A Lack of Chastisement

[ProdglArchitect]

I have been wondering recently if a person should be worried if they are not undergoing some kind of hardship / chastisement.

Hebrews 12:6

For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

We know that God chastises people in order to purify them an prepare them for salvation, and also to warn them as they move away from Him. The greatest saints often suffer the greatest chastisements. (i.e. Mother Theresa and her Dark Night of the Soul.) Does it not stand to reason, then, that a person who does not suffer chastisements is not on the path to God?

In his book “The Dogmas of Hell,” Fr. Schouppe writes:

Many saints aver that if a mortal sinner is prospering and doing well and living relatively free of troubles, he has been abandoned by Almighty God and that God is allowing him some pleasures while in this life, because that person is going to spend eternity in Hell.

So, what is a person to make of it if he lives a trouble-free life?

 

[ProdglArchitect]

I am writing this topic, in greater part out of concern for my own salvation. Truth be told, my life is about as close as I can contemplate to perfect. I have never experienced any true difficulty or hardship, and I am concerned that this is indicative of a life headed away from God.

The only real hardship in my life is a proclivity towards a particular sin, which I am trying to overcome. Is that a chastisement, that I am aware of my sinfulness but continually fail to stop engaging in sinful behaviors?

To be clear, I am not trying to gloat, nor am I looking to stray into scrupulous territory, I am just concerned at the relative ease of my life, especially when considered in comparison to those great saints the Church gives us as examples of faithful living.

Is it wrong to ask God for chastisements, and how does one overcome the fear of what those chastisements may be?

 

[Irishmom2]

That they are living a blessed life and should thank God every day for it.

 

[Genesis315]

Here’s what St. Thomas More wrote on the topic:

St. Thomas More, “Dialogue of Comfort in a Time of Tribulation”

If we lay first, for a sure ground, a very fast faith, whereby we believe to be true all that the scripture saith (understood truly, as the old holy doctors declare it and as the spirit of God instructeth his Catholic Church), then shall we consider tribulation as a gracious gift of God, a gift that he specially gave his special friends; a thing that in scripture is highly commended and praised; a thing of which the contrary, long continued, is perilous; a thing which, if God send it not, men have need to put upon themselves and seek by penance; a thing that helpeth to purge our past sins; a thing that preserveth us from sins that otherwise would come; a thing that causeth us to set less by the world; a thing that much diminisheth our pains in purgatory; a thing that much increaseth our final reward in heaven; the thing with which all his apostles followed him thither; the thing to which our Saviour exhorteth all men; the thing without which he saith we be not his disciples; the thing without which no man can get to heaven.

In the past, the Church was very helpful in this regard by providing us with plenty of communal forms of penance, like Friday abstinence (and Wednesdays too in earlier times) and a more involved Lent with more fasts. Nowadays, for better or worse, we’ve been pretty much left to get it done on our own.

That being said, there’s no real one size fits all answer. Do what you reasonably can given your state in life. And as the poster above said, give thanks every day.

As for asking for chastisements, pray that God lead you to Heaven and he’ll infallibly send you whatever you need to get there.

 

[Lee1]

Is it wrong to ask God for chastisements, and how does one overcome the fear of what those chastisements may be?

I think that God gives us what we need for our spiritual development and so no I don’t think we should ask for chastisement, simply for greater faith.

It does sound as though you’ve been blessed and that’s something to be grateful for no doubt about it. I’m sure you’ve been tested in some ways but perhaps you were unaware to some extent and that too would be a wonderful thing.

As for fear of the future, who knows what the future holds for each of us but if we have great faith then we can lean on God and ask that He give us the necessary strength to weather the storms that may come.

To be saved we need simply follow Our Lords teaching and love God with all our being and our neighbour as ourselves.

God bless and keep you safe in His loving embrace.

 

[goout]

I am writing this topic, in greater part out of concern for my own salvation. Truth be told, my life is about as close as I can contemplate to perfect. I have never experienced any true difficulty or hardship, and I am concerned that this is indicative of a life headed away from God.

The only real hardship in my life is a proclivity towards a particular sin, which I am trying to overcome. Is that a chastisement, that I am aware of my sinfulness but continually fail to stop engaging in sinful behaviors?

To be clear, I am not trying to gloat, nor am I looking to stray into scrupulous territory, I am just concerned at the relative ease of my life, especially when considered in comparison to those great saints the Church gives us as examples of faithful living.

Is it wrong to ask God for chastisements, and how does one overcome the fear of what those chastisements may be?

I think it is safe to say that only one thing matters: to love.
Love in the Christian sense is sacrificial. As Mother Teresa says “love, to be real, must hurt”. We don’t hope for suffering, but the cross awaits everyone. It is part of loving.

When you look at your life and those around you, how do you love? Do you visit jails? Nursing homes? If you have a family do you love them sacrificially?
Questions we ask ourselves. In regards to my spiritual life, I have always had a hard time accepting that love is the only thing, because that always draws me out of my comfort zone.

 

[midori]

Remember the parable of the sower. There was some seed that he scattered that sprang up immediately, but the moment it did encounter hardship, it withered away.

I’ve also struggled with guilt for my life being smooth and straightforward when my siblings have struggled with bad relationships, bad jobs, having trouble finding their path, and so on.

But I realized that my struggles aren’t the same as their struggles. I’ve got them as well— but it takes a different form. That doesn’t diminish their problems, and it also doesn’t minimize my own problems.

So, thank God for your blessings. Perhaps your big struggles will come later. Or perhaps you have flaws that you’re currently comfortable with, but you really need to outgrow. Or perhaps your struggles exist in the here and now… but you’ve managed them for so long that you don’t recognize them as struggles.

You always have to be careful about what you ask God for— because he will send it to you in great quantities, and with much enthusiasm. But he only gives you right up until the point you can handle it…

With a spouse and kids, I haven’t been brave enough to give God a blank check in my life, because I don’t want to affect them. Ultimately, it’s a failure to trust God on my part, because if he would take care of me, he’d obviously give them the graces they need as well. But I still am not at that point. But if you have fewer commitments and obligations to others around you, and if you were interested in being heroic— then yes, that’s something you could invite into your life, as long as you do it with your eyes open.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

We must be happy to accept God’s Will. Whether that is in joy or in suffering.

As says in Ecclesiastes 3. There is a time for everything

A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

With a spouse and kids, I haven’t been brave enough to give God a blank check in my life, because I don’t want to affect them. Ultimately, it’s a failure to trust God on my part, because if he would take care of me, he’d obviously give them the graces they need as well. But I still am not at that point. But if you have fewer commitments and obligations to others around you, and if you were interested in being heroic— then yes, that’s something you could invite into your life, as long as you do it with your eyes open.

This is actually something in my life as well. I have a wife and a young child, so I don’t really feel like I have the time or ability to make sacrifices like visiting the imprisoned. I talked to my wife about it once and the idea made her really uncomfortable, and she basically asked me not to… The same is true for donating to the Church and other causes, she’s scared about finances and hasn’t agreed to start giving regularly. (Despite the fact that, all things considered, she really has no reason to be concerned…)

 

[Dan_Defender]

‘There is no one in the world, be he Pope or king, who does not suffer trial and anguish.’ - The Imitation of Christ.
If it hasn’t come to you yet, it sure will.

 

[Dovekin]

And there is always the possibility that chastisements have come, but they have not been recognized as chastisements.

Job is the prime example. “We accept good things from the Lord, should we not accept evil as well?” His story is told as one who has received all manner of chastisements, but he is steadfast in accepting them as gifts from God.