Does Satan have our world under a strong spell?

[tonyrey]

I’m not too sure about the psychological effects that good and evil has upon us. You may very well be correct, but I find the promptings of the Holy Spirit to be quite ‘forceful.’

Are our blessing outweighed our misfortunes? Again, this sounds like a psychological question. If you’re including atheists, you may be correct, but as for the truly devout, we ought to be thankful to God for all our fortunes.

Since when did Christ appreciate the wonder and beauty of life on earth?

Haven’t you come across these words?

Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.…

?

We should never devalue our life here in this world. Where did I ever allude to this? We ought to feel great LOVE!

My precise words were: "To long for heaven **to the extent **where we devalue our life on earth implies we are useless, there is nothing we can enjoy and nothing we can do to help others…

Where do any of your quotes explicitly state that we should indulge in worldly pleasures?

There is a vast difference between indulgence and enjoyment. Only Puritans and Manicheans regard **all **pleasure as evil. Why did Jesus change the water into wine at the wedding feast? According to your statements He should have told them “all earthly things are full of vanity”!

How do you deal with all the Catholic teaching that are explicit in that we should not indulge in worldly things?
"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret

“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
-John 12:25

“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.”
-1 John 2:15

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

If only we were completely dead to self, and free from inner conflict, we could savour spiritual things, and win experience of heavenly contemplation.
-The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 11

Oh, if only a man had a spark of true love in his heart, he would know for certain that all earthly things are full of vanity.
-“The Imitation of Christ,” Book 1, Chapter 15

1 Peters 2:21 "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps"Mathews 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."These quotes cannot be ignored. We must integrate them within our belief system.

LOVE!

Anyone can select isolated texts to present an unbalanced view of life. How do you explain the prayer at Mass:

“Heaven and earth are full of your glory”?

According to you we should shun all worldly things and regard ourselves as prisoners waiting for death to deliver us from the curse of existence on earth. Yet Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the good things of life.

Not everyone has a vocation to be a monk or a nun cloistered from the world. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Haven’t you come across these words?
?
My precise words were: "To long for heaven **to the extent **where we devalue our life on earth implies we are useless, there is nothing we can enjoy and nothing we can do to help others…
There is a vast difference between indulgence and enjoyment. Only Puritans and Manicheans regard **all **pleasure as evil. Why did Jesus change the water into wine at the wedding feast? According to your statements He should have told them “all earthly things are full of vanity”!

Anyone can select isolated texts to present an unbalanced view of life. How do you explain the prayer at Mass:

“Heaven and earth are full of your glory”?

According to you we should shun all worldly things and regard ourselves as prisoners waiting for death to deliver us from the curse of existence on earth. Yet Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the good things of life.

Not everyone has a vocation to be a monk or a nun cloistered from the world. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.

We should never devalue this life to the point that we are not the soldiers of Christ. The way you present this, the individual sounds to be in complete despair.

Jesus turning water into wine in no way suggests that Jesus was condoning the enjoyment of the world in and of itself. He was merely following along with the customs of the time.

Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.…

How do you jump from what this quote actually says, to the new age doctrine that we should enjoy worldly things in and of themselves?

Again, I’m arguing that we should feel great LOVE living in this world, such as smiling when you hear a child laugh, so it’s most definitely is not all doom and gloom. But I contend that these things should be enjoyed while simultaneously hating the great evils that beset us in this world. A world with as much evil as ours, should be shunned, and not enjoyed in and of itself.

How is it that my selections of text paints an unbalanced view, but not the text that you select? Read the entire new testament, and the writings of saints, and show me anywhere that it states that we should enjoy the world in and of itself?

“Heaven and earth are full of your glory” in no way suggests that we are to enjoy the world in and of itself? The glory is to be found in the Cross!

 

[Charlemagne_III]

"Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
-John 12:25

The first part of that quote I think is a condemnation of living in and for the world and nothing else. John may well be thinking of the typical hedonism of his era, as we might think of the typical hedonism of our own time. Such a life is wasted and lost.

The second part of the quote should be taken as an urging of those who have lived in and for the world to start despising or hating their preoccupation with hedonism, so that they can be cleansed and prepared for eternal life.

 

[Aloysium]

. . . Jesus turning water into wine in no way suggests that Jesus was condoning the enjoyment of the world in and of itself. He was merely following along with the customs of the time. . .

I have never confessed that I enjoyed what (little) the world has to offer, unless I was not meant to possess it, such as would be the case with respect to my neighbour’s property, wife, etc.
To enjoy a party is sinful? His actions have to be excused as following custom? I think not.

