Purpose of Life?

[Gidras05]

Hello everyone,

So far nearly all my questions on CAF have been answered excellently, and I can feel my faith growing exponentially.

However, this transition into being a more practicing Catholic and trying to understand the meaning of all of it has also taken its toll severely on my mind. Not necessarily in a bad way, but as an extremely logical thinker, there are a lot of things that need clarification for me to be more comfortable.

One question that keeps standing out in my mind is “What is the point of existence?”

Let me clarify.

Many people tend to say Life is a gift. In fact, many saints exclaim it as such, and the Vatican constantly tells us to live life to the fullest, and to live life like Christ did. Now, it’s easy to say that “Life is our opportunity to grow closer to God, and to know him”. That’s an excellent answer, and one that I’m willing to understand.

I can also understand that growing closer to God doesn’t necessarily mean being Catholic, since I can’t imagine those people who are never exposed to Christianity or Catholicism have no meaning to the life God gave them. Therefore, with all these definitions, one can infer that the purpose of our existence is as a “testbed” for deciding to live out the “moral good” or not. In other words, to get closer to God or not.

Based on our “performance” and choices, we either get eternal salvation or damnation or an inbetween (purgatory) until we are cleansed and receive salvation.

Now, herein lies the biggest hurdle I’ve had trouble surmounting.

What is the purpose to EVERYTHING ELSE that we do that does not necessarily bring us closer to God? I can understand that if we do things and give thanks to our Lord, that this kinda brings us closer but…

Let me give examples:

1. What is the purpose of having a hobby like playing video games or drawing? These hobbies do little for our spirituality, and in fact take time away from prayer.
2. What is the purpose of exercising past just keeping fit (to avoid dangers to health)? We’re surely not going to take our physical body with us to Heaven.
3. What is the purpose of doing menial tasks like cleaning around the house? These only offer aesthetic value, and do nothing to appease the Lord.
4. What is the purpose of taking medications and other “life-prolonging” means if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life? Wouldn’t prolonging our life also prolong the chances of committing sin? And besides, wouldn’t we want to kinda “rush” our joining with God in the afterlife?
5. What is the purpose of developing a skillset like cooking? It’s easy to see that becoming a master chef can be for the Glory of God, but… I can’t imagine people converting or seeing you as Holy just because you cook something and say you’re doing it for God. Likewise, I can’t imagine you taking this skillset into the afterlife either.

These are just some examples that have been plaguing me for awhile now. Ever since I’ve committed to realizing how ephemeral and temporary life is (thanks to the countless examples in scripture that explain that life is just a breath), it’s INCREDIBLY hard for me to find meaning in life besides praying and going to Mass and trying to convert or teach others. Is this a calling to Priesthood? That I find no meaning in anything else in life?

This is a very difficult period in my life, and my family and spiritual directors all agree that I’m only overthinking all these things since I’m changing so RAPIDLY from a secular way of living to one of the Faith. However, I don’t think that these questions will go away unless someone can offer some opinion, or scripture, or declaration from the Vatican to help ease my mind.

Honestly, I’ve been incredibly depressed as of late because of this.

 

[BintuluChuchGuy]

I just watched a part of a DVD called “Purpose of Life”.The pastor in the video summed up the meaning of life in three words

Preparation For Eternity

I dont know how to answer your question about taking medicine,cooking and the hobby stuff,but I guess the other CAF members are willing to help you answer that.

Also,take it easy.Do not worry.God bless you in your faith

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

Hello everyone,

So far nearly all my questions on CAF have been answered excellently, and I can feel my faith growing exponentially.

However, this transition into being a more practicing Catholic and trying to understand the meaning of all of it has also taken its toll severely on my mind. Not necessarily in a bad way, but as an extremely logical thinker, there are a lot of things that need clarification for me to be more comfortable.

One question that keeps standing out in my mind is “What is the point of existence?”

Let me clarify.

Many people tend to say Life is a gift. In fact, many saints exclaim it as such, and the Vatican constantly tells us to live life to the fullest, and to live life like Christ did. Now, it’s easy to say that “Life is our opportunity to grow closer to God, and to know him”. That’s an excellent answer, and one that I’m willing to understand.

