The Most Holy Trinity is the master of the “feedback loop”.

If we suffer, God can change suffering into joy. Every suffering, if held for its value in union with Jesus on the Cross, can be a joy. This is what Marcel Văn CSsR used to say about his life:

… the more I advance the more I see that sanctity is a life in which it is necessary to change sadness into joy.

But every joy is something we want to share. If not enough people around us, especially from our family with whom we naturally want to share our joy, accept this source of joy in suffering united with Jesus, then joy again meets suffering. There is an added or new suffering in having joy: joy that cannot be shared is still joy, but the inability to share it in human terms or in familial relationships is a way of suffering.

Then, suffering can, with Jesus in his humanity, again be converted into joy.

But then this joy cannot be shared; thus, a new suffering appears.

… I think the picture is clear? It looks something like this:

But it’s not just a static circle. It’s some sort of loop that spirals out of control:

God is the master of the feedback loop. This is one story of love spiralling out of control. Like when a microphone is placed too near to a speaker, there is feedback. The microphone feeds into the speaker into the microphrone… and then feedback!

It is the same idea with joy and suffering. We suffer. But this can be changed into joy, which wants to be shared, but in the measure that those humanly important to us won’t listen or understand, we again suffer. But this additional suffering can also be changed into joy… and then feedback! 

… we must change sadness into joy… we must desire that joy becomes sadness, to in turn become sadness in joy…

as Marcel says. Over a period of weeks, months, years, this very “natural” feedback can be a very simple and effective way to move us along the road of perfection. The feedback spirals out of control. The only option is to jump off the road or to grow spiritually with Jesus at our side.

What a gentle way to perfection: that in every suffering there is joy… and that this can generate greater and greater joy, as we follow more closely our God.