Is having a miserable life a requirement for us to get to heaven?

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Str84ward

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It seems that the only way to get to heaven is to carry the cross (today’s Gospel). It seems to me that one is not really a Christian if one is not suffering. Suffering / “the cross” is a trademark of authentic Christianity.

I read a lot of the lives of the Saints. That being said, most of the Saints had painful and challenging lives. Many died as martyrs. That being said, is having a miserable life a requirement for us to get into Heaven? Ironically, most of them also had joy. Unlike me I complain about my crosses.

If we are happy, is that an indication that we are not carrying our cross well enough?

Does God want us to completely forgo happiness on Earth to have eternal happiness with him in Heaven?

I just want to chill, be content, to relax and be happy in this world as well; will I not be good enough for Heaven then?
 
Yes the cross is part rather part of the life of the Christian. That though does not mean that one is to be “miserable”.

Joy is the way of the Christian. And that does not mean only when we “feel” some joyful emotion.
 
“If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live”.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi)

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html

(such is not per se a matter of the emotions…tis deeper that such …though it can can does effect the emotions too at times…Christian joy though can exist even in great suffering…)

“The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.”

“The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!”…

“I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”

~ Pope Francis (The Joy of the Gospel)

w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#The_joy_of_the_gospel

"Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).

Therefore, let us face our life with its joys and sorrows supported by these great sentiments that Paul offers to us. By having an experience of them we will realize how true are the words the Apostle himself wrote: “I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me”; in other words, until the Day (II Tm 1: 12) of our definitive meeting with Christ the Judge, Saviour of the world and our Saviour."

~ Pope Benedict XVI

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108.html
 
“Gaudete in Domino semper - Rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4: 4).”

“Christian joy thus springs from this certainty: God is close, he is with me, he is with us, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as a friend and faithful spouse. And this joy endures, even in trials, in suffering itself. It does not remain only on the surface; it dwells in the depths of the person who entrusts himself to God and trusts in him.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20071216.html

“… there is one great Friend, who is the author of the joy of all and who fills our hearts with a joy that surpasses all other joys and lasts a lifetime: he is Jesus.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20121220_acr.html

]“Dear friends, today too the Risen One enters our homes and our hearts, even when, at times, the doors are closed. He enters giving joy and peace, life and hope, gifts we need for our human and spiritual rebirth. Only he can roll away those stones from the tombs in which all too often people seal themselves off from their own feelings, their own relationships, their own behaviour; stones that sanction death: division, enmity, resentment, envy, diffidence, indifference. Only he, the Living One, can give meaning to existence and enable those who are weary and sad, downhearted and drained of hope, to continue on their journey. This was the experience of the two disciples who were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus on Easter Day (cf. Lk 24:13-35). They were talking about Jesus but their sad looks (cf. v. 17), expressed their disappointed hopes, uncertainty and melancholy. They had left their homeland to follow Jesus with his friends and had discovered a new reality in which forgiveness and love were no longer only words but had a tangible effect on life. Jesus of Nazareth had made all things new, he had transformed their life. But now he was dead and it all seemed to be over.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI

"With Jesus’ arrival the disciple’s situation of anguish changes radically. He enters through closed doors, he stands in their midst and gives them the peace that reassures: “Peace to you” (Jn 20:19b). It is a common greeting but it now acquires new significance because it brings about an inner change; it is the Easter greeting that enables the disciples to overcome all fear. The peace that Jesus brings is the gift of salvation that he had promised in his farewell discourses: “peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).

On this day of the Resurrection he gives it in fullness and for the community it becomes a source of joy, the certainty of victory, and security in relying on God. “Let not your hearts be troubled”, (Jn 14:1), do not be afraid, he also says to us."

~ Pope Benedict XVI

“In Jerusalem they hear the news of Jesus’ Resurrection and, in turn, they recount their own experience, on fire with love for the Risen One who has opened their hearts to an uncontainable joy. As St Peter says, they were “born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (cf. 1 Pet 1:3). Indeed, the enthusiasm of faith, love for the community, the need to communicate the Good News was reborn within them. The Teacher is risen and with him all life is reborn; witnessing to this event becomes an irrepressible need for them.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120411.html

"“Gaudete in Domino semper”, St Paul wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). True joy is not a fruit of “divertirsi” [having a good time] understood in the etymological sense of the word di-vertere (di-version), that is, shirking the commitments of life and one’s responsibilities.