I can also understand that growing closer to God doesn’t necessarily mean being Catholic, since I can’t imagine those people who are never exposed to Christianity or Catholicism have no meaning to the life God gave them. Therefore, with all these definitions, one can infer that the purpose of our existence is as a “testbed” for deciding to live out the “moral good” or not. In other words, to get closer to God or not.

Based on our “performance” and choices, we either get eternal salvation or damnation or an inbetween (purgatory) until we are cleansed and receive salvation.

Now, herein lies the biggest hurdle I’ve had trouble surmounting.

What is the purpose to EVERYTHING ELSE that we do that does not necessarily bring us closer to God? I can understand that if we do things and give thanks to our Lord, that this kinda brings us closer but…

Let me give examples:

1. What is the purpose of having a hobby like playing video games or drawing? These hobbies do little for our spirituality, and in fact take time away from prayer.
2. What is the purpose of exercising past just keeping fit (to avoid dangers to health)? We’re surely not going to take our physical body with us to Heaven.
3. What is the purpose of doing menial tasks like cleaning around the house? These only offer aesthetic value, and do nothing to appease the Lord.
4. What is the purpose of taking medications and other “life-prolonging” means if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life? Wouldn’t prolonging our life also prolong the chances of committing sin? And besides, wouldn’t we want to kinda “rush” our joining with God in the afterlife?
5. What is the purpose of developing a skillset like cooking? It’s easy to see that becoming a master chef can be for the Glory of God, but… I can’t imagine people converting or seeing you as Holy just because you cook something and say you’re doing it for God. Likewise, I can’t imagine you taking this skillset into the afterlife either.

These are just some examples that have been plaguing me for awhile now. Ever since I’ve committed to realizing how ephemeral and temporary life is (thanks to the countless examples in scripture that explain that life is just a breath), it’s INCREDIBLY hard for me to find meaning in life besides praying and going to Mass and trying to convert or teach others. Is this a calling to Priesthood? That I find no meaning in anything else in life?

This is a very difficult period in my life, and my family and spiritual directors all agree that I’m only overthinking all these things since I’m changing so RAPIDLY from a secular way of living to one of the Faith. However, I don’t think that these questions will go away unless someone can offer some opinion, or scripture, or declaration from the Vatican to help ease my mind.

Honestly, I’ve been incredibly depressed as of late because of this.

Poor Thing. You are really depressed and religious depression is the worst.
Why do you need a meaning in life? Do you see the trees and plants and the sea and the wind, and the dogs, cows, cats, elephants, sardines, all go their own way without getting depressed about the meaning of life?
And the are born, they reproduce and they die like us.
Oh! But we have an afterlife! OK! Very good! But it is not now !!!
Learn from those creatures of God, whom Jesus loved. He talked about the birds who did not harvest and about the flowers of the fields which were more beautiful than Solomon.
Those creatures just live their lives in God’s hands and sing when they are happy, cry when they are sad, suffer, have pleasure when they eat, reproduce or fly, run or swim. They just live life and let the meaning of it to God.
You will never discover the meaning of Life, no matter on how many books you read about the subject. The meaning of Life is God’s Business.
Put yourself into God’s Hands, which are strong Hands, do what you have got to do, do what your conscience tells you to do, and let God take care of the Planet Earth. He is the pilot and he pilots it well…

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

… my dear friend ,

… the sole purpose of life and our existence is and will always be " to do gods will " , and everything that is good or love is prayer and pleasing to god , but did you know whenever you do gods will it is prayer ??? , you should not neglect the traditional prayer , but you can pray several ways the whole time your awake , not just the prayer of doing gods will , but even sleep , rest and recreation are prayer because it i\s gods will …

… but ask yourself what is gods will for me and embrace that with your whole being , and on that point there’s something little known you may like – you don’t become a saint , you be a saint , and you be a saint by being in grace , then you be a greter and greater saint , eventually you be a canonisable saint , and then a greater and greater canonisable saint , and grace is love which is god , being in grace is being united with god who is love , god is always present in your soul , but your union with him depends on how united you are with him who is always present in your soul …

… this is gods will – to do his will , be united with him ever more , stop thinking about your will and try to replace your will with gods will for you , and you are doing gods will if your doing gods will , this means oft there can be many options you can choose that are all gods will and other times one or few options …

… and perhaps try to replace all your laws and rules with gods laws – the decalogue , teachings of christ and laws of the church , human laws when in compliance with gods laws are ok , but it is the divine laws that really count , reality = love , so become reality – get real , hope this helps …

…may god bless and love you ,

… john …

 

[AlanFromWichita]

You raise some good questions and I feel and answer for you but don’t have a clue how to word it in a finite post.

