Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Almost daily I receive news, confidential messages, and prayer requests from you: pain caused by illness, farewells to loved ones, the burden of loneliness, the weight of hopeless anxiety. I carry you in my heart and in my prayers. Your voices remind me that suffering belongs to the life of our community, and that we cannot pass by another’s pain with indifference.
Suffering is without doubt a mystery that is hard to understand. We often ask: Why? Why does this happen to my loved ones, or to me? Why does God allow so much suffering? The answers are not always clear. Yet our faith brings light where reason cannot reach: through the mystery of the Cross of Christ.
On September 14 we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On this day we see how the love of Jesus — to the point of death — transforms death and pain into a true sign of hope. The Cross of Christ does not take suffering away; it bears it and redeems it from within. His sacrifice shows us that suffering does not have the last word: the gift of Jesus’ self-offering has meaning, value, and salvation.
With him, we are not guaranteed always to understand why things happen; nor are we promised easy answers. But we do have the promise — and the experience — that we are not alone in our trials. Jesus calls us to take up our cross each day (cf. Mt 16:24): not as punishment without purpose, but as a way illumined by his love. When we carry it with him, our burden feels lighter, and our pain, in God’s hands, can be transformed into a moment of hope.
Let us also remember our Mother Mary, who stood with Jesus at the Cross. Mary, who followed her Son in his darkest hour, will not abandon us either. Her maternal presence teaches us to remain steadfast, to support the suffering with tenderness, and to trust in God’s providence. When we feel weak and powerless, we can ask her to sustain us and to help us look upon the Crucified with eyes of hope.
What, concretely, can we do as a community in the midst of all this suffering?
- Continue to pray, faithfully and simply, for the sick, the grieving, and those living in uncertainty. Prayer is never a useless act: it unites and strengthens us.
- Be present to one another: a phone call, a visit, or a message can be a bridge of love to someone who is lonely.
- Live the Eucharist deeply: sharing in the Body of Christ is a power that carries us along the way.
- Offer our hands and our time: concrete charity gives hope a face and builds up community.
I encourage all of us, in the celebration of September 14, to renew our gaze upon the Cross of Christ: not as a sign of defeat, but as a sign of love, given to the very end. May each of our personal crosses, whether small or great, find in Christ and Mary both a friend and a purpose; and may the experience of suffering make us witnesses of consolation and mercy for one another.
I pray for each of you, and I ask you also to strengthen one another through prayer and love. May the Lord, who bore our suffering, give you peace and strength. And may Holy Mary, Mother of the suffering, never let us walk alone.
With pastoral love and blessing,
Helsinki, 14 September 2025
+ Raimo Goyarrola
Bishop of Helsinki