The Transformation of Suffering: Reflections on September 11 and the Wedding Feast at Cana in Galilee

In this book, Father Thomas Keating explores the tragedy of September 11 from the perspective of Christ-consciousness and its continuing emergence in the world. Even as he describes the attacks of that day as the culmination of all of the last century’s growing violence and disregard for life, he shows us how to recognize the resultant suffering as an expression of the agony of Christ on the cross that is extended to all humanity.

In the second half of the book, Father Keating tells the story of the Marriage Feast at Cana in the gospel of John. Here, the ordinary is juxtaposed with the extraordinary, for it is at this feast that Jesus performs his first miracle, turning water into wine and thus revealing his divinity to the people.

How does the joyful story of Christ’s first miracle address our suffering in the wake of September 11? Both situations demonstrate the potentialities and possibilities of Christ revealing himself within the world. As Jesus’ divinity became apparent even in the humble setting of the marriage feast, so ordinary people’s lives can be transformed by the global experience of Christ’s incarnation, suffering, and resurrection—bringing us to new consciousness, understanding, and love.