My first SD told me that a human being has six primary components:

1. Physical
2. Mental
3. Emotional
4. Spiritual
5. Sexual (most closely associated with identity)
6. Social

If any one of these components is out of whack, it can lead to problems in the others, or at least problems that specialists in the other components may interpret as a problem with that one. (did that make sense?)

I think that even social activities such as games can be justified in some cases, at least to the fact they are not a serious detriment to other aspects of life. I could even justify them to some extent just on the basis that it gives a person “exercise” of a sort kind of like you referred to but not so much physical necessarily – or maybe even physical + mental.

But as far as trying to have the reason for living, I offer you my SD’s first assignment for me. As an engineer, I had thought I had to figure everything out. The SD told me to read the last few chapters of Job – I think it started in Ch. 39 but I’m not sure. Basically God asks Job many questions that nobody can answer. Then we see how Job finally responds and how pleased God is with his response.

I think this is a key ingredient; learning to separate “knowledge” from “life” and then remarry them as the Spirit wills. Of course, from 1 Cor 13 we know that knowledge in itself is nothing. In my case, reading Job prefigured my eventual breakdown of most reasoning attributed to God and that, through contemplative prayer and other forms of learning to be open and receptive to God, I was able to open up and let the Spirit in and allow healing beyond any healing I even knew I needed to have.

As for actual knowledge in this world, I see a big lesson in the dishonest servant parable. God knows how to deal with Godly people like Job, but we are both His helpers and His “bait,” if you will, on the team of the fishers of men. We, being sinful, know how to entice other sinful people and the social aspects (including games) can IMO be used as “bait” for each other, to help bring them to God.

When I say “get closer to God” though I have to be careful. Divine Union is ultimately “where it’s at” but in honesty God never leaves us and does not need to be sought. It is more a measure of when we are brought up we learn things that don’t make sense spiritually (“foolishness of God”) and we tend to sidetrack them or even reject them for more “rational” forms of thought. So becoming close to God is something that God already is, within us, but we can use our minds to block it. Again, back to 1 Cor 13, knowledge itself puffs up. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, though.

Part of it also is that knowledge is by definition dualistic. Knowledge, words, thoughts, and other experiences we can remember and/or communicate divides. For example, a “house” may mean many things to many people, but to all it indicates there is something also called a non-house. So language itself works for this dualism, but Jesus blows it all away with his radical thinking.

For example, what if the thinking at the time is that we either a) do or b) do not, stone the prostitute? That IS the question. But how did Jesus answer it? By ignoring the question entirely and throwing them off in a totally different direction that until then was not even thought of as a consideration. So here’s Jesus, answering a dualistic question with a non-dualistic answer. That blows away the status quo on the brain wave front.

Also I see it like the Tower of Babel; we can construct intelligent baselines for Christianity, but ultimately it is in their utter failure that we realize one way or the other – whether through prayer, experiences, or in my case even a good strong dose of psychosis – and it actually becomes in “unthinking” the God speaks to us in His native language – silence. When that happens, everything else begins to fall into place – even the knowledge that had become a stumbling block can then become like a cornerstone for a New Tower, if you will.

Oh, my friend, I have so much to share and so many experiences since I really began my spiritual journey over 10 years ago. My life was a meaningless chase even though I had a lucrative 20-year career in engineering with an MS degree, and that whole system broke down and I raised my kids in poverty, etc. Now I’m telling you it’s all making sense to me, and I’m happier and more content than I ever was before.

Gosh, I gush. I’ll shut it off for now and see if anything here means something to you or others before I go on any more.

Alan

 

[RebeccaJ]

Hello everyone,

So far nearly all my questions on CAF have been answered excellently, and I can feel my faith growing exponentially.

However, this transition into being a more practicing Catholic and trying to understand the meaning of all of it has also taken its toll severely on my mind. Not necessarily in a bad way, but as an extremely logical thinker, there are a lot of things that need clarification for me to be more comfortable.

One question that keeps standing out in my mind is “What is the point of existence?”

Let me clarify.

