- I did a written interview for Catholic World Report. Here’s an excerpt:
CWR: How did the book come about?
Mark Giszczak: This book started as a course I taught called “The Theology of Suffering.” Suffering, of course, is universal. Everybody suffers. But I was interested in working on this topic from a theological angle since I had seen that a little bit of theological thinking about it could go a long way.
So many professions–from medicine to psychology to entertainment–are dedicated to relieving suffering, but I wanted to explain what to do when all the therapeutic options have been exhausted. When my suffering cannot be taken away, what then?
CWR: The book is part of the What Every Catholic Should Know series. Why is suffering a topic that every Catholic should be educated in?
Giszczak: Everyone experiences sufferings, so everyone should know about it. Sadly, I think many people just try to avoid the topic, but life does not let us get off so easy. When we run from suffering, it will eventually chase us down and find us. So, if suffering is inevitable, then maybe we should look it in the face rather than run from it. Jesus even calls us to “take up our cross” and follow after him. But how? How do we do that? In this book, I try to explain how Christian life is truly “cross-shaped.” We are meant to experience both suffering and joy at the same time.
2. I was interviewed by Drew the Catholic (just yesterday!):
3. I appeared on the Cordial Catholic podcast in both audio and video formats:
4. I also laid down some audio tracks for the Amen App from the Augustine Institute (a free prayer app):
https://amenapp.org/prayer/ktgefha