Does Being A Christian Bring Happiness Or Misery?

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I am a Catholic but I have not given my all to Christ. I strive to live a morally good life, but I have not devoted myself entirely to Jesus. I haven’t done this because I am afraid of the consequences. I know that Christ will form me into a new man, and that he will kill the sinful desires that still linger inside me.

Christ wants to help us become perfect, just as he is perfect. However, and I’m ashamed to admit this: I enjoy sinning. I enjoy the pleasure sin brings, but at the same time I hate sinning because I know it will bring about my demise. I want to be a good person, but not yet. I go through stages where I increase in holiness, but I always fall again because of the desire to sin. I wish I could be like Christ, but I always wonder whether the life of a Saint would be full of misery and drudgery?

To those of you who truly strive to live according to the teachings of Christ, I have one question: Does living a life of service bring happiness? Does putting others before yourself bring joy? Or is the Christian life one of misery, boredom and sacrifice?

I am afraid that I will lose something by becoming more devout. This is the sin talking, but I am afraid that by becoming holier I will alienate myself from friends and family. I am afraid of what Jesus wants to make of me; that is why I am reluctant to give him complete control.
 
Hi

First of all let me say you are only being human. It is only natural to fear the unknown - no one knows what God will ask of them. But…we can be assured of three things (at least three things) Our Father will never ask more of us than we can deliver. Our Father knows we are human, and will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Our father loves us - and everyone equally…He will ask nothing of us that will harm our relationship with Him…and He will also ask nothing of us that will harm someone else’s relationship - or potential relationship - with Him.

As for drudgery…well, have you read any of the writings of the Saints? It seems a common theme is that while whatever labor they were doing might have been drudgery - their interior life was full of joy. Manual drudgery is also one of the tools God uses to form us. We seek to please Him, and not the body remember. Doing simple repetitive tasks frees the mind to concentrate on Him, to meditate simultaneously - like praying the rosary teaches us.

The first thing that came to mind when I read your post was this:
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am mere flesh, sold as a slave to sin.
Rom 7:15 I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t do what I want to do, but instead do what I hate.
Rom 7:16 Now if I do what I don’t want to do, I agree that the law is good.
Rom 7:17 As it is, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out.
Rom 7:19 For I don’t do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don’t want to do.
Rom 7:20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.
Rom 7:21 So I find this to be a law: when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being,
Rom 7:23 but I see in my body a different law waging war with the law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin that exists in my body.
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Paul also struggled, and what I think he means here is that it is completely natural that our carnal selves enjoy sinning, this is the war that is set up within us between our new man and our old man which he also speaks of.

God doesn’t want us to be miserable…yes we are to be crucified with Christ, killing our old selves, but - God in His wisdom and love will not leave us to choose between misery and misery. He also knows we are human as I said. So he gives us a choice between an interior life of joy…punctuated with periods of darkness where He removes His consolations so that we may grow more in Faith and Hope…and an exterior life of sinful pleasure - which doesn’t even begin to compare.

Remember Jesus said to “Fear Not” I don’t remember how many times in the Gospels, but He repeated those words many many times. “Fear Not” even the sparrows are taken care of and you are worth many sparrows."

Paul also said something along the lines of “I count as nothing the trials of this life, for the joy of God and the reward of heaven” (paraphrased)

Also - letting go of sin is a process, and it is a process helped along by the sacraments - especially reconciliation, and the Eucharist. Each time we go we become stronger, and nearer to God - this is especially true if we commit no mortal sins in between times. God knows this also, and does not ask of us more than we can deliver, more than our puny Faith will allow. he Loves us, and will not discourage us. He only Gives what we are able to receive. Faith is the answer…what is your question? 😉

Hope this helps…it is kind of hard to put into words. Feels kind of like a caricature when you try to put it on “paper”.

Our Blessed Mother has trillions of helps she is just waiting to give to us - Pray her rosary…and if you want to - use the brown scapular - you can find it HERE

Peace and Blessings

John
 
Your story sounds a lot like that of Saint Augustine. He lived a sinful life (the sin he had difficult conquering was unchastity; yours may be different).

After beginning to read Scripture, he knew he had to turn away from sin and toward Christ, but he was not ready to do it. A famous prayer quote of his is something like this: “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.”