Many people tend to say Life is a gift. In fact, many saints exclaim it as such, and the Vatican constantly tells us to live life to the fullest, and to live life like Christ did. Now, it’s easy to say that “Life is our opportunity to grow closer to God, and to know him”. That’s an excellent answer, and one that I’m willing to understand.

I can also understand that growing closer to God doesn’t necessarily mean being Catholic, since I can’t imagine those people who are never exposed to Christianity or Catholicism have no meaning to the life God gave them. Therefore, with all these definitions, one can infer that the purpose of our existence is as a “testbed” for deciding to live out the “moral good” or not. In other words, to get closer to God or not.

Based on our “performance” and choices, we either get eternal salvation or damnation or an inbetween (purgatory) until we are cleansed and receive salvation.

Now, herein lies the biggest hurdle I’ve had trouble surmounting.

What is the purpose to EVERYTHING ELSE that we do that does not necessarily bring us closer to God? I can understand that if we do things and give thanks to our Lord, that this kinda brings us closer but…

Let me give examples:

1. What is the purpose of having a hobby like playing video games or drawing? These hobbies do little for our spirituality, and in fact take time away from prayer.
2. What is the purpose of exercising past just keeping fit (to avoid dangers to health)? We’re surely not going to take our physical body with us to Heaven.
3. What is the purpose of doing menial tasks like cleaning around the house? These only offer aesthetic value, and do nothing to appease the Lord.
4. What is the purpose of taking medications and other “life-prolonging” means if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life? Wouldn’t prolonging our life also prolong the chances of committing sin? And besides, wouldn’t we want to kinda “rush” our joining with God in the afterlife?
5. What is the purpose of developing a skillset like cooking? It’s easy to see that becoming a master chef can be for the Glory of God, but… I can’t imagine people converting or seeing you as Holy just because you cook something and say you’re doing it for God. Likewise, I can’t imagine you taking this skillset into the afterlife either.

These are just some examples that have been plaguing me for awhile now. Ever since I’ve committed to realizing how ephemeral and temporary life is (thanks to the countless examples in scripture that explain that life is just a breath), it’s INCREDIBLY hard for me to find meaning in life besides praying and going to Mass and trying to convert or teach others. Is this a calling to Priesthood? That I find no meaning in anything else in life?

This is a very difficult period in my life, and my family and spiritual directors all agree that I’m only overthinking all these things since I’m changing so RAPIDLY from a secular way of living to one of the Faith. However, I don’t think that these questions will go away unless someone can offer some opinion, or scripture, or declaration from the Vatican to help ease my mind.

Honestly, I’ve been incredibly depressed as of late because of this.

Hi, God is not absent from anything you listed. God wants you to be happy. “Man is that he might have joy.” People find joy in hobbies, having a clean place to live in, cooking a nice meal or goodies for family and friends, having good health, etc. Perfect joy is found in life, every day, when you give it ALL to God.

 

[GEddie]

Life doesn’t need a meaning; it is enough to be and breathe!

Like that old song said, we are “born to be alive!”



That said, I’ll take on 2 of your questions, because I have thought about them more.

2). We do not take our human bodies with us to Heaven – we acquire a pneumatikon soma – however, our human bodies will take us right to Heaven’s entrance, and we need them to move around in. Physical activity of all kinds helps to assure easy movement and breathing, etc, for living life. It also maximizes our bodies’ sense of aliveness, and that honors God, IMNAAHO.

4). We should not long for the afterlife per se. We are human beings, and designed for life not death. While death is inevitable, it remains a hidoeus punishment, and it is purely human to seek to fight it.

While human life carries with it the occasion of sin, it also enables the live human being to acquire grace and merit, something the dead can no longer do.

My deepest longing is to be breathing when our LORD appears, and leap into HIS arms fully alive and never see the darkness of death. If only…!!!

ICXC NIKA

 

[eddadonkey]

+JMJ+

Have you pondered on the word “humility”? Have you ever considered why it seems to have the same root word as “human”?

That is because it has: humus, meaning “dirt” in Latin. “Humans” are beings made from dirt,

[BIBLEDRB]Genesis 2:7[/BIBLEDRB]

and “humility” reminds us of our humanity:

[BIBLEDRB]2 Corinthians 4:7[/BIBLEDRB]

If you do not take care of the earthen vessel, do you think the vessel will be able to hold the treasure given to it?

