In incurable illness, at the end of life, there is suffering called total pain which involves all spheres and aspects of life. This suffering poses a challenge to the patient himself/herself, his/her loved ones and carers as well as health care professionals. Christianity, with its concept of the reward after dead and its teaching of the salvific dimension of suffering, appears as a religion at least helpful to the sick and their environment in confronting the different dimensions of pain - as a religion which gives to suffering some particular meaning. However, the concept of suffering presented in preaching and catechesis in the Catholic Church can be simplistic, trivialised, and principled. In this paper I will demonstrate on case studies, gained in my experience of accompanying terminally ill patients in a hospice for the last 16 years, what dangers come from a too hasty answer to the question of the meaning of suffering. These case studies will include members of the medical staff, patients, family members and volunteers, to show that this distorted concept of suffering and the resulting negative effects do not only affect the patients themselves. Its impact on the mentioned groups indirectly affects the patients by additionally exacerbating their pain. Apart from the problems, I will also show those aspects of Christian teaching on suffering which can significantly help the sick and improve their quality of life. Although the work presented focuses on palliative patients, it can be also applied to the wider context of a Christian attitude towards suffering.