I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice

To illustrate the reality of “new life passing through pain,” Jesus gives the example of the process of childbirth.

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The figure of a mother laboring to give birth to a child is the best model of what Jesus reveals to his disciples, the beauty of the paschal mystery.

Just as in childbirth, the cause of the mother's pain is the baby's coming to birth, so the motive of joy is the same — the newborn baby! In the paschal mystery of Jesus, the cross was the instrument of his persecution, suffering, and death. But that same cross became the tool for his resurrection, for gaining the new and everlasting life, not only for himself, but for all of us. Certainly, this process is not easily lived through, especially when the “suffering part” is prolonged.