 

[Neildown]

I’ve pondered that question a LOT. To be honest I’ve never found what you would consider a “definitive” answer, but I have found one that I have to force myself to be content with and that is “I simply am not capable of perceiving it 100% here”. I just have to keep living and hope that maybe I get a better glimpse of it in the next world. I won’t be limited by my physical body then so I’ll probably see things a bit clearer.

So essentially, as Bintulu said, “Preparation For Eternity”.

 

[Polycarp1]

Fulton Sheen explains the purpose of our lives:

fultonsheen.com/playerB.cfm?pheight=80&pfile=1842663

 

[bscastro]

This is a good thread and very helpful for some current thoughts I’m having.

Mainly posting to put this in my subscribed threads, but also wanted to commend all of the posters on thoughtful and helpful replies to the OP.

God bless,
Bryan

 

[Gidras05]

You know, I completely didn’t realize that my original reply to everyone never went through! At least, until bscastro commented on this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for their insight! I still have some trouble at times with the purpose of individual things in our life, but ultimately I found much of my purpose thanks to all of you, and through lots of prayer and contemplation.

I often wonder about things like fashion, or like life-extention, or even treating things like cancer, and why we do them, when we have something like Heaven to look forward to. But I’ve heard so many different theories and opinions, that I have to discern which is the Truth.

Then again I could just stop worrying about it =p

Anyway, thank you all for your replies!

 

[LovePatience]

What was the answer?

 

[GEddie]

After your death, you will know all the answers…

…to the even numbered problems.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

Hi, God is not absent from anything you listed. God wants you to be happy. “Man is that he might have joy.” People find joy in hobbies, having a clean place to live in, cooking a nice meal or goodies for family and friends, having good health, etc. Perfect joy is found in life, every day, when you give it ALL to God.

I have to agree and the remarkable thing is that happiness does not heave to depend on the situations of our lives. The challenge of life is to be aware of God’s presence in all of it.

Are you familiar with the story about St Francis and perfect joy?

One winter day St. Francis was coming to St. Mary of the Angels from Perugia with Brother Leo, and the bitter cold made them suffer keenly. St. Francis called to Brother Leo, who was walking a bit ahead of him, and he said: “Brother Leo, even if the Friars Minor in every country give a great example of holiness and integrity and good edification, nevertheless write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that.”

And when he had walked on a bit, St. Francis called him again, saying: “Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor gives sight to the blind, heals the paralyzed, drives out devils, gives hearing back to the deaf, makes the lame walk, and restores speech to the dumb, and what is still more, brings back to life a man who has been dead four days, write that perfect joy is not in that.”

And going on a bit, St. Francis cried out again in a strong voice: “Brother Leo, if a Friar Minor knew all languages and all sciences and Scripture, if he also knew bow to prophesy and to reveal not only the future but also the secrets of the consciences and minds of others, write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that.”

And as they walked on, after a while St. Francis called again forcefully: 'Brother Leo, Little Lamb of God, even if a Friar minor could speak with the voice of an angel, and knew the courses of the stars and the powers of herbs, and knew all about the treasures in the earth, and if be knew the qualities of birds and fishes, animals, humans, roots, trees, rocks, and waters, write down and note carefully that true joy is not in that."

And going on a bit farther, St. Francis called again strongly: “Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor could preach so well that be should convert all infidels to the faith of Christ, write that perfect joy is not there.”

Now when he had been talking this way for a distance of two miles, Brother Leo in great amazement asked him: “Father, I beg you in God’s name to tell me where perfect joy is.”

And St. Francis replied; "When we come to St. Mary of the Angels, soaked by the rain and frozen by the cold, all soiled with mud and suffering from hunger, and we ring at the gate of the Place and the brother porter comes and says angrily: ‘Who are you?’ And we say: ‘We are two of your brothers.’ And he contradicts us, saying: ‘You are not telling the truth. Rather you are two rascals who go around deceiving people and stealing what they give to the poor. Go away]’ And he does not open for us, but makes us stand outside in the snow and rain, cold and hungry, until night falls-then if we endure all those insults and cruel rebuffs patiently, without being troubled and without complaining, and if we reflect humbly and charitably that that porter really knows us and that God makes him speak against us, oh, Brother Leo, write that perfect joy is there!

'And if we continue to knock, and the porter comes out in anger, and drives us away with curses and hard blows like bothersome scoundrels, saying; ‘Get away from here, you dirty thieves-go to the hospital! Who do you think you are? You certainly won’t eat or sleep here’–and if we bear it patiently and take the insults with joy and love in our hearts, Oh, Brother Leo, write that that is perfect joy!

