Who can answer this question in the Bible? (I believe this is one of the hardest question)

[laylow]

But if you can’t fathom how someone being so preoccupied with their own suffering that they focus on nothing is else prideful and selfish then idk what to tell you.

I can, if the suffering was manageable and temporary. But as I have mentioned ad nauseam, this is not the type of suffering I am referring to.

 

[MaryEstelle2]

Are you so sure that you are stating true facts? These may be the facts as you see and understand them, but most of the rest of the world is not in lockstep with you. Do I or anyone have all the answers? No, none of us do. But bitterness, hostilities, aggression are not really welcome in my philosophy of life. Could I let them rule my life? Yes, I could, but I seek joy, understanding, peace, and love rather than having a disharmonized soul.

 

[Dorothy]

Yes, suffering has much value when we endure what we cannot change for the love of our Lord.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Surprised that no one has yet linked St John Paul II’s beautiful work:

https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-.../hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.html

 

[Francis]

Psalms 73:16-28 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.18 Truly you set them in slippery places;you make them fall to ruin.19 How they are destroyed in a moment,swept away utterly by terrors! 20 They are[d] like a dream when one awakes;on awaking you despise their phantoms.21 When my soul was embittered,when I was pricked in heart,22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.24 You guide me with your counsel,and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength[f] of my heart and my portion forever.27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.

Job 21:7 Why do the wicked live,reach old age, and grow mighty in power?8 Their children are established in their presence,and their offspring before their eyes.9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.10 Their bull breeds without fail;their cow calves, and does not cast her calf.11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,and their children dance.12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.13 They spend their days in prosperity,and in peace they go down to Sheol.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear.

wisdom 1:12-15 Do not invite death by the error of your life,nor bring on destruction by the works of your hands;13 because God did not make death,and he does not delight in the death of the living.
14 For he created all things that they might exist,and the generative forces of the world are wholesome,and there is no destructive poison in them;and the dominion[d] of Hades is not on earth.
15 For righteousness is immortal.

Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens;he does whatever he pleases ,Psalm 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth,in the seas and all deeps.

Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

Isaiah 64:8 Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.

 

[steve-b]

Habakkuk 1,2-4 “How long, O LORD, must I cry for help and you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” and you do not intervene? Why do you let me see iniquity? why do you simply gaze at evil? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and discord. This is why the law is numb
and justice never comes, For the wicked surround the just;”

I’ve said that more than a few times in my life. The last time I prayed that was ~30 days ago for someone I care about Hugely. At the time I prayed it, the situation looked bleak for them. And at that very moment it was effecting not just them, but me HUGELY as well. I won’t say my prayer was answered perfectly by any means, although the immediacy and the condition I prayed about, lessened a bit, but not all the way.

Thinking about this biblically, what must Mary have prayed for, standing at the foot of the cross? Her son was scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, carried His own cross to Calvary, and was nailed to it, and bled to death. To make sure He was dead, a soldier instead of breaking His legs, jammed a spear into His heart.

We might claim to have faith, … until tragedy hits. Desperation hits. Suffering hits … then all we can pray is, “help my unbelief”.

Putting this in purely human terms,

If all this is a test, I’ll just say tests suck.

I’ll never claim to be a good test taker. I pray that since tests happen, while I may not get an A on the test, just keep me from failing.

 

[Odile-Lyllian]

Yes, I agree: I believe that it is through our sufferings that we have the possibility to prove our love to God and to others… and there is so much suffering of our innocent brothers and sisters… sufferings that are unimaginable, but you know… In the end: God has a plan, and just maybe those that suffer the most and still are able to ‘love’ have a higher place with our Lord? Children who suffer are probably the closest to our God…
We will most certainly understand after our pilgrimage on earth…
Faith, hope, and charity always…
Thank you OsculeturmeOsculo: reading what you wrote is great food for thought and gives us hope…

 

[misstherese]

The same old “God works in mysterious ways” response. That response can work for literally anything, so what good does it provide?

I just said, “We gain merit in order to have more glory in Heaven.” That’s the good it provides. Our souls transcend from the suffering we endure.

The more good we do on earth (merit), the greater the reward we will have in Heaven. I think that reward in this sense, would be knowledge of God. The ones with the most merit are closer to God in Heaven and have the largest capacity of love and understanding of Him, yet everyone is still completely content.

 

[laylow]

I just said, “We gain merit in order to have more glory in Heaven.” That’s the good it provides. Our souls transcend from the suffering we endure.

The more good we do on earth (merit), the greater the reward we will have in Heaven. I think that reward in this sense, would be knowledge of God. The ones with the most merit are closer to God in Heaven and have the largest capacity of love and understanding of Him, yet everyone is still completely content.

Is that Dogma or in the canon anywhere (honest question)?

 

[misstherese]

This is something I learned through the years, so sorry I don’t have any official source to give you. But here is a good article on it and has a lot of different sources in it you can find.

Are There Levels of Heaven?

Dear Catholic Exchange: I am not Catholic, but have a very good friend who sends me this website for which I am grateful. I would appreciate it if you could answer some of my questions. Who was Jehovah? Who is Yahweh? Who is Elohim? I am pretty sure there are many gods, but only one […]

catholicexchange.com

 

[laylow]

This is something I learned through the years, so sorry I don’t have any official source to give you. But here is a good article on it and has a lot of different sources in it you can find.
https://catholicexchange.com/are-there-levels-of-heaven

I will say that it provides a slightly better answer than any of the others presented. At least it lends to credence to the possibility of something that at least resembles justice.

 

[anhphan]

Thank you all very much.