But he never found true happiness until he turned his life over to God completely. Another prayer quote of his, after his conversion: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

You may want to read his autobiography, entitled Confessions (several choices here: amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=confessions+augustine&x=11&y=22 ).
 
God will not give you a bed of roses each day in this world. However if you ask for the Holy Spirit to come in each day then He will be with you more so He will be IN you and at times (you may not realize though) in times where you think you have no word to speak He will utter them through you ( Jesus to the disciples) and others will be astonished at the words. The point is that in the Holy Spirit being within you He will give you a peace that this world CANNOT take from you and there is NO other peace that can give you joy as likened to this.
OK!
I hope that this helps.
Godbless
 
“Does living a life of service bring happiness? Does putting others before yourself bring joy? Or is the Christian life one of misery, boredom and sacrifice?”

For me, it’s the *only *way to live. There is no life outside of Christ. None.

Your enjoyment of sinning is something you will probably outgrow.
 
I really can’t help but laugh at your post – not because I think it’s ridiculous or anything like that, but because I can so easily relate to everything that you are saying. A common prayer for me anymore is, “Lord, I don’t love you enough,” or “Lord, I don’t trust you enough.” Basically, variations on a common theme! I find myself saying and praying “I want to be more holy” or “I want to be more dedicated to the Lord,” but then I begin thinking about the repercussions of that and it makes me dizzy!

To answer your question, having read many lives of the saints, I get the sense that completely giving ourselves to Christ when we’re not quite so spiritually developed could prove to be something a shock to the system thereby possibly causing future confusion and possible rebellion. Like the saints, if we gradually improve our spiritual relationship with Christ, then we’ll find the effect of our full-on conversion to be less of a shock, more natural, and ultimately more satisfying. In other words, if we give up ourselves entirely to Christ while we still cling to sin, then such a conversion would prove to be miserable – but if we are gradual, vigilant, and persevere through all our trials, then we’ll find happiness, satisfaction and peace in our conversion.

I also understand what you mean when you say, “I still like to sin!” I still grapple with this concept myself. Sometimes reverting back to how I was only a few months ago, staying out late on weekends, getting drunk, going to strip clubs, coming home to watch pornography, etc. still seems enticing – but, by the grace of God (and only by the grace of God), I’ve finally arrived to a point where even though sins seem enticing, the thought of losing my relationship with God, having the Holy Spirit flee from me, and breaking my chances of salvation are truly too much to bear! No matter how much temporal pleasure I may get out of sin, it definitely isn’t worth jeopardizing my friendship with Jesus. Again, though, such realizations don’t come in an instant. It’s taken me months and months to finally arrive at that realization, and thanks be to God that I’ve been given the grace to persevere. I pray that I am able to continue.

I will pray for you and your continual conversion.
 
It can bring persecution from the world. However it can also bring interior consolation and meaning to life.
 
I believe that being a Christian always brings with it a period of dryness. Jesus had a period of 40 days in the desert tempted by the devil before he started his ministry. Later, he suffered the agony of the cross.

St. John of the Cross wrote the book, “Dark Night of the Soul”, and my understanding of this book is that true Christianity is painful as God’s refining fire must cleanse our souls and our will in order to make us holy enough to have union with him, the utmost in joy. We can either suffer the less painful purgatory here on earth as a “dark night” as we suffer on earth for love, we can suffer a longer and more painful and physical purgatory after death in *Purgatory *, or we can suffer in Hell for all eternity.

I also believe that the Catholic Church teaches us that the Blessed Virgin Mary can help us on the Christian path. Just as Jesus fled into Egypt with the Blessed Virgin Mary and suffered on the Cross and the Blessed Virgin Mary remained there with him to watch over him, the Blessed Virgin Mary can also provide us with succor on our journey, making it sweet though it might seem difficult to an outsider. Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius X, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II all were greatly influenced by St. Louis De Montfort.

St. Louis De Montfort writes of True Devotion to Mary: "This devotion is a smooth, short, perfect and sure way of attaining union with our Lord, in which Christian perfection consists.

(a) This devotion is a smooth way. It is the path which Jesus Christ opened up in coming to us and in which there is no obstruction to prevent us reaching him. It is quite true that we can attain to divine union by other roads, but these involve many more crosses and exceptional setbacks and many difficulties that we cannot easily overcome. We would have to pass through spiritual darkness, engage in struggles for which we are not prepared, endure bitter agonies, scale precipitous mountains, tread upon painful thorns, and cross frightful deserts. But when we take the path of Mary, we walk smoothly and calmly.