And if later, suffering intensely from hunger and the painful cold, with night falling, we still knock and call, and crying loudly beg them to open for us and let us come in for the love of God, and he grows still more angry and says: ‘Those fellows are bold and shameless ruffians. I’ll give them what they deserve.’ And he comes out with a knotty club, and grasping us by the cowl throws us onto the ground, rolling us in the mud and snow, and beats us with that club so much that he covers our bodies with wounds–if we endure all those evils and insults and blows with joy and patience, reflecting that we must accept and bear the sufferings of the Blessed Christ patiently for love of Him, oh, Brother Leo, write: that is perfect joy!
'And now hear the conclusion, Brother Leo. Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring sufferings, insults, humiliations, and hardships for the love of Christ. For we cannot glory in all those other marvelous gifts of God, as they are not ours but God’s, as the Apostle says: ‘What have you that you have not received?’ But we can glory in the cross of tribulations and afflictions, because that is ours, and so the Apostle says: ‘I will not glory save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.’"

To whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

[EmeraldWings]

(post 1 of 2)

if this is depressing you, then you are doing something wrong, you need to grow in the virtues and in the love of God before you take on so much, not that you should tolerate sin in your life, but just take is easy and be patient with yourself, you need to learn and grow at a healthy pace, and you need to trust in God to provide for your spiritual needs, which means, don’t worry! these questions you have will be answered, but all in good time! one sign of a true follower of Christ is peace…not as something attained without effort, but as something attained through practice of the virtues and in learning to trust in God more, which all takes time…so if you are getting depressed over this, then take a break from all the questions, and first find out how you should be approaching the spiritual life in the first place, otherwise you could fall into worse things than depression.

as for what the meaning of life is, it is to know, love, and serve God in this life, so that we may be happy with Him in the next, that is what the church teaches, and it is what you will likewise find in any really good catechism.
and all good things come back to that, even the little seemingly meaningless things, anything which is not evil or done with evil or selfish intentions, can give glory to God, and help you to know, love, and serve Him,

to explain i will respond to each of your questions -

1. What is the purpose of having a hobby like playing video games or drawing? These hobbies do little for our spirituality, and in fact take time away from prayer.

quite the contrary, they are forms of recreation, which we do need, even very strict religious orders have mandatory recreation time, in which they are required to partake of some pastime or exercise(like sports), recreation is a means of refreshing your health, body and mind, and without such breaks each day we would most likely go mad…but there does need to be temperance, excessive amounts of relaxation or entertainment is considered sinful too, even if it’s only venial, although i’m sure some more extreme cases would be considered mortal…but i won’t get into that.

1. What is the purpose of exercising past just keeping fit (to avoid dangers to health)? We’re surely not going to take our physical body with us to Heaven.

well, we will have our bodies back one day, but not till after it’s been turned to dust…but i’m sure that’s besides the point,
it’s good to keep your body in top physical condition, there’s nothing wrong with that, the only thing that may be wrong is why someone might be focusing so much on it, but if that’s what someone enjoys doing, that’s fine, we are all entitled to our own hobbies, even if it doesn’t have a great or useful purpose.

1. What is the purpose of doing menial tasks like cleaning around the house? These only offer aesthetic value, and do nothing to appease the Lord.

again, quite the contrary, perhaps you should read about Saint Therese’s “little way”, you can offer up anything you do to God, no matter how little it may seem, and actually, those little menial tasks done with patience and with the intention of offering it up, can be more pleasing to God than other things that seem more important or greater.
the reason being, those bigger things, especially the things others notice, we often take pride in, and all to often forget to give glory to God for…in which case they merit us nothing…but those little things which usually go unnoticed, we aren’t as inclined to pride ourselves on those things, and so they are much easier to offer up to God.
here is Saint Therese’s book, i highly recommend reading it in order to understand this better - tanbooks.benedictpress.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/828

1. What is the purpose of taking medications and other “life-prolonging” means if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life? Wouldn’t prolonging our life also prolong the chances of committing sin? And besides, wouldn’t we want to kinda “rush” our joining with God in the afterlife?

“Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.”* ~ St. Augustine
the longer we live is also the more time we have to gain a higher place in heaven, we are here for a reason, and we live and die when God says so, we will die on the day God says no matter what we do to live longer, so we should be careful to live up until that point…however, you can die sooner than God wishes either by suicide, or neglecting your health, both of which are sinful, and should be avoided…
the idea that we should not try to live longer is an erroneous idea, it is not what God wants, if God thought you should go to heaven sooner He would allow it, but since you are still here, that means it’s Gods will that you be here, and we should always try to make our wills conform to His, to do otherwise is a good sign that we have alot to learn, and it’s no wonder we’re still here…
but there are many good reasons to be here, i can’t go over everything, since that would be impossible, but a few examples, the longer you remain on earth and do your penance here, the less time you will spend in purgatory,

(continued in next post)

 

[EmeraldWings]

(post 2 of 2)

and the more time you have to do good for others the better, because when you help others you are really helping Jesus, who at the end of our lives will either say to us “Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.” or He will say “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.” because "as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. "
we must learn in this life how to know, love, and serve God, and part of that is doing the will of God, so when you truly learn to love Him, you will desire to do only His will, and not your own, and i think these two books, which you can read for free, will help you in that area very much -
gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=18087275
gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=18175319
another thing i’d like to point out, where you said “if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life” not even the great saints thought so highly of themselves, they knew the truth of themselves and did not think they were ever “good enough” to go to heaven, they were humble and understood that they did not deserve heaven, but could only earn it by the means God has provided…of course it is good to desire heaven and want to go there and be with God forever…but the point is, if we think we are “good Catholics” or in other words, holy, then we have alot to learn, it is either great pride, or great ignorance to think we are ever “good enough”, and instead we should hope to live as long as God requires us to for the good of our souls and to accomplish Gods will to the end…God knows our needs, spiritual and physical, if we live a long time, it is because God knows what is best for us, and we should be at peace with that and happy to do it His way.

1. What is the purpose of developing a skillset like cooking? It’s easy to see that becoming a master chef can be for the Glory of God, but… I can’t imagine people converting or seeing you as Holy just because you cook something and say you’re doing it for God. Likewise, I can’t imagine you taking this skillset into the afterlife either.

not everything we do needs to be for others, but anything(which is not evil) we can do can be for the glory of God,
personally i am into culinary arts and other forms of art, and one thing that gives me joy is simply pleasing others with my food, feeding others is good, and making the food taste good is a good thing too, God made food enjoyable for a reason, and although it’s good to mortify ourselves and fast and do penances, it’s also good, and charitable, to enjoy a nice meal which someone went to the trouble of making for you because they love you and want to please you(such as a wife does for her husband) we do need to be careful and not put to much importance on food, but we can’t go to the other extreme and say it’s bad to make or eat delicious foods…temperance means not to much and not to little…
but just because someones skill doesn’t convert others doesn’t make it useless in Gods eyes, every job and every skill has it’s purpose, and don’t forget that those skills are a gift from God…which of course we can choose to use for good or evil, but the point is, if they are from God, then they are not useless, just because they are temporary does not mean they are without purpose,
and why should every skill give a holy impression? that is really unnecessary, because you can be a chef, or mechanic, or pilot, and still be a saint, it’s not what skills you have that convert others, it’s how well you follow Christ and how much you allow Him to work through you, because in all honesty, we don’t convert others, only God can do that, it’s simply our job to do our best and keep His commandments, so if God does wish to convert someone else through us, we must try our best not to be an impediment to His plans.

the important thing is not what we choose to do(skills and jobs and whatnot) but that we don’t sin by those things or allow ourselves to be inordinately attached to them…

what i would recommend is, just read good catholic literature every day, especially the lives and writings of the saints, and pray on it, God will guide you and help you to understand all these things over time, there’s no need to be anxious about it.
but here are some sites i think will help you out alot more -
audiosancto.org/
keepthefaith.org/
fultonsheen.com/Fulton-Sheen-MP3.cfm
youtube.com/user/CatholicClips#g/p
gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewforum.php?f=211197
store.saintbenedict.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=12&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1
tanbooks.com/index.php
fraternitypublications.com

alright, sorry to make this so long, but i hope it helps, take care.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

You know, I completely didn’t realize that my original reply to everyone never went through! At least, until bscastro commented on this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for their insight! I still have some trouble at times with the purpose of individual things in our life, but ultimately I found much of my purpose thanks to all of you, and through lots of prayer and contemplation.

