Believe in God; - joyful or burdensome?

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Bruno, Michael,
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Jesus tells me to ❤️ you!
I willingly follow his command, and it’s easy because of His grace.🙂
 
seekdatruth said:
RC,
The images! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
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:rotfl: At this rate I’ll live until I’m 150 then :rotfl:
oh, wait, God said the max is 120. 😛

I guess my prayer life has taken a dive lately. I need to start praying the Office of Readings and Compline again like I was. And I have been missing daily Mass due to not finding a way to get out of bed early enough 😦 it’s bad right now.
 
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michaelcollins said:
the one disagreement that I have with our two German speaking friends is God has a wonderful sense of humor. Strangely enough all my German clients have a great sense of humor.
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I’m afraid you and Seek misunderstood something.

I had over here a thread “DOES GOD HAVE HUMOUR?” Common answer was: “YES of course, but we really must differ!” Humour concerning holy things, even God Himself or Holy Mary, must remain devote. Everyday “pub-humour” is inappropriate; not suitable in any way to refere to the Holiest there is.

In fact we over here felt sorry, when we saw smilies in this CAF making the cross sign, praying etc. Such things simply are too holy and directly concerning God – can’t be taken fun of.

Jesus Himself must have had a lot of humour – else he wouldn’t have sustained us. Or take the wedding at Kana in John 2:7-11. It takes a lot of humour to transform water into wine. Jesus hardly would have eaten and drunk with most unpopular people (Lk 7,34) if He had no humour. But this is a loving humour. God who gave us our humour is love, and He gave it to us to use it in love.

Humour is only then humour, when it’s loving. Never when it pulls the leg of someone (or a third party) in a hurting way, or takes fun of holy things. So it’s just disgusting, when on carnivals people dress up as nuns, priests, bishops.

As Real pointed out: Yes God, (and of course Jesus who is God) does have humor; else God would not have given us any sense of humour. Believe in God lets us own and practise a relieving humour, that makes being a Christian joyful instead of as some atheists believe; burdensome. People without healthy, loving humour, hardly are able to have real faith in God.
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justinkolo said:
:rotfl: At this rate I’ll live until I’m 150 then :rotfl:
oh, wait, God said the max is 120. 😛

I guess my prayer life has taken a dive lately. I need to start praying the Office of Readings and Compline again like I was. And I have been missing daily Mass due to not finding a way to get out of bed early enough 😦 it’s bad right now.
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Hi Justin, 👋

I find this useful! :

The Litany of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim

For Private Recitation Only.

This litany is one that Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, had prayed many times. To say it often and with devotion fosters a deep reverence for the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. At the same time this prayer keeps us mindful of the Divine Victim who offered himself for us on Calvary and continues to do so at every Mass. That God would strengthen all priests and grant an increase in priestly vocations let us pray:

Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ have mercy. R. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ hear us. R. Christ, hear us.
Christ graciously hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, R. Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, R. Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit R. Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, R. Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Priest and Victim, R. Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, etc.
Jesus, Priest Whom God sent to evangelize the poor,
Jesus, Priest Who at the Last Supper instituted the everlasting Sacrifice,
Jesus, Priest always living to intercede for us,
Jesus, High Priest anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit and with power,
Jesus, High Priest taken from among men,
Jesus, High Priest appointed on behalf of men,
Jesus, High Priest of our confession of faith,
Jesus, High Priest of a greater glory than Moses,
Jesus, High Priest of the true Tabernacle,
Jesus, High Priest of the good things to come,
Jesus, High Priest, holy, innocent and undefiled,
Jesus, High Priest, faithful and merciful,
Jesus, High Priest of God and on fire with zeal for souls,
Jesus, High Priest, perfect forever,
Jesus, High Priest, Who passed through the Heavens with Thy own Blood,
Jesus, High Priest, Who gave eternal life for us,
Jesus, High Priest, Who loved us and washed us from our sins in Thy Blood,
Jesus, High Priest, Thou hast offered Thyself as an oblation and victim to God,
Jesus, Victim of God and of men,
Jesus, Victim, holy and immaculate,
Jesus, appeasing Victim,
Jesus, peace-making Victim,
Jesus, Victim of propitiation and of praise, .
Jesus, Victim of reconciliation and of peace,
Jesus, Victim in Whom we have confidence and access to God, .
Jesus, Victim living forever and ever,
Be merciful! R. Spare us, O Jesus.
Be merciful! R. Graciously hear us, O Jesus.
By Thine eternal priesthood, R. deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy holy anointing,Thou wert constituted Priest by God the Father, R. deliver us, O Jesus.
By Thy priestly spirit, etc.
By Thy ministry, Thou hast glorified Thy Father upon earth,
By Thy bloody immolation of Thineself made once upon the Cross,
By Thy same Sacrifice renewed daily upon the altar,
By Thy Divine power, which Thou dost invisibly exercises in Thy priests,
Graciously preserve the entire priestly order in holiness of life, R. We beseech you, hear us.
Graciously provide for Thy people pastors after Thine own heart, etc.
Graciously fill them with the spirit of Thy priesthood,
Graciously grant that the lips of priests may hold knowledge,
Graciously send faithful laborers into Thy harvest,
Graciously multiply faithful stewards of Thy mysteries,
Graciously grant them persevering service in accordance with Thy will,
Graciously grant them meekness in the ministry, skill in action and constancy, in prayer,
Graciously promote through them everywhere the worship of the Blessed Sacrament
Graciously receive into Thy joy those who have served Thee well,
Lamb of God, Thou takest away the sins of the world,
R. Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Thou takest away the sins of the world,
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Thou takest away the sins of the world,
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Jesus our Priest, R. Hear us.
Jesus our Priest, R. Graciously hear us.
Let us pray.
O God, sanctifier and guardian of Thy Church, raise up in her by Thy Spirit worthy
and faithful stewards of the sacred mysteries, that by their ministry and example,
the Christian people may be directed along the way of salvation under Thy protection.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.
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**those for instance:
“smoking or non smoking”
or
“if it doesnt work - the devil always takes you back”
are very funny and with a loving background.👍

**
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**those for instance:
“smoking or non smoking”
or
“if it doesnt work - the devil always takes you back”
are very funny and with a loving background.👍

**
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**Hi Bruno, 👋

As you know I love humor, and history:

1600 B.C. The world’s second oldest joke, found on the Westcar Papyrus, is a gag about a pharaoh, widely thought to be King Snofru:

“How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.” :eek: **
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
Sorry, but this is quite in the contrary to the rest of your answer; incorrect!

It even leads to the absolute wrong conclusion, that evil done by people who serve Satan, is allowed by God.

**No! **
It’s NEVER in God’s will, nor permitted by God, that anything bad or even evil happens. God is love itself!

As we learn by Mt 18,7: Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
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It’s confusing to us this concept of evil. We really can’t understand it that well. We can’t understand and comprehend how beings like demons can be pure evil. We know they are but understanding is another thing. Eventually the pope may give us a theology of evil. I think you misunderstand me here. I’m saying God permits evil. Not he wills or supports it. I’m also saying God only permits evil that he can bring good out of it. Of course he would prefer there to be no evil. But he made us to love him and to do that we need free will. Unfortunately we abused our free will like the demons and evil entered the world. The point I
try to make is - all things work unto good with God. I hope I’ve explained this well. God bless you.👍 🙂
 
**READ THE BIBLE - IT’LL SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU
is terribly funny and ever so true - but it can’t be translated into German 😦

But we ought to explain to heathens (nothing else are atheists, nonbelievers and gainsayers), why we do have he JOY OF BELIEVE
which really doesn’t have anything to do with funny jokes and laughing about and to be frolic. It’s far more so a inner, a quiet and still joy we have even than, when we go through dreadful times. The joy we are promised in Luke 20:10:
But the angel said to them, "DO NOT BE AFRAID. I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY THAT WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE.”

This joy you can read in the clear faces of real godly – real good people. The Saints among us. Look into the face of Mother Teresa and many others like her. Oh, there are many of them we never pay any attention to.
There you discover the joy we are talking about. The joy of living in God, which everyone can have who really wants to.
**
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**READ THE BIBLE - IT’LL SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU
is terribly funny and ever so true - but it can’t be translated into German 😦

But we ought to explain to heathens (nothing else are atheists, nonbelievers and gainsayers), why we do have he JOY OF BELIEVE
which really doesn’t have anything to do with funny jokes and laughing about and to be frolic. It’s far more so a inner, a quiet and still joy we have even than, when we go through dreadful times. The joy we are promised in Luke 20:10:
But the angel said to them, "DO NOT BE AFRAID. I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY** THAT WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE.”