It is true that on our way we have hard battles to fight and serious obstacles to overcome, but Mary, our Mother and Queen, stays close to her faithful servants. She is always at hand to brighten their darkness, clear away their doubts, strengthen them in their fears, sustain them in their combats and trials. Truly, in comparison with other ways, this virgin road to Jesus is a path of roses and sweet delights. There have been some saints, not very many, such as St. Ephrem, St. John Damascene, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Bonaventure, and St. Francis de Sales, who have taken this smooth path to Jesus Christ, because the Holy Spirit, the faithful Spouse of Mary, made it known to them by a special grace. The other saints, who are the greater number, while having a devotion to Mary, either did not enter or did not go very far along this path. That is why they had to undergo harder and more dangerous trials.
  1. Why is it then, a servant of Mary might ask, that devoted servants of this good Mother are called upon to suffer much more than those who serve her less generously? They are opposed, persecuted, slandered, and treated with intolerance. They may also have to walk in interior darkness and through spiritual deserts without being given from heaven a single drop of the dew of consolation. If this devotion to the Blessed Virgin makes the path to Jesus smoother, how can we explain why Mary’s loyal servants are so ill-treated?
  2. I reply that it is quite true that the most faithful servants of the Blessed Virgin, being her greatest favourites, receive from her the best graces and favours from heaven, which are crosses. But I maintain too that these servants of Mary bear their crosses with greater ease and gain more merit and glory. What could check another’s progress a thousand times over, or possibly bring about his downfall, does not balk them at all, but even helps them on their way. For this good Mother, filled with the grace and unction of the Holy Spirit, dips all the crosses she prepares for them in the honey of her maternal sweetness and the unction of pure love. They then readily swallow them as they would sugared almonds, though the crosses may be very bitter. I believe that anyone who wishes to be devout and live piously in Jesus will suffer persecution and will have a daily cross to carry. But he will never manage to carry a heavy cross, or carry it joyfully and perseveringly, without a trusting devotion to our Lady, who is the very sweetness of the cross. It is obvious that a person could not keep on eating without great effort unripe fruit which has not been sweetened."
 
The best example I know of people who have been devoted to Mary who have followed extraordinary paths of struggle are St. Padre Pio and St. Maximilian Maria. Polish Saint Maximilian Maria studied philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics as a college student, before earning a doctorate in philosophy and a doctorate in theology in Rome, while suffering from tuberculosis. He became a priest, changed his name to Maria from Kolbe to venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary (also followed a devotion to Mary similar but different from St. Louis de Montfort), sheltered 2,000 Jews in his friary during the Holocaust, and when taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp offered to die in place of another man since that man had family and he did not as an abstinent friar. During his time in the cell, he led the men in songs and prayer. Finally, after three weeks dehydration and starvation, he was killed with an injection of carbolic acid. He is reported on the Jewish Virtual Library as Righteous Among the Nations. It shows that no matter how dire the situation God can continue to strengthen us and allow us to rejoice. jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Kolbe.html

St. Maximilian Maria chose into his suffering when he was a young boy, after seeing a vision of Our Blessed Mother where she offered him either a white crown for purity or a red crown for martyrdom. He chose both.

I suspect it is true that those who suffer most on earth in the most humble ways will receive the greatest crowns in heaven. I doubt that God needs us to suffer since his great righteous son Jesus Christ died on the Cross for us all, but I think that he allows us to suffer to prove our love for him… maybe the same way that a beautiful princess of old might choose a knight who fought most valiantly for her hand God may reward those who willingly choose to suffer the most for the sake of love of God… the stigmata…etc… Or maybe he transforms all suffering into joy. St. Therese of the Little Flower at the end of her 24 years of life said, “**I have reached the point of not being able to suffer any more, because all suffering is sweet to me.” **

“When we know that the way of love - this exodus, this going out of oneself - is the true way by which man becomes human, then we also understand that suffering is the process through which we mature. Anyone who has inwardly accepted suffering becomes more mature and more understanding of others, becomes more human. Anyone who has consistently avoided suffering does not understand other people; he becomes hard and selfish. Love itself is a passion, something we endure. In love I experience first a happiness, a general feeling of happiness. Yet, on the other hand, I am taken out of my comfortable tranquility and have to let myself be reshaped. If we say that suffering is the inner side of love, we then also understand by it is so important to learn how to suffer - and why, conversely, the avoidance of suffering renders someone unfit to cope with life.” Pope Benedict XVI

*Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *
 
PraRFLEsEkHm - Thank you for your great advice. The passages from Scripture manage to capture perfectly how I feel at this present time; and your advice really hit home.