I often wonder about things like fashion, or like life-extention, or even treating things like cancer, and why we do them, when we have something like Heaven to look forward to. But I’ve heard so many different theories and opinions, that I have to discern which is the Truth.

Then again I could just stop worrying about it =p

Anyway, thank you all for your replies!

It is a must.
Read the book: “Man’s search for a Meaning”, Viktor Frankl.
It is a tremendous book.
And I do not say more…

 

[bscastro]

It is a must.
Read the book: “Man’s search for a Meaning”, Viktor Frankl.
It is a tremendous book.
And I do not say more…

This is a great book. It’s been years since I’ve read it, and I think I will read it again now.

God bless,
Bryan

 

[PJM]

=Gidras05;8976743]Hello everyone,

So far nearly all my questions on CAF have been answered excellently, and I can feel my faith growing exponentially.

However, this transition into being a more practicing Catholic and trying to understand the meaning of all of it has also taken its toll severely on my mind. Not necessarily in a bad way, but as an extremely logical thinker, there are a lot of things that need clarification for me to be more comfortable.

One question that keeps standing out in my mind is “What is the point of existence?”

Let me clarify.

Many people tend to say Life is a gift. In fact, many saints exclaim it as such, and the Vatican constantly tells us to live life to the fullest, and to live life like Christ did. Now, it’s easy to say that “Life is our opportunity to grow closer to God, and to know him”. That’s an excellent answer, and one that I’m willing to understand.

I can also understand that growing closer to God doesn’t necessarily mean being Catholic, since I can’t imagine those people who are never exposed to Christianity or Catholicism have no meaning to the life God gave them. Therefore, with all these definitions, one can infer that the purpose of our existence is as a “testbed” for deciding to live out the “moral good” or not. In other words, to get closer to God or not.

Based on our “performance” and choices, we either get eternal salvation or damnation or an inbetween (purgatory) until we are cleansed and receive salvation.

Now, herein lies the biggest hurdle I’ve had trouble surmounting.

What is the purpose to EVERYTHING ELSE that we do that does not necessarily bring us closer to God? I can understand that if we do things and give thanks to our Lord, that this kinda brings us closer but…

Let me give examples:

1. What is the purpose of having a hobby like playing video games or drawing? These hobbies do little for our spirituality, and in fact take time away from prayer.

1. What is the purpose of exercising past just keeping fit (to avoid dangers to health)? We’re surely not going to take our physical body with us to Heaven.

1. What is the purpose of doing menial tasks like cleaning around the house? These only offer aesthetic value, and do nothing to appease the Lord.

1. What is the purpose of taking medications and other “life-prolonging” means if we’re -already- living a good Catholic life? Wouldn’t prolonging our life also prolong the chances of committing sin? And besides, wouldn’t we want to kinda “rush” our joining with God in the afterlife?

1. What is the purpose of developing a skillset like cooking? It’s easy to see that becoming a master chef can be for the Glory of God, but… I can’t imagine people converting or seeing you as Holy just because you cook something and say you’re doing it for God. Likewise, I can’t imagine you taking this skillset into the afterlife either.

These are just some examples that have been plaguing me for awhile now. Ever since I’ve committed to realizing how ephemeral and temporary life is (thanks to the countless examples in scripture that explain that life is just a breath), it’s INCREDIBLY hard for me to find meaning in life besides praying and going to Mass and trying to convert or teach others. Is this a calling to Priesthood? That I find no meaning in anything else in life?

This is a very difficult period in my life, and my family and spiritual directors all agree that I’m only overthinking all these things since I’m changing so RAPIDLY from a secular way of living to one of the Faith. However, I don’t think that these questions will go away unless someone can offer some opinion, or scripture, or declaration from the Vatican to help ease my mind.

Honestly, I’ve been incredibly depressed as of late because of this.

Here is the OT understanding:

Isa.43 Verses 7and 21: “every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." AND the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

Today’s Magisterium explains:

We are Created so that we** MIGHT** freely choose with the Gifts provided by God for this very purpose; gifts that allow us to emulate God Gen. 1:26-27] that like God Himself are Spiritual in nature and permit humaity to know, love, serve, and fully obey God through the only set of faith beliefs and the ONLY Church actually founded by God Himsef: Today’s Catholic Church

God Bless,
Pat