Well put. I feel quite similarly.
I can better wrap my understanding around the notion that Christ would have us IDENTIFY WITH HIS SUFFERINGS in a more existential way.
I still have a hard time believing that HIS SUFFERING lacked anything.
One of those mysteries, imho.
I said to someone tonight that the only thing lacking in the suffering of Christ is you.
Yeah. That's why I said what I said about it being too deep for words. Leaving aside all that inspiration stuff, Paul was simply brilliant, IMHO. But he knew that he'd written Romans and Galatians. He must have known who shocking that verse would be. So, he must, I think, having been trying to express something beyond words.
Christ would have us IDENTIFY WITH HIS SUFFERINGS in a more existential way.p>Right now I feel pretty good. I can play theology games. But let the Lord "appoint" a toothache ..., or other subtler sorrows.
Then imagine saying, "Lord,I can barely mean what I'm saying here, but I know suffering that makes one crazy, and if somehow this suffering is of use to you, then please accept it. I will try to offer it as you give me the grace to do so.
Then there's the other side: Praying the Rosary and meditating on the scourging, and suddenly you feel a lash. For a micro second your ribs ache at the kinetics of the blow and your skin is seared by the laceration. Even if it is all "psychosomatic", still...