From Desolation to Consolation

Saint Paul discovered that consolation springs from desolation. He had lived through a painful affliction, to the point of feeling the claws of death in his flesh; in that, it was proved that the God of all consolation comforts beyond all measure. His Second Letter to the Corinthians is the Magna Carta of biblical consolation. The introduction to the first chapter alternates between consolation and desolation. It gives the impression that he had just "suffered" them both very vividly.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father and the God who gives every possible consolation; He supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others, in every hardship of theirs because of the consolation we ourselves receive from God.

If we are troubled, we are so for your consolation and salvation. If we are comforted, we are comforted for your comfort, which makes you bear with patience the same sufferings that we also bear.

And our hope for you is certain; in the knowledge that you share the consolation we receive, no less than the sufferings we bear. (2 Cor 1-7)

Extracted from the book “Sensing your Presence” by father Ignacio Larrañaga