PhilotheaZ - I remember hearing about St. Augustine a number of years ago and I bought Confessions then. Unfortunately, I never got around to reading the book and it has sat collecting dust on my bookshelf. However, after reading your post I decided to pick the book up and try again. I will let you know what I think of the book when I have read it all. Thanks for the suggestion; I’m glad that you reminded me of this book.

littleone - You’re right. I should rely on the grace of God to help me in my daily life, rather than struggle to go it totally alone. I have found that I need help, I can’t become a saint without the help of God.

Epistemes - I am in exactly the same situation as you. I often fall back into old habits and I think you are right in suggesting a gradual conversion. In any case, I really don’t think I would be able to go through a full conversion over night; and even if I did, it wouldn’t last long. I am sick of going through the constant cycle of sin followed by repentance. I wish I could persevere more and gradually increase in holiness, rather than try to become a saint over night only to fall of the horse a few weeks later. I go from one extreme to the other on a regular basis. I think I’ll try taking it one day at a time and try increase in holiness by doing small things to begin with.
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KingAlfred:
Your enjoyment of sinning is something you will probably outgrow.
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I hope so because this is a huge stumbling block for me. The problem is that I find it hard to see the damage that my sin does. I know it does cause damage, but it’s not easily seen. However, one day we will all see the consequences of our personal sins.

Mark Robert - being a Christian does give meaning to my life but I haven’t experienced the peace of Christ fully. I wish I really knew he was there for us. Being a Christian brings a lot of alienation, especially when you don’t have any friends who share your convictions. However, I’m not going to give up. I’ve never been one to shy away from a good fight.

AveSantaMaria - I love the Blessed Mother and I go through stages where I pray her Rosary on a daily basis. In fact, the Blessed Mother was responsible for my reversion to the Catholic faith. She held my hand and led me directly to her Son. I’ll read some of the writings of St. Louis De Montfort in the future. I recall hearing that John Paul II was (name removed by moderator)ired by his writings as a young man. I’ll read those books as soon as I have finished Confessions. Thanks for the suggestion.

Once again, thank you all for the advice and suggestions. It has helped a great deal.
 
You seem to have a very human struggle going on. If I may, I’d like to address some points in your post and hope that my observations and comments are helpful. Please take what you can use and disregard the rest.
Dempsey1919 said:
I am a Catholic but I have not given my all to Christ. I strive to live a morally good life, but I have not devoted myself entirely to Jesus.
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You remind me of the young man who appoached Jesus and said that he was already observing the commandments. He asked Jesus what else he could do to be saved. Jesus answered him, “Go sell all that you have, give to the poor and come follow me.”

Jesus calls us to follow him, sometimes at a great price. It means that we must surrender whatever gives us pleasure, even material things, not to mention sin.

In the story, the young man went away sad, because he was very rich. We can choose to follow Christ as he calls us to do or go away sad.
I haven’t done this because I am afraid of the consequences. I know that Christ will form me into a new man, and that he will kill the sinful desires that still linger inside me.
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On the contrary, the great saints will tell you that Christ allows the temptations to continue. Sometimes new temptations replace old ones; but there are always temptations. If Christ takes away the desires that linger within us, there is not free will. If there are no desires, then there are no choices. If there are no choices, then our lives are not a gift to the Lord.