True joy is linked to something deeper. Of course, in the all too often frenetic pace of daily life it is important to find time for rest and relaxation, but true joy is linked to our relationship with God. Those who have encountered Christ in their own lives feel a serenity and joy in their hearts that no one and no situation can take from them. St Augustine understood this very well; in his quest for truth, peace and joy, after seeking them in vain in many things he concluded with his famous words: “and our heart is restless until it rests in God” (cf. Confessions, I, 1, 1).

True joy is not merely a passing state of mind or something that can be achieved with the person’s own effort; rather it is a gift, born from the encounter with the living Person of Jesus and, making room within ourselves, from welcoming the Holy Spirit who guides our lives. It is the invitation of the Apostle Paul who says: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 5:23)."

~ Pope Benedict XVI

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20111211.html
 
I find it very difficult to manufacture joy when I come across my crosses. Am I missing something here? Honestly, who rejoices when suffering? Is that a grace?

Seems quite masochistic when one rejoices when suffering, don’t you think?
Bookcat said:
Yes the cross is part rather part of the life of the Christian. That though does not mean that one is to be “miserable”.

Joy is the way of the Christian. And that does not mean only when we “feel” some joyful emotion.
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Str84ward said:
I find it very difficult to manufacture joy when I come across my crosses. Am I missing something here?

Seems quite masochistic when one rejoices when suffering, don’t you think?
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No. Absolutely not masochistic. Not at all.

Yes your missing the readings I just posted …while you were writing this post.

Read EACH of the above …slowly and thoughtfully…

And return to them…
 
So, OP:
It’s your position that you have nothing at all to be joyful about?
You do not see the good in God’s creation? In people? In children? In music and art?
In good food, friends, a great book?
Nothing?
We can possess any of those and still bear a cross.
 
Having a miserable life could have the opposite effect. It could lead to suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.

If things get hard, you can somehow learn how to endure hardship. But it may not be a good idea to search for hardship or misery.
 
Your source of joy changes. What was bitter becomes sweet.

“This is how the Lord gave me, brother Francis, the power to do penance. When I was in sin the sight of lepers was too bitter for me. And the Lord himself led me among them, and I pitied and helped them. And when I left them I discovered that what had seemed bitter to me was changed into sweetness in my soul and body. And shortly afterward I rose and left the world.”

sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/stfran-test.html
 
Suffering is a subjective term. Depends on your definition of suffering. Catholics in some African and middle eastern countries view suffering as starving to death and facing death/ persecution for practicing their faith. For them being able to feed their children and practice their faith safely is “not suffering”.

When I start thinking woe is me, I think of these people and my problems don’t feel so big or insurmountable. I consider myself blessed, even when we went through a difficult patch when my husband was unemployed for 8 months. We live in a wealthy country, we have universal healthcare and he was assisted by the government to obtain a job.

That’s not to negate or invalidate anyone’s suffering, but for me putting my “problems” in a wider perspective makes it more bearable.
 
When we pick up our cross and follow our Lord Jesus Christ, then we have His peace.

When we focus on His Passion and meditate on His Life in the Rosary, we begin to understand how much the Lord has done for us. We have prayer and the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation where grace abounds for us the better we prepare for those sacraments.

When we encounter suffering in our lives that cannot be changed, that is what we can endure for the love of the Lord. (we can pray for healing and alleviate sufferings in various ways), but there are some we need to endure and allow that suffering to conform us to Christ. It is He who sanctifies.

Our lives cannot be miserable when we do this. We can offer up the suffering that we cannot change and do it out of love for the Lord who does everything for us. He created us and loves us infinitely…always waiting in the wings with open arms if we are in mortal sin. Repentant sincere confession remedies this.

Peace!

Dorothy
 
Str84ward said:
It seems that the only way to get to heaven is to carry the cross (today’s Gospel). It seems to me that one is not really a Christian if one is not suffering. Suffering / “the cross” is a trademark of authentic Christianity.

I read a lot of the lives of the Saints. That being said, most of the Saints had painful and challenging lives. Many died as martyrs. That being said, is having a miserable life a requirement for us to get into Heaven? Ironically, most of them also had joy. Unlike me I complain about my crosses.

If we are happy, is that an indication that we are not carrying our cross well enough?

Does God want us to completely forgo happiness on Earth to have eternal happiness with him in Heaven?

I just want to chill, be content, to relax and be happy in this world as well; will I not be good enough for Heaven then?
Click to expand...
It always seems like it, huh? I don’t know if that is the case though. I don’t like reading about those old school saints. Their asceticism, zeal and masochism is unattractive to me.
 