 

[tonyrey]

Haven’t you come across these words?

Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.…

?My precise words were: "To long for heaven **to the extent **where we devalue our life on earth implies we are useless, there is nothing we can enjoy and nothing we can do to help others…
There is a vast difference between indulgence and enjoyment. Only Puritans and Manicheans regard **all **pleasure as evil. Why did Jesus change the water into wine at the wedding feast? According to your statements He should have told them “all earthly things are full of vanity”!

Anyone can select isolated texts to present an unbalanced view of life. How do you explain the prayer at Mass:

“Heaven and earth are full of your glory”?

According to you we should shun all worldly things and regard ourselves as prisoners waiting for death to deliver us from the curse of existence on earth. Yet Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the good things of life.

Not everyone has a vocation to be a monk or a nun cloistered from the world. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.
We should never devalue this life to the point that we are not the soldiers of Christ. The way you present this, the individual sounds to be in complete despair.

Not despair but aversion to life in this world.

Jesus turning water into wine in no way suggests that Jesus was condoning the enjoyment of the world in and of itself. He was merely following along with the customs of the time.

Do you really believe Jesus didn’t want the bride, bridegroom and guests to celebrate and enjoy themselves?

Again, I’m arguing that we should feel great LOVE living in this world, such as smiling when you hear a child laugh, so it’s most definitely is not all doom and gloom. But I contend that these things should be enjoyed while simultaneously hating the great evils that beset us in this world. A world with as much evil as ours, should be shunned, and not enjoyed in and of itself.

That view is not consistent with “**all **earthly things are **full **of vanity”.

How is it that my selections of text paints an unbalanced view, but not the text that you select? Read the entire new testament, and the writings of saints, and show me anywhere that it states that we should enjoy the world in and of itself?

Where have I stated or implied we should enjoy the world in and of itself?

“Heaven and earth are full of your glory” in no way suggests that we are to enjoy the world in and of itself? The glory is to be found in the Cross!

Where have I stated or implied we should enjoy the world in and of itself?
Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the** good **things of life. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.

 

[tonyrey]

I have never confessed that I enjoyed what the world has to offer, unless I was not meant to possess it, such as would be the case with respect to my neighbour’s property, wife, etc.
To enjoy a party is sinful? His actions have to be excused as following custom? I think not.

Jesus is supposed to be a killjoy!

 

[tonyrey]

"Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
-John 12:25

The first part of that quote I think is a condemnation of living in and for the world and nothing else. John may well be thinking of the typical hedonism of his era, as we might think of the typical hedonism of our own time. Such a life is wasted and lost.

The second part of the quote should be taken as an urging of those who have lived in and for the world to start despising or hating their preoccupation with hedonism, so that they can be cleansed and prepared for eternal life.

Jesus often used hyperbole - in accordance with Jewish custom - to emphasize the need to be on our guard against the danger of temptation. His words were echoed by Peter:

Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

 

[Robert_Sock]

Not despair but aversion to life in this world.

OK, aversions. Again, people ought to feel GREAT LOVE for the truly good things, such as the Holy Spirit and the carrying of the cross, but a great aversion to all the evil.

Do you really believe Jesus didn’t want the bride, bridegroom and guests to celebrate and enjoy themselves?

No, I do not think Christ was at all motivated by the celebration itself, but merely keeping within the bounds of the cultural norms of the time.

That view is not consistent with “**all **earthly things are **full **of vanity”.

We live in a world of good and evil. The ‘good,’ such as the Cross and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, should never be thought of as vanity. But the rest of the world, living under a strong spell, is indeed vanity.

Where have I stated or implied we should enjoy the world in and of itself?
Where have I stated or implied we should enjoy the world in and of itself?

How would you define ‘earthly enjoyment?’

Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the** good **things of life. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.

What do you consider the good things of life? I consider the good things to include charity and the Cross.

 

[tskrobacz]

I’m afraid that we live in world where ignorance and illusion abound. I voted ‘yes.’ Sex, porn, SSA and abortion make it hard to believe otherwise.

LOVE!

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

How could the devil offer to give Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world if they were not his to give?

 

[Cicero_NOLA]

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

How could the devil offer to give Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world if they were not his to give?

Because he is a prince of lies and empty promises. That’s how sin works. You think you’re getting something good, but you actually damage yourself. Look at SSM. Advocates think they’re doing something good by providing a great thing to more people. They don’t realize that what they seek is a counterfeit.