This joy you can read in the clear faces of real godly – real good people. The Saints among us. Look into the face of Mother Teresa and many others like her. Oh, there are many of them we never pay any attention to.
There you discover the joy we are talking about. The joy of living in God, which everyone can have who really wants to.
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This joy is hard to obtain, as has already been said.

The Carmelites, especially John of the Cross, talk about the souls journey into true union with God, and how there are three stages. Those of the Beginners, then the Proficient, and finally that of the Perfect.

Beginners (like myself) are at the bottom of the hill. I like to think of this like it is described in Dante’s description of purgatory. He viewed it as a mountain that we must climb. Each section of the mountain corresponds to a different virtue that we must master through a combination of our own efforts and God’s grace. As beginners we are called to mortify our senses so that we are focused on doing God’s will as opposed to our own will or passions.

A common problem with bottom dwellers, like myself, is discouragement. The mountain seems so high. But as Dante described, when he first entered at the bottom of mount purgatory, it is love that makes us take the first steps, however imperfect our intentions may be. Love for God. The journey to the top is actually a purification of our love. And the reward for this purification is more and more of that spiritual joy that has been described so often by people on this thread. One should not equate that joy with emotional joy, but a kind of inner peace, and trust that overcomes all obstacles…or so I’ve been told.

As a beginner I should really be shutting my mouth and just climbing. 🙂 But at the very least I can encourage others to make the effort.

God bless,
Ut
 
utunumsint said:
This joy is hard to obtain, as has already been said.

The Carmelites, especially John of the Cross, talk about the souls journey into true union with God, and how there are three stages. Those of the Beginners, then the Proficient, and finally that of the Perfect.

Beginners (like myself) are at the bottom of the hill. I like to think of this like it is described in Dante’s description of purgatory. He viewed it as a mountain that we must climb. Each section of the mountain corresponds to a different virtue that we must master through a combination of our own efforts and God’s grace. As beginners we are called to mortify our senses so that we are focused on doing God’s will as opposed to our own will or passions.

A common problem with bottom dwellers, like myself, is discouragement. The mountain seems so high. But as Dante described, when he first entered at the bottom of mount purgatory, it is love that makes us take the first steps, however imperfect our intentions may be. Love for God. The journey to the top is actually a purification of our love. And the reward for this purification is more and more of that spiritual joy that has been described so often by people on this thread. One should not equate that joy with emotional joy, but a kind of inner peace, and trust that overcomes all obstacles…or so I’ve been told.

As a beginner I should really be shutting my mouth and just climbing. 🙂 But at the very least I can encourage others to make the effort.

God bless,
Ut
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And there are many alongside you to company with… keep smiling.
 
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utunumsint said:
As a beginner I should really be shutting my mouth and just climbing. 🙂 But at the very least I can encourage others to make the effort.
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How do you know if you have the time to climb that imaginary mountain?
On you way up, you will be surprised to find over and over again children and youngsters who happily stand on the peak of what you thought was hard to ever get to.

Don’t make it more complicated than it is. In fact it’s not. Simply believe! Remember Mt 18,3: Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Don’t despair. Simply believe. Believe is simple. All you need is an open heart.**
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**

How do you know if you have the time to climb that imaginary mountain?
On you way up, you will be surprised to find over and over again children and youngsters who happily stand on the peak of what you thought was hard to ever get to.

Don’t make it more complicated than it is. In fact it’s not. Simply believe! Remember Mt 18,3: Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Don’t despair. Simply believe. Believe is simple. All you need is an open heart.**
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The purifications are not easy.

God bless,
Ut
 
Michael_David said:
Simply put… look to Easter! It followed Good Friday.
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In a certain sense, that hope in our own Easter Sunday is the source of our Joy. I think the Pope says we are saved through hope, quoting from St. Paul. Rejoyce in your hope, Paul says somewhere else. We can trust, that through God’s grace, we will obtain that which we hope for.

Maybe that joy and trust should infuse our purgations. 🙂

God bless,
Ut
 
utunumsint said:
Maybe that joy and trust should infuse our purgations. 🙂

God bless,
Ut
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“Maybe” you say. Believe and say Yes! Then put ‘will’ in place of ‘should’.

This is when you believe, as a child. And His Graces will do the rest.
 
Bruno_Schulz said:
**
Don’t despair. Simply believe. Believe is simple. All you need is an open heart.**
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But my brain keeps getting in the way because it wants to understand it all and faith isn’t understanding! Stupid brain… 😛

Realcatholicgk, thanks for that litany.
 
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