St. Thomas Aquinas said that sanctity is a choice. This would suggest that one has two things or more from which to choose.
Christ wants to help us become perfect, just as he is perfect.
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This is true. Our holy father Francis understood this better than most Christians in human history. He explained it in very simple terms. Christ chooses to help us be perfec through the example of his life. To embrace the Gospel is to embrace the life of Christ. Every man and woman who imitates the life of Christ becomes perfect as Christ is perfect.
However, and I’m ashamed to admit this: I enjoy sinning. I enjoy the pleasure sin brings, but at the same time I hate sinning because I know it will bring about my demise.
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This is what Karl Rhaner called “the human paradox.” We live in a state of tension between what he ought to do and what we want to do. This was not an original idea from Rhaner. He developed this from St. Paul who said that he did what he did not want to do and failed at what he wanted to do. But as St. Paul also taught, the human paradox is not master over us. It exists, but we are the masters. We make the choices. The paradox is just a state of spiritual tension with which we live. When we choose, we relieve ourselves of this tension. We must choose to live as Christ lived, said St. Francis.
I want to be a good person, but not yet.
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Jesus once said “The poor shall be with you always, but I will not.” He did not mean that he was going to abandon us. What he meant was that our time in this world is limited. In a short while we will no longer be here. If we do not make a choice for Christ today, tomorrow may be too late. We will no longer be here. Once we have died, there is not much that Christ can do to support our choices, as we will no longer have the opportunity to choose between right and wrong.
I go through stages where I increase in holiness, but I always fall again because of the desire to sin.
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This is normal for every one who struggles to live according to the Gospel. Sometimes we can become disheartened thinking that we’re never going to get it right. We should never become despondent. Every sinner has the ability to get up and walk again. Remember the scriptures. Jesus would tell the blind man to see, the deaf man to open up, the lame to get up and walk. These miracles were done to prove a point, everyone can change.
I wish I could be like Christ, but I always wonder whether the life of a Saint would be full of misery and drudgery?
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Maybe you should read the lives of some saints who were very ascetic. Try with this site on St. Francis. Begin with section 1 and see what you think. He was by far one of the most joyful and enthusiastic men in history and one of the most radical Catholics who ever lived.

198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAmain.html

198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fra/FRAmain.html
 
To be honest all I can tell you is become Catholic has brought me nothing but saddness and misery. Literally my entire life went to pieces almost the hour I was Baptized and Confirmed.

I’ve known only pain, sorrow, lonliness, poverty and misery since then. There has been spots of happiness do not get me wrong but eight times out of ten they came from my friends that were Buddhist or Pagan that I talked to, although my time with them is more rare by the week.

To be honest I don’t see what I gained from being Catholic in exchange for everything I lost: Girlfriend, friends, job, possesions, to an extent my health, happiness ect. (just wait someone will use that to flame me as selfish) and Iregret the decision every day since then and wish I could undo it and the mark it gave me.
 
To be honest I don’t see what I gained from being Catholic in exchange for everything I lost: Girlfriend, friends, job, possesions, to an extent my health, happiness ect. (just wait someone will use that to flame me as selfish) and Iregret the decision every day since then and wish I could undo it and the mark it gave me.
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Cyberwolf, I am sorry to hear of your situation but I can really sympathise with you. Being a devout Catholic has caused me to change dramatically, and this change has caused me to lose contact with friends. I still see them from time to time but I can no longer hang with them like I used to because they are always getting girls and most of then take heavy drugs. I’ve never took drugs but I’ve mixed with people who take all sorts. A lot my friends also engage in criminal behaviour, and it really makes me uneasy to be around them because I feel as if I am condoning their sins by not saying anything.

Becoming a devout Catholic has made me a better person. I am different now. However, the people I know are still the same, and they still do the same things; things that I now consider to be sinful. I am glad that I found my faith because it has stopped me from going down the wrong road; I am the only one of my friends who has not been locked up. Most of my family have been in trouble with the police, and many of them have been to prison. I am glad that I will never go down the same road as them.

Although being Catholic is difficult, I wouldn’t change it for the world. The alternative is far worse.
 
Pray with Saint Augustine, “Lord, change my heart, but just not yet.”

Everyone likes to sin, it’s why people do it. If sinning was truly ugly on the outside, instead of wearing a fake mask, nobody would sin. But because sin only appears pleasurable and fun and cool and great, people sin.

Don’t think you can’t fall time and again into sin on your way to perfection, either. Everyone dose. Nobody is born perfect, so everyone must fall time and again. But the Christian always gets right back up after falling and continues to walk to Jesus.

God promises no one happiness in this life, but He dose promise everyone happiness in the world to come. Whether man squanders that promise for himself or not is his choice: if he chooses to be unrepentant, he will lose the happiness God eagerly wants to give him; if he chooses to be repentant and trust in God’s Mercy, he will receive the happiness awaiting him in Heaven. Man reaps what he sows.
 
