Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Relationships and Religion
Can a Loving God Suffer?

Can a Loving God Suffer?

Last updated on: January 14, 2026 at 8:55 am by Jocelyn Soriano

Can a Loving God Suffer? 2026-01-14T08:55:08+08:00 Jocelyn Soriano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

AI-Generated Image from ChatGPT

How do we understand the nature of God when it comes to suffering?

As a Catholic, I have often heard and read about the importance of suffering in the light of love. The saints, after all, almost always seem to talk about suffering:

“If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love.” – St. Gemma Galgani

“He who wishes to love God does not truly love Him if he has not an ardent and constant desire to suffer for His sake.” – St. Aloysius Gonzaga

“Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Saviour; in suffering love becomes crystallised; the greater the suffering, the purer the love.” – St. Faustina

Suffering has become so ingrained in Catholic teaching that I remember being afraid of being holy.

Suffering seems to be a kind of good with all kinds of rewards. But I just can’t shake off the thought that something is not right with suffering.

Later on, I have realized that suffering in itself is indeed not something good. Why suffer? Why bear so much pain? God never intended a life of misery for us. God wanted us to live a life of eternal joy!

Everything changed, however, when sin came. With the fall came death and all sorts of suffering.

To save us from an eternal life of suffering, God sent His Son.

“And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.”
– John 1:14 NABRE

Jesus Christ took on our human nature and suffered just like us (except for sin). He suffered on the cross and died. He experienced betrayal, abandonment and grief.

From then on, we learned that suffering can also be redemptive if we bear our sufferings with Christ.

Suffering in itself is not good. But suffering out of love is an act of holiness that brings about so much good.

That is why we often hear the saints talk about suffering. In suffering, we learn what patience is. In suffering, we learn about unselfishness and self-giving.

These are the things Jesus revealed to us with His suffering. He revealed what true love meant. That it is not only doing good when life is comfortable. To love is to continue doing what is right and desiring the good of others even if it means pain and suffering.

God Himself came to us and suffered the most excruciating pains at the cross out of His great love for us.

All of these things, I could understand. What’s more difficult to think about is when I had to tackle the Catholic teaching that in His Divine nature, God is immune to suffering!

“God is infinite, eternal, immutable, incomprehensible, almighty.” (CCC 202)

“In God there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (CCC 212, cf. James 1:17)

Wait, after struggling to accept the importance of suffering, I now have to learn that God cannot suffer and that God can love without suffering?

Suddenly, I felt God to be distant once again. Since He cannot suffer as a God, I felt alone in my sorrows and pains.

The only thing that helped me was clinging on to Jesus Christ. Jesus truly suffered, did He not?

Yes, but they said that although the human nature of Jesus suffered, His Divine nature remained free from suffering.

How could it be? Is Jesus then somehow divided? Is He only a human being after all guided by God?

But the Catholic faith also teaches that Jesus is not divided like that. Jesus has both a human and a Divine nature but He is still one person. He is both human and Divine!

“In Christ there are two natures, the divine and the human, not confused, but united in the one Person of God’s Son.”(CCC 481)

“Jesus Christ is true God and true man.” (CCC 464)

“The only Son of the Father… consubstantial with the Father.” (CCC 465)

When we say that Jesus suffered, it is God the Son who truly suffered. His Divine nature may have remained unharmed, but through His human nature, He truly felt our pain and our sorrows.

“My soul is sorrowful even to death.” – Matthew 26:38 NABRE

“And Jesus wept.” – John 11:35 NABRE

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.”- Hebrews 4:15 NRSVCE

“The Son of God… worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind; he acted with a human will; and with a human heart he loved.” (CCC 470)

Jesus Christ is both Divine and human, and as a human being, He suffered and revealed to us the depths of God’s love.

“The Son of God… assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.” (CCC 461)

“Who, though he was in the form of God,… emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” – Philippians 2:6–7 NRSVCE

“The Son of God… suffered in his human nature for our salvation.” (cf. CCC 470, 604)

All of these things are not easy to understand, but we can pray for God to give us the grace and the wisdom to do so.

Whenever we feel confused, let us fix our gaze upon Jesus Christ. He is God, but He chose to also become a human being to dwell with us and to suffer for our salvation.

Nothing could ever change His nature as God. And thus, nothing could ever change His love.

We find it hard to understand the Father we cannot see. But the only begotten Son has revealed Himself to us.

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” – John 1:18 NABRE

God is love. And while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us and taught us what love is all about.

“Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.”- 1 John 4:8 NABRE

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”- John 15:13 NABRE

Jocelyn Soriano is the author of 366 Days of Compassion.

Where is God? God is with us, but we often do not know where to look and so we do not see. God is there, pursuing us, waiting for us to take the time to call on Him in our helplessness, in the routine of our daily lives. He is the one who will fill our lives with meaning and our hearts with hope and love.

Get the book from Amazon.

See Jocelyn’s books from other digital stores.

You may also want to read:
What Religion Gives Us a God Who Suffers With Us?

General Christian

Education and Religion

About Jocelyn Soriano

Jocelyn Soriano is an author, poet, and book reviewer. She is an introvert who enjoys a cup of coffee and listening to the cello ****** while working.

She wrote the books To Love an Invisible God, Defending My Catholic Faith and Mend My Broken Heart. She also wrote books on poetry including Poems of Love and Letting Go and Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief. She has published more than 15 books and developed her own Android applications including God’s Promises and Catholic Answers and Apologetics.

She writes about relationships and common questions about God and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer. She is currently single and happy and she would like everyone to know how happy we can be by drawing close to the love of God!

Previous Post

January 7, 2026

A Joy No One Can Take Away: Christian Hope Even in Grief

Next Post

January 21, 2026 A Comforting Bible Verse for Those Without Children

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christmas Church Issue Divine Mercy End Times Grief Healing Heaven Joy Miracles Movie Review Movies New Age Prayer Questions to God Relationships Single Life Spiritual Growth Technology Virgin Mary Wealth Management

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book contains the "Song of Deborah"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1 Samuel Ruth Exodus Judges

Books by This Author Books by Beloved

See All Titles »