 

[Cicero_NOLA]

OK, aversions. Again, people ought to feel GREAT LOVE for the truly good things, such as the Holy Spirit and the carrying of the cross, but a great aversion to all the evil.

No, I do not think Christ was at all motivated by the celebration itself, but merely keeping within the bounds of the cultural norms of the time.

We live in a world of good and evil. The ‘good,’ such as the Cross and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, should never be thought of as vanity. But the rest of the world, living under a strong spell, is indeed vanity.

How would you define ‘earthly enjoyment?’

What do you consider the good things of life? I consider the good things to include charity and the Cross.

Robert, you are getting farther afield as this thread continues. I strongly recommend you (at least temporarily) stop trying out half-baked ideas on the forum to see what kind of response you get and instead go read the Catechism. And after that, go talk to your pastor. In each response you seem to up the ante of misinterpreting others by either not reading closely what we’ve written or reading us with insufficient Christian charity for what is intended. There are tracts on this site on the problem of evil and many other topics and they have all received an imprimatur from Bishop Brom. Check them out. Maybe something with some additional authority (combined with prayerful reflection) will help bring you around to a correct understanding of these topics we’ve touched this week. Many of them are long-settled Church teachings.

As for you more recent posts:

In the last day or so you’ve taken several individual scriptures and started marching off into absurdity without any consideration of the rest of Scripture or Tradition. That’s like looking at the weight change my daughter underwent between her first and second birthdays (doubled) and determined that she will weigh 240 lbs on her fifth. You need more data and an appreciation for the larger picture.

Creation is good.. Look at Genesis: the earth is here for our benefit and a God gave us the ability to enjoy food and tell jokes and love because *that’s what He wants us to be able to do. *Similarly sex is pleasurable because God made it so, and the Church teaches there are 2 ends proper to sex and you must have both as your intention. Hedonism isn’t the order of the day, but it is ok to enjoy sex.

You should hate your life on earth insofar as you are ready to give it up in service to the Lord, not that everyone should commit suicide or sit around aimlessly not using their God-given gifts for the benefit of others while awaiting the Second Coming.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Robert, you are getting farther afield as this thread continues. I strongly recommend you (at least temporarily) stop trying out half-baked ideas on the forum to see what kind of response you get and instead go read the Catechism. And after that, go talk to your pastor. In each response you seem to up the ante of misinterpreting others by either not reading closely what we’ve written or reading us with insufficient Christian charity for what is intended. There are tracts on this site on the problem of evil and many other topics and they have all received an imprimatur from Bishop Brom. Check them out. Maybe something with some additional authority (combined with prayerful reflection) will help bring you around to a correct understanding of these topics we’ve touched this week. Many of them are long-settled Church teachings.

As for you more recent posts:

In the last day or so you’ve taken several individual scriptures and started marching off into absurdity without any consideration of the rest of Scripture or Tradition. That’s like looking at the weight change my daughter underwent between her first and second birthdays (doubled) and determined that she will weigh 240 lbs on her fifth. You need more data and an appreciation for the larger picture.

Creation is good.. Look at Genesis: the earth is here for our benefit and a God gave us the ability to enjoy food and tell jokes and love because *that’s what He wants us to be able to do. *Similarly sex is pleasurable because God made it so, and the Church teaches there are 2 ends proper to sex and you must have both as your intention. Hedonism isn’t the order of the day, but it is ok to enjoy sex.

You should hate your life on earth insofar as you are ready to give it up in service to the Lord, not that everyone should commit suicide or sit around aimlessly not using their God-given gifts for the benefit of others while awaiting the Second Coming.

So creation is ‘good.’ What about extreme poverty, rape, murder, porn, SSA, abortion, sexual promiscuity, pain and suffering etc. Your assertions ignore our fall from grace and all the evil that now exists in the world.

Some people would rather live in this world through eternity, caring nothing about the Heavenly Kingdom. Eat, drink and be merry if you must, but know that this is not the way of the Cross.

 

[tonyrey]

Robert, you are getting farther afield as this thread continues. I strongly recommend you (at least temporarily) stop trying out half-baked ideas on the forum to see what kind of response you get and instead go read the Catechism. And after that, go talk to your pastor. In each response you seem to up the ante of misinterpreting others by either not reading closely what we’ve written or reading us with insufficient Christian charity for what is intended. There are tracts on this site on the problem of evil and many other topics and they have all received an imprimatur from Bishop Brom. Check them out. Maybe something with some additional authority (combined with prayerful reflection) will help bring you around to a correct understanding of these topics we’ve touched this week. Many of them are long-settled Church teachings.

