This Week in Catholic Liturgy: Suffering Succotash

St. Peter says that those who suffer for doing what is good are partaking in the grace of God (1 Pet 2:20b).  We may be well accustomed to suffering the effects of evil--our own and others'--and this is not without merit either.  This is how we learn from our mistakes.  Sometimes, like the hearers of Peter's first Pentecost homily, we must be "cut to the heart" (Acts 2:36) by realizing our contribution to Christ's Passion.  This is how we are moved to conversion, that is, change.  Returning to "the shepherd and guardian of our souls" (1 Pet 2:25), we are renewed in the pursuit of justice and mercy in all our affairs.