How many people actually try to live "The Way of the Cross" by Saint Francis of Assisi?

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Or, The Imitation of Christ for that matter? I feel like I’m in a very small minority by taking these two works literally and trying to actually live them, but deep within me, I feel I must persist.

Freud was always talking about the death instinct that he believed we all had, but I strongly feel that most everyone has a life instinct where they would prefer to live in this lowly world forever if they could, caring nothing about God’s Heavenly Kingdom that He has prepared for us! People seem to have the tendency to try to live this life to the fullest, but as spelled out in Ecclesiastes so well, all is vanity here in this lowly world. I’m not depressed but I’m certainly not happy living here. I’m so sorry if this post sounds sad and depressing, but we, especially us Christians, need to face up to reality and become skeptical of the vain worldly pleasures that we all seek so much. It seems as though people live this life always feeling that they are but one step away from obtaining lasting happiness. We all live life with something to look forward to; when it comes, it quickly passes and we come up with two more things that motivate us and that we start looking forward to. As for me, I try as hard as I can to avoid phony worldly pleasures that bind me to this world and keep my mind focused upward towards that Heavenly Kingdom that I have faith that I will someday enter, hopefully, sooner than later!
 
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Asceticism? It seems his perspiration provided me with inspiration. I am somewhat ascetic, mainly living with food more than material goods. But, that may not be forever. Worldly things include a printing press by which your bible may have been manufactured. If you are not at the point of writing your own, perhaps you should appreciate a few things of this world. I appreciate medicine, when I have a headache and take aspirin, it makes me feel like God reached into my mind and healed me. Saint Francis was amazing, and doctors of the Church like Saint Gregory were also amazing. Try to live well and I admire your sacrificial attitude toward God.
 
Good on you for this effort, truly!

Sadly, I howl when I feel the weight of the cross on my shoulders–suffering patiently is not my strong suit.
But I’m a work in progress…
 
Certainly, if what you say is true, you are an exemplary Christian. Most Christians don’t know what it means to be a Christian.

I know that you are in a minority within Christianity.

Jesus was stripped of his garments; we too must not be attached to earthly possessions in order to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.

You are and will be greatly blessed.

Keep it up, and Jesus may make of you a Doctor of the Church; you will be wisest amongst the wise.
 
Maybe you should get out more and enjoy simple things that the Lord might put in your path. Maybe you should venture into a field of interest (provided it’s descent) and may be you will be surprised at what you find. Maybe God is telling you to stop worrying and rely more on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
 
For everybody to see the truth that there is a Heaven above us and to suddenly stop engaging in worldly pleasures would create chaos in the world and would probably result in much suffering. We live in a world of good and evil and God permits evil because without it the world would come to a screeching halt. But that in no way means that some people are not called to live holy lives.

Saint Agustine once said that we are free to the degree that we can choose our evil, and I have my worldly pleasure that I fight against constantly. I have come to the conclusion that this world desire is not really a part of myself, and I wish there was a button I could push to rid myself of it forever!
 
I think that we can “be in the world, but not of it.”

A lot of what I see around me can distress me, but at the same time, there is still much good in it, and much beauty in it, too.

I feel like I have “one foot in it, and one foot out of it,” so to speak, and I’m sure that I’m probably not alone in feeling that way, due to my faith life.
 
I think that’s a little off, we are all called to holiness, to be no longer sinning.

In the modern world to be told that you must hate yourself would be jarring, sadly.
 
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“One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end of the road without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And there numbers were so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings."
–St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
 
oldgraymare2 said:
I think that we can "be in the world, but not of it."

A lot of what I see around me can distress me, but at the same time, there is still much good in it, and much beauty in it, too.

I feel like I have “one foot in it, and one foot out of it,” so to speak, and I’m sure that I’m probably not alone in feeling that way, due to my faith life.
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be in the world, but not of it.

I love this phrase, it is Biblical too, but more so because it can provide a simple guideline parameter of living out a Christian life, being a disciple.

Being NOT of the world, we can set priorities in our lives by recognizing “what are the world” and “what are we in God”, and prioritize them accordingly.

The “world” thus should never take precedent of our committment to the Lord in our lives.

Roughly I would set my priorities in the following order:
  1. God
  2. Family
  3. Work
  4. Others
For example, if my activities or choices in my life interfere or become obstacles in my committment to God, for example working as a doctor in an abortion clinic (obvious extreme example), I would not take the job, even though it may give me high salary (material) to support my family.

Another example - if I am offered a very good position in another city that causes me to be separated from my family, even though the pay is very attractive, I would not take the job as I need to be with my family (as a husband and a father).

Similary in term of choices that involve moral and ethics - they have to be examined from God’s perspective.
 
I’m in no way suggesting that we should hate the potential for righteousness that exists in each and every one of us. Looking upward to Heaven, and believing in it, is what I believe I should be doing. The more I experience in this world, the more that I see that most all worldly pleasures are vanity in comparison to what is to come.
 
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