As for you more recent posts:

In the last day or so you’ve taken several individual scriptures and started marching off into absurdity without any consideration of the rest of Scripture or Tradition. That’s like looking at the weight change my daughter underwent between her first and second birthdays (doubled) and determined that she will weigh 240 lbs on her fifth. You need more data and an appreciation for the larger picture.

Creation is good.. Look at Genesis: the earth is here for our benefit and a God gave us the ability to enjoy food and tell jokes and love because *that’s what He wants us to be able to do. *Similarly sex is pleasurable because God made it so, and the Church teaches there are 2 ends proper to sex and you must have both as your intention. Hedonism isn’t the order of the day, but it is ok to enjoy sex.

You should hate your life on earth insofar as you are ready to give it up in service to the Lord, not that everyone should commit suicide or sit around aimlessly not using their God-given gifts for the benefit of others while awaiting the Second Coming.

“service” is the keyword - as opposed to prejudice (against pleasure and enjoyment).

 

[tonyrey]

Not despair but aversion to life in this world.

There is far more to life than carrying the Cross. There is the joy of the Resurrection which should dominate our attitude to existence.

Do you really believe Jesus didn’t want the bride, bridegroom and guests to celebrate and enjoy themselves?

No, I do not think Christ was at all motivated by the celebration itself, but merely keeping within the bounds of the cultural norms of the time.

In other words you believe Jesus was a miserable, conventional person!

That view is not consistent with "**all **

*earthly things are **full **of vanity".

We live in a world of good and evil. The ‘good,’ such as the Cross and the promptings of the Holy Spirit, should never be thought of as vanity. But the rest of the world, living under a strong spell, is indeed vanity.

?

God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good.

Genesis 1:31

Where have I stated or implied we should enjoy the world in and of itself?

How would you define ‘earthly enjoyment?’

Joy and appreciation of all the blessings God has bestowed on us for life in this world:

God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good.

Genesis 1:31

Jesus didn’t set out to make people miserable but to heal and console them so that they could enjoy the** good **

*things of life. Total detachment is the goal of Buddhists not Christians.

What do you consider the good things of life? I consider the good things to include charity and the Cross. OK, aversions. Again, people ought to feel GREAT LOVE for the truly good things, such as the Holy Spirit and the carrying of the cross, but a great aversion to all the evil.

“include” gives the game away! You are avoiding the issue to support your unbalanced view of life on earth.

1. Is there nothing else that is truly good?
2. What is the purpose of this life if heaven is our destination?
3. Why are we given bodies if they are merely a source of evil and temptation?
4. Has God set a trap for us?

 

[davidv]

So creation is ‘good.’ What about extreme poverty, rape, murder, porn, SSA, abortion, sexual promiscuity, pain and suffering etc. Your assertions ignore our fall from grace and all the evil that now exists in the world.

Are any of these things God’s creation? No! They a man’s. God’s creation is good, including each of us.

Some people would rather live in this world through eternity, caring nothing about the Heavenly Kingdom. Eat, drink and be merry if you must, but know that this is not the way of the Cross.

This conveniently ignores the legitimate enjoyment of God’s creation. It is not an either or problem.

 

[Cicero_NOLA]

Are any of these things God’s creation? No! They a man’s. God’s creation is good, including each of us.

This conveniently ignores the legitimate enjoyment of God’s creation. It is not an either or problem.

Davidv gets it, Robert. As I said, I don’t think you’re reading the other posts very carefully and you’ve created this world in your mind where if evidence of X exists somewhere, it must therefore also apply uniformly across Creation. You are arguing: Sin exists, therefore all of Creation is utterly reprobate. No. Even a sinful person can enjoy a sunset and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a sunset. Or a glass of wine, or your son’s baseball game, or the satisfaction of building a cabinet, or listening to birds chirp. It is ok to enjoy your life. You just have to be properly ordered toward God.

I wish you well and will pray for you.

 

[Robert_Sock]

There is far more to life than carrying the Cross. There is the joy of the Resurrection which should dominate our attitude to existence.

Daily carrying the Cross of Christ is the greatest invitation of Christ. We must cooperate with God in our salvation. We are warned time and time again not to live for worldly things.

Why should the joy of the Resurrection define our attitude to existence? Do you have a source, or are you interjecting your own personal opinion?

In other words you believe Jesus was a miserable, conventional person!

Christ is the Son of God, with a mission for our salvation. Nowhere do we see Christ seeking worldly things.

