How do you respond when you are told you are going to suffer? A few weeks ago my doctor told me my PSA levels were a bit high. I made an appointment with a urologist, and he said I ought to have biopsies drawn. I thought about it and countered with a question. “What is the level of pain connected with such a procedure?” He said, “I will not be your friend after you have this procedure.”

I was told by some who underwent this procedure that they were sedated and felt virtually nothing. I, on the other hand, was not sedated. After the third biopsy was drawn, I was very uncomfortable; and by the eighth and final biopsy, I was in so much pain and discomfort that the doctor told me to move slowly from my side to my back on the table and just breathe deeply. I only relate this story to remind us of at least one kind of suffering we are promised in this life—medical suffering. Why is it that we face such suffering in this life? As I meditated on that question and did a ...