SAVINGRACE said:
Suffering is a subjective term. Depends on your definition of suffering. Catholics in some African and middle eastern countries view suffering as starving to death and facing death/ persecution for practicing their faith. For them being able to feed their children and practice their faith safely is “not suffering”.

When I start thinking woe is me, I think of these people and my problems don’t feel so big or insurmountable. I consider myself blessed, even when we went through a difficult patch when my husband was unemployed for 8 months. We live in a wealthy country, we have universal healthcare and he was assisted by the government to obtain a job.

That’s not to negate or invalidate anyone’s suffering, but for me putting my “problems” in a wider perspective makes it more bearable.
Click to expand...
Very true. There are worse things to deal with.
 
Str84ward said:
It seems that the only way to get to heaven is to carry the cross (today’s Gospel). It seems to me that one is not really a Christian if one is not suffering. Suffering / “the cross” is a trademark of authentic Christianity.

I read a lot of the lives of the Saints. That being said, most of the Saints had painful and challenging lives. Many died as martyrs. That being said, is having a miserable life a requirement for us to get into Heaven? Ironically, most of them also had joy. Unlike me I complain about my crosses.

If we are happy, is that an indication that we are not carrying our cross well enough?

Does God want us to completely forgo happiness on Earth to have eternal happiness with him in Heaven?

I just want to chill, be content, to relax and be happy in this world as well; will I not be good enough for Heaven then?
Click to expand...
Very few have the strength of faith or the moral and physical courage of the Saints. It’s not required of everyone.
 
I believe St. Therese of Lisieux said it was not necessary to do great penances but to accept the crosses that life brings us with patience and love. If we can patiently bear the things we cannot change, we can offer these things to Jesus to help save our souls and others. We do not enjoy suffering but we can look at it in a different way. God does want us to be happy.
 
One saint of last century, Saint Faustina wrote in her diary,

(Not directly quoted)

I saw Jesus on the cross for a while, then saw a multitude of souls crucified like Him.

Then a second multitude of souls , and a third.
The second group were not nailed to their crosses , but were holding them firmly in their hands.
the third group were dragging their crosses behind them and were discontent.

Jesus said to Saint Faustina
Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory.
And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblence to Me in glory.

And remember one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is JOY.
 
To wallow in misery is not God’s choice for us. That is a choice we make. I guess when the misery gets to be too much, we’ll turn to God. He is the only answer. He waits for us to say YES to Him.

Remember this world is merely a journey; it is not our destination. Our goal is to be with God. If you keep that goal at the center of your life, you will find joy regardless of the crosses you are carrying.

Jesus, I trust in You.

God Bless You.
 
Str84ward said:
I just want to chill, be content, to relax and be happy in this world as well; will I not be good enough for Heaven then?
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One man’s misery is another’s blessing. The great Saints enjoyed suffering for their love of God! You seek infinite and eternal reward for essentially doing nothing? As to chilling, there are no slackers in the Kingdom!
“Because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spew you from my mouth.” (Rev. 3:16)
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Your cross is the greatest blessing in that it tests you, strengthens you, makes you a more integral part of Christ’s suffering Body and demonstrates God’s infinite love of you.
“Because thou wast found acceptable to God, it was necessary that tests should prove thy worth.” Tobit 12:13 (Vulgate).
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Saint Padre Pio on the value of suffering:
“Let us always keep close to the Cross of Christ, and we will succeed in conquering in everything and over everyone.”
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“Let us ascend Calvary, burdened with the Cross but without tiring. And let us be convinced that our ascent will lead us to the Heavenly vision of our sweetest Savior.”
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“The longer the trial to which God subjects you, the greater the goodness in comforting you during the time of trial and in the exaltation after the combat.”
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“The angels are envious of us for one reason only: they are not able to suffer for God. Only through suffering can a soul say with certainty: My God, You see I do love You!”
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“Don’t fear at all, but consider yourself extremely fortunate to have been worthy of participating in the sufferings of Christ. Bless the Lord for this, and resign yourself to drinking the chalice of Gethsemane.”
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“We do not want to accept the fact that suffering is necessary for our souls; that the cross must be our daily bread. Just as the body needs nourishment, so does the soul need the cross, day after day, to purify it.”
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You want to enter heaven? Accept suffering as the temporal price for eternal joy. Embrace your suffering. Learn to enjoy suffering. Ask for strength through your suffering. Recognize suffering as a blessing from God.
 
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