Personal suffering isn't often associated with being "kind", but it can be a sign that God loves us.
Kindness is a very great thing and has an important place in our relationships. Kindness is evidenced by goodness and charitable behavior, a pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others. According to Aristotle, kindness is an emotion manifesting itself by the desire to help somebody in need, without expecting anything in return.
Kindness is an aspect of love, but it is necessarily distinct from love. For is sometimes happens that love, which wills what is best for the other, may deem it best not to remove all suffering. A father, in fact may impose punishment on a child out of love.
Link
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Spiritual Truths
Monsignor Pope blogs about spiritual truths that will set us free (ultimately from suffering):
1. That life is short (Job 14:5).
2. The path leading to eternal life constricted (Mt. 7:14)
3. That the just one scarcely saved (1 Pet. 4:18)
4. The things of the world vain and deceitful (Eccles. 1:2)
5. That all comes to an end and fails like falling water (2 Sam. 14:14)
6. And that the time is uncertain.
7. The accounting strict.
8. Perdition very easy.
9. And salvation very difficult.
Read the rest
1. That life is short (Job 14:5).
2. The path leading to eternal life constricted (Mt. 7:14)
3. That the just one scarcely saved (1 Pet. 4:18)
4. The things of the world vain and deceitful (Eccles. 1:2)
5. That all comes to an end and fails like falling water (2 Sam. 14:14)
6. And that the time is uncertain.
7. The accounting strict.
8. Perdition very easy.
9. And salvation very difficult.
Read the rest
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Interior Life
God calls us to develop an interior, spiritual relationship with Him.
The saints have traditionally labeled spiritual growth as the Purgative, Illuminative and Unitive Ways.
The principle characteristic of the Unitive Way is a simple and constant awareness of God’s presence, a near constant state of communion with Him, and obvious and habitual conformity to His will.
Here we find deep and abiding joy, a unassailable love for God and others, profound humility, freedom from the fear of suffering often accompanied by a strong desire to suffer for God and his people, and apostolic fruitfulness.
Link
The saints have traditionally labeled spiritual growth as the Purgative, Illuminative and Unitive Ways.
The principle characteristic of the Unitive Way is a simple and constant awareness of God’s presence, a near constant state of communion with Him, and obvious and habitual conformity to His will.
Here we find deep and abiding joy, a unassailable love for God and others, profound humility, freedom from the fear of suffering often accompanied by a strong desire to suffer for God and his people, and apostolic fruitfulness.
Link
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Confession - Well Worth It!
Confession of sin removes our suffering and brings us peace.
Recently a non-Catholic Christian was praising the benefits of the Catholic Sacrament of Confession.
This prelate understands the difficulty, yet necessity if unburdening oneself from sin.
“It is enormously powerful and hideously painful when it’s done properly … it’s really horrible when you go to see your confessor – I doubt you wake up in the morning and think, this is going to be a bunch of laughs.
“It’s really uncomfortable. But through it God releases forgiveness and absolution and a sense of cleansing.”
Link
Recently a non-Catholic Christian was praising the benefits of the Catholic Sacrament of Confession.
This prelate understands the difficulty, yet necessity if unburdening oneself from sin.
“It is enormously powerful and hideously painful when it’s done properly … it’s really horrible when you go to see your confessor – I doubt you wake up in the morning and think, this is going to be a bunch of laughs.
“It’s really uncomfortable. But through it God releases forgiveness and absolution and a sense of cleansing.”
Link
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Humility and Prayer
During suffering it is important to humbly pray as Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane.
There is an old teaching that basically goes: Many think of prayer as trying to get God to do your will. But true prayer is trying to understand what God’s will is and do it. I heard and African American preacher put it this way:
There is an old teaching that basically goes: Many think of prayer as trying to get God to do your will. But true prayer is trying to understand what God’s will is and do it. I heard and African American preacher put it this way:
You got a lot of people that talk about naming and claiming, and calling and hauling…But there’s just something about saying, “THY will be done!” that we’ve forgot.
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