest,
of the sole begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs;
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son
Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

GEMS FROM THE SAINTS

" Oh what inspiration there is in the Crucifix!  who could find it hard to persevere at the sight of a God who never commands us to do anything
which he has not first practised himself?
[St John Vianney Cure of Ars]

" I was all alone without a single friend to give me a word of encouragement.  I could neither pray nor read, but there I remained for hours uneasy in mind and afflicted in spirit on account of the weight of my troubles, and for the fear that perhaps I was being tricked by the devil and wondering what I could do for my relief, not a gleam of hope seem to shine upon me from heaven or earth, except just this:  In the midst of all my fears and dangers, I never forgot how our Lord must be seeing the weight of what I endured.  Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, what a true friend you are, and how powerful, for when you wish to be with us, you can be and you always do wish it, if only we receive you"
[words of St Teresa of Avila taken from Fr. Benedict Groeschel's book 'Arise from Darkness]

" The key to love of God is prayer.  By turning your eyes on God in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with God.  Begin all your prayers in the presence of God.
For busy people of the world, he advised "Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others and talk to God".

The test of prayer was a persons's actions:  " To be an angel in prayer and a beast in one's relations with people is to go lame on both legs".
He believed the worst sin was to judge someone or to gossip about them.
"Even if we say we do it out of love we are still doing it to look better ourselves. But we should be as gentle and forgiving with ourselves as we should be with others".
[St Francis de Sales]

The Rosary

The Rosary is my favourite prayer.
What is the rosary if not a series of prayerful reflections on the kernel of Scripture which most concerns us, namely the Good News of our Salvation?
Take the joyful mysteries for example, every one of them are in Luke's gospel.
If you want to grow in holiness, say the rosary every day. Jesus himself gave us the 'Our Father' and the 'hail Mary' the first half of it was given to us by the angel Gabriel [Luke 1:26-28].

The Holy Spirit will speak to your heart while you are praying the Rosary and then you will say just like the disciples on the way to Emmaus "Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us on the road and explained the scripture to us? [Luke 24:32]

St Teresa of Avila

St Teresa of Avila [1515 - 1582] foundress of the Discalced Carmelites, and Doctor of the Church.  Teresa was born in Spain of a noble Castillian family.
Teresa loved reading the lives of the saints.  After the death of her mother Teresa decided to become a nun.  At that time the discipline in the convent was very lax.  After a series of visions St Teresa founded  in 1561 a reformed convent involving strict enclosure, perpetual silence, and poverty in Avila.

From 1568 onwards Teresa collaborated with St John of the Cross in the establishment of reformed friars.  Her book on comtemplative prayer the "Interior Castle" is excellent.