1. The Suffering and the Mystery of Evil “Man suffers whenever he experiences any kind of evil.” The concept of suffering and evil are closely connected. Pope John Paul II addresses this relationship between suffering and evil in his apostolic letter as follows:
Man suffers on account of evil, which is certain lack, limitation or distortion of good. We could say that man suffers because of a good in which he does not share, from which in a certain sense he is cut off, or of which he has deprived himself. He particularly suffers when he an ought-in the normal order of things-to have share in this good and does not have it. Thus in a Christian view, the reality of suffering is explained through evil, which always, in some way refer to good.
Suffering is the process of undergoing a painful experience and also we can say that it is the result of evil. The problem of evil and suffering always creates objections for God’s goodness and His omnipotence. Yet, from Christian point of view, these questions lead man to see suffering in a positive way rather than negative. This is because what is evil is should be known from the essence of good. Every nature tends its own being and its own perfection, which is a good. It follows that evil cannot signify being or any form or nature. And when man experiences suffering in his life, he automatically starts to search for a cause in order to get deliverance from it, since it does not belong to his nature.
1.1 General notion of suffering