God promises no one happiness in this life, but He dose promise everyone happiness in the world to come. Whether man squanders that promise for himself or not is his choice: if he chooses to be unrepentant, he will lose the happiness God eagerly wants to give him; if he chooses to be repentant and trust in God’s Mercy, he will receive the happiness awaiting him in Heaven. Man reaps what he sows.
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It’s a good deal when you really think about it. Life is very short, and we don’t have to suffer muchl; afterall, life also contains alot of happiness and peace. However, we can choose to suffer for a few years while here on Earth, and in exchange we get eternity to live in total bliss! Eternal life does not cost us a lot when you really think about it! God is practically giving it away for free! We would be stupid not to take his offer.
 
Daily Meditation – Asking & God’s Giving
I asked for Strength, and God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom, and God gave me **Problems **to solve.
I asked for Prosperity, and God gave me Work.
I asked for Courage, and God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love, and God gave me **Troubled People **to help.
I asked for Favors, and God gave me Opportunities to do good works.
I received nothing I wanted.
I received everything I needed.
  • Author Unknown
 
Daily Meditation – Asking & God’s Giving
I asked for Strength, and God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom, and God gave me **Problems **to solve.
I asked for Prosperity, and God gave me Work.
I asked for Courage, and God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love, and God gave me **Troubled People **to help.
I asked for Favors, and God gave me Opportunities to do good works.
I received nothing I wanted.
I received everything I needed.
*Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with Thee. Blessed Art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. *
 
cyberwolf001 said:
To be honest all I can tell you is become Catholic has brought me nothing but saddness and misery. Literally my entire life went to pieces almost the hour I was Baptized and Confirmed.

I’ve known only pain, sorrow, lonliness, poverty and misery since then. There has been spots of happiness do not get me wrong but eight times out of ten they came from my friends that were Buddhist or Pagan that I talked to, although my time with them is more rare by the week.

To be honest I don’t see what I gained from being Catholic in exchange for everything I lost: Girlfriend, friends, job, possesions, to an extent my health, happiness ect. (just wait someone will use that to flame me as selfish) and Iregret the decision every day since then and wish I could undo it and the mark it gave me.
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Always be careful with correlations. The fact that two things happen simultaneously in our lives does not mean that they correlate to each other. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. It’s easy to make connections when the dots don’t really connect, because we are so miserable at the time.

You mentioned health problems. Let’s take that as an example. Becoming Catholic or Muslim does not cause health problems. Losing your job – did you lose your job because your employer does not hire Catholics? Did you lose your posessions because Catholics are not to have any?

The only possible correlation that I can see MAY BE losing your girlfriend, if she did not like the change in your life and losing friends who are unfriendly to Catholics.

From my perspective I would ask this question. Why would I want to have friends or a girlfriend who discriminate against another person because of their faith? Is this a real loss or are they showing their true colours that I never saw before.

I don’t know these people and can’t say this is what happened. So please take what I’m saying as hypothetical. I’m only going on what you have posted.

I would also encourage you to read this thread

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=4309494#post4309494?rd=

Read post 216 and feel free to read the other posts too.

Fraternally,

JR 🙂
 
Dempsey1919 said:
I am a Catholic but I have not given my all to Christ. I strive to live a morally good life, but I have not devoted myself entirely to Jesus.
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well… you are no different than most Catholics i know… Sorry to say, i am not kidding… I am not the best christian all the time either… but at least i am devoted to Christ… Anyway… was going to say more but will leave it at that… If i go on, i will say something… not too nice…

Anyway… living a moral life has its rewards and also its crosses… but you know… i figured this out one day: So does the “other way”… We humans just can’t win… Seriously…
haven’t done this because I am afraid of the consequences.
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If you want to know about consequences… to be avoided like the plague… read St. Faustina’s account of Hell… Diary #741… :eek: You could probably get it by using a search engine… this may help you a lot…
sSister l I know that Christ will form me into a new man, and that he will kill the sinful desires that still linger inside me.
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to know Christ is the ultimate… what you lose in finding Him is NOTHING in comparison to what you “lose”… Have you ever spent time with him in the Real Presence?? I just recently found out that being with Jesus @ the blessed Sacrament is also to be with the souls in Purgatory… (which was not difficult for me to believe…). When a person is There with Him (and them 🙂 , one sees things one does not see anywhere else… about one’s self, one’s life…

other than confession… that is my only recommendation… but it is a perfect one…
 
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