Joy and appreciation of all the blessings God has bestowed on us for life in this world:

Yes. But this is no license to be worldly. Carrying the Cross is paramount.

Genesis 1:31

The term ‘very good’ alludes to the evil inclination in Judaism. In any event, we live in a fallen world, overcome with evil.

“include” gives the game away! You are avoiding the issue to support your unbalanced view of life on earth.

1. Is there nothing else that is truly good?
2. What is the purpose of this life if heaven is our destination?
3. Why are we given bodies if they are merely a source of evil and temptation?
4. Has God set a trap for us?

1. God alone is ‘good.’
2. Purification of our soul.
3. Before the fall, our bodies were good, but afterwards we became very susceptible to evil.
4. NO!!!

LOVE!

 

[Robert_Sock]

Davidv gets it, Robert. As I said, I don’t think you’re reading the other posts very carefully and you’ve created this world in your mind where if evidence of X exists somewhere, it must therefore also apply uniformly across Creation. You are arguing: Sin exists, therefore all of Creation is utterly reprobate. No. Even a sinful person can enjoy a sunset and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a sunset. Or a glass of wine, or your son’s baseball game, or the satisfaction of building a cabinet, or listening to birds chirp. It is ok to enjoy your life. You just have to be properly ordered toward God.

I wish you well and will pray for you.

Thank you! How do you interpret the following in respect to being worldly:

"The death of the just: Death will reach everyone, the good and the bad; but the destiny of each one is quite different. The just man sees himself in this valley of tears as a prisoner, serving a very hard term. He considers himself a slave in this world, suffering an extremely distressing servitude. He regards himself a sailor caught in a horrible storm. And as death means an end of his confinement, an end of his slavery, and is the port of his salvation, he ceases not to cry with David, ‘Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged!’ (Ps. 119:5)… He ceases not to ask with the Apostle’… Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24)”
-The Golden Key to Heaven, by Saint Anthony Mary Claret

“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
-John 12:25

“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.”
-1 John 2:15

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

If only we were completely dead to self, and free from inner conflict, we could savour spiritual things, and win experience of heavenly contemplation.
-The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 11

Oh, if only a man had a spark of true love in his heart, he would know for certain that all earthly things are full of vanity.
-“The Imitation of Christ,” Book 1, Chapter 15

1 Peters 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps”

Mathews 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Luke 14:33 “So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

 

[Robert_Sock]

618 The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men”. But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to “take up [their] cross and follow [him]”, for “Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps.” In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering.

**Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.**

-CCC

LOVE!

 

[tonyrey]

There is far more to life than carrying the Cross. There is the joy of the Resurrection which should dominate our attitude to existence.

Our Lord’s greatest invitation is to co-operate with Him by loving Him and everyone else on earth and in heaven.

We are warned time and time again not to live for worldly things.

There is a vast difference between living for worldly things and enjoying the good things in this world

Why should the joy of the Resurrection define our attitude to existence? Do you have a source, or are you interjecting your own personal opinion?

654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, "so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."526 Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.527 It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren."528 We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.
655 ** Finally, Christ’s Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection**: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."529 The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment . In Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come"530 and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may "live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."531

Christ is the Son of God, with a mission for our salvation. Nowhere do we see Christ seeking worldly things.

Do you believe Jesus was a miserable person?

Joy and appreciation of all the blessings God has bestowed on us for life in this world:

Yes. But this is no license to be worldly. Carrying the Cross is paramount.

The joy of the Resurrection should be paramount because that is the reason why Jesus suffered and died for us. Suffering in itself is of no value.

Genesis 1:31

The term ‘very good’ alludes to the evil inclination in Judaism.

Please explain what you mean and justify your assertion.

In any event, we live in a fallen world, overcome with evil.

We live in a world redeemed by Our Lord.

             *

“include” gives the game away! You are avoiding the issue to support your unbalanced view of life on earth.

1. Is there nothing else that is truly good?
2. What is the purpose of this life if heaven is our destination?
3. Why are we given bodies if they are merely a source of evil and temptation?
4. Has God set a trap for us?*

1. God alone is ‘good.’

Since God created us in His image and likeness we cannot be intrinsically evil.

1. Purification of our soul.

Why do we have a body if the only purpose of this life is purification of our soul?

1. Before the fall, our bodies were good, but afterwards we became very susceptible to evil.

You have stated that God alone is good.

1. NO!!!

If the body is merely a source of evil and temptation God shouldn’t have given us a body…