And I will go where people are genuine and honest.
The core, regular posters are genuine and honest.
I did not grow up as a Catholic, but, converted to the Church in my 30’s. Before that, I spent my teens/twenties in the “Prosperity Gospel” world. Those teachings are not helpful as they do make us expect that God will make us prosperous, healthy, wealthy, happy. This leads to the hopelessness that I hear in your message. The verse you quote in Jeremiah is one of that teachings way of twisting the Scriptures.
God promised us that we will suffer. The greatest Saints suffered poverty, illness, famine, war, pestilence, disease, years when God felt a million miles away. What Christ promised is that He will be with us in suffering, that He will not forsake us, that He will give us a peace that passes all understanding during that suffering.
Christ teaches us Christians a very radical thing, so contrary to what many have been taught, that our suffering is important! That it helps us and others!!
The suffering Psalms are important, as is the book of Job and St Paul’s letters:
The great St Pope John Paul II wrote a beautiful document about suffering, and demonstrated with his own life and death how to suffer with peace and joy, that suffering is part of salvation!. You can read the entire letter at the link below:
http://www.vatican.va/content/john-.../hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.html
1. Declaring the power of salvific suffering, the Apostle Paul says: “In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church”(1).
These words seem to be found at the end of the long road that winds through the suffering which forms part of the history of man and which is illuminated by the Word of God. These words have as it were the value of a final discovery, which is accompanied by joy. For this reason Saint Paul writes: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake”(2). The joy comes from the discovery of the meaning of suffering, and this discovery, even if it is most personally shared in by Paul of Tarsus who wrote these words, is at the same time valid for others. The Apostle shares his own discovery and rejoices in it because of all those whom it can help—just as it helped him—to understand the salvific meaning of suffering.
There is a wonderful book by Fr Phillipe that saved my life in the time of my deepest poverty, facing homelessness and not able to feed my dog, being cast out of work, and so much more. If you want to private message me your email address, I will give you a gift of the electronic Kindle verson of this book.
