Being Catholic is a good thing for sure. The feeling and meaning behind my attention grabbing question is one from grief or fatigue. The exasperated feeling when a loss happens and you look at the cross or Jesus in adoration, or just being engaged so much at church and still ask Him, 'what do you want me to do now, I’ll do it?!" And then, not feeling like you can hear Him is the feeling and meaning behind it. It happens, I can recognize it.
I’m explaining this to you because your answer would make a fellow Catholic brother or sister feel isolated rather than feeling like can relate and bring them closer. My advice (take it or leave it): It really doesn’t take much to extend someone some empathy. Catholics should be more charitable towards each other.
But nonetheless, I suppose you did the job and answered the question. Thanks.
I’m not clear whether you are replying to me, or to someone else. The OP asked a question, and I answered it. It wasn’t anything that required all that much explanation. I suppose it would be helpful to add, possibly, that I can divide the question in two — put the joys, the peace, and the self-assurance that go with being a Catholic, and seeing the beauty of
all the Church’s teachings on one side of the ledger, and put the ultimate futility, despair, transitory earthly pleasures, and moral degradation of the secular world on the other. There is a great feeling of mastery — the secular world, and the world of many even who profess Christ, has a lot of “givens” — “you have to be happy (as the world defines happiness)”, “you have to have nice things”, “you have to have pleasant and enjoyable sex on demand”, “you have to do the things everyone else does, or they won’t like you”, “everyone just knows XYZ, and you have to think like everyone else does”, and so on. It’s a sense of freedom that you can’t know until you experience it.
One thing I learned very early, and I bless the catechist for telling me about this, is that there is great power in praising and glorifying God for
everything, even the things that our earthly lights tell us are bad things. This is one thing you don’t even have to be Catholic to learn — he had me to read the book by Merlin Carothers,
Power in Praise.
Talk about a life hack! This has helped me so much throughout the years. And, I must confess, there have been times when I failed to do this — I had this thing, or that thing, that I just
HAD to have, and when it didn’t come, I couldn’t accept it. I made my own misery that way.
and hope this contributes to helping you through this situation.