Consolation in distress: How Thomas Bernhard teaches the art of comforting

Consolation in distress: How Thomas Bernhard teaches the art of comforting

A dull Saturday evening in early autumn comes to Grinzing, and the district's Heuriger is well filled. Here Thomas Bernhard, a well-known face of Austrian literature, sits at a table and enjoys a glass of wine. Suddenly the chaplain of the Kaasgraben Church “Mariä Pains” enters the terrace. He is a young man who is vaguely known to Bernhard. It doesn't take long before Bernhard asks curiously: "What is the topic of your sermon on Sunday?" The chaplain, visibly unsure, has his prayer book with him and is considering how to approach the delicate issue of consolation.

Bernhard, who likes to be engrossed in philosophical conversations, begins to reflect on consolation. While the chaplain sets up a cassette recorder, Bernhard unfolds his thoughts and describes consolation as “a distortion of human tolerability.” In his statement, he criticizes people's tendency to interpret failures as successes and gives examples of people who find comfort in untrue ideas. A pithy quote from the Apostle Paul has resonated ever since: For him, suffering was a source of strength and not of decline. Bernard concludes that consolation is a necessary deception designed to help us bear the often painful truth.

Paul and the art of consolation

The theme of consolation runs like a common thread through the writings of the Apostle Paul, as it also becomes clear in Second Letter to the Corinthians. There Paul speaks of suffering for the sake of the gospel and emphasizes that this pain does not result from personal unhappiness. Rather, it is the service for Christ that brings him challenges and sometimes even rejection, as many believers experience today. So reported Heartbreaker that suffering for Christ's sake has deep meaning and connects believers with Jesus and past generations.

In his words, Paul emphasizes that God is always there in times of need and offers consolation. The closeness of God is particularly noticeable in times of suffering. God's promise not to leave us alone in difficult times gives us strength and hope. As Benedictines and faith communities know today, consolation is not only important for the individual, but also strengthens the entire community of believers.

Community and mutual comfort

An important teaching that Bernhard takes up and that is also anchored in the community of believers is that consolation not only affects us individually, but also has a collective element. The chaplain is pleased with the positive response to his standing reception in the church. The congregation praises him for his successful sermon, which seemed to move both hearts and minds.

In the evening's discussions it becomes clear: consolation is not just a nice theoretical idea, but is also discovered in normal life. The chaplain transcribes Bernhard's words that night and prepares to give his sermon the next morning. His comments have been received positively by the community and motivate them to take action now.

In conclusion, the comfort we can experience grows in community and reaches its own heights through faith in Christ. So in their dark moments, people not only feel the need, but also the opportunity to grow through faith and find comfort in life's challenges, as it does confessional church impressively summarized.