Why does the Church focus so much on suffering?

  • Thread starter Thread starter returninghome31
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

returninghome31

Guest
As I make my way back to Catholicism, I’m faced with an issue that plagued me many years ago when I initially chose to walk away. Why does the Catholic church focus so much on suffering? It just seems excessive and morbid and almost glorified. I get that not everything is meant to be happy and positive. I get that we sin and sin is a consistent part of who we are and we need to repent and change our ways. I know Jesus literally died for and because of us, paving the way for our salvation. But to constantly mention hell, damnation, sinning and suffering seems off. Prayers speaking of blood gushing forth, etc… I question a lot of it. I think i even heard something to the effect of human suffering saving departed souls. Says who??? There’s so much that just doesn’t make sense nor seem helpful.

I have attended many non-Catholic churches, and while they have their own set of issues, there’s never that excessive focus on suffering, suffering and more suffering.

I just want to learn and understand and would appreciate some insight into this. Perhaps I’m missing something or not grasping it correctly.

Does anyone else feel as I do? Am I the only one?
 
Last edited:
But to constantly mention hell, damnation, sinning and suffering seems off
Click to expand...
I’m actually surprised to hear this is the case. Usually, we have the opposite problem. Anytime a priest I know mentions these things, he tends to remind us that we have Jesus.
returninghome31 said:
I question a lot of it. I think i even heard something to the effect of human suffering saving departed souls. Says who???
Click to expand...
This is true, HOWEVER each to his or her own on this. It doesn’t pay to suffer if ultimately you are somehow resenting the Church or God.

I’m sorry that the Church has seemed doom and gloom to you, but there is ALWAYS the positive message of Salvation offered through Christ.
 
Blessings
Jesus suffered! Living w corruptible bodies means we will suffer.The first church received Jesus’s message that when we die, if good, we will go to heaven and see the Beatific Vision. (God) The Greeks snd Romans were very philosophical. No TV. The men met and debated esotericical things. They wondered what would happen after death. Jesus came. He preached. He suffered and died. After Pentecost, the area was alive w Apostles reporting Jesus’s Ressurection. The ppl had seen and listened to Jesus. The Apostles were there being reasonable? They believed and converted. The miracle stories were passed around by many. They believed.
Suffering came before the Glory. The first church suffered for three centuries. Why stay a Christian. Food for animals in the arena? THEY KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO HEAVEN.
God Answers prayers. Miracles can happen.
Then, there is Redemptive Suffering. Your journey in illness is a blessing to someone on the outside. A witness to a doctor or nurse or an unsaved family member. We talk to God. Why am I sick? What lesson am I to learn? Each day is a communion w God about how the day is going. Praying for your family. For Souls in Purgatory. Pray for world peace.
We believe in God and heaven and hell. We Catholics believe in Purgatory. Our aspirits live after death. It isn’t pleasant in Purgatory. Our prayers give them a boost.
It says in Maccabees,!that after a battle, Judas Maccabeus went around counting his dead. He found they had pagan amulets around their necks=SIN! He went to the Temple and made silver offerings for their souls. If there is only heaven and hell, why pay money to save souls?
Hence, Purgatory. There is a place in Matthew about dying and being somewhere where they were given STRIPES. No stripes in heaven. The rest of the sentence meant it wasn’t he’ll=PURGATORY! Why would we not pray for the forgiveness of their sins…
The children of Fatima were shown Purgatory. Mary asked that we pray for them.
There will be things of faith that confuse us. When we crossover, we’ll all get a surprise, I think.
In Christ’s Love
Tweedlealice

I hope that helps a little.
God bless you. It is a good thing to work on our relationship w Jesus.
 
returninghome31 said:
Why does the Catholic church focus so much on suffering?
Click to expand...
Because people suffer a lot in life. A huge lot. It is a giant part of existence. The Church addresses it, relates it to Christ, and in so doing gives us some idea of the meaning behind suffering and its possible usefulness.

Are you looking for some shiny happy feel-good church? That would be pretty fake, to say the least.

I’ve always thought that the stuff that bothers a person is probably stuff they need to look harder at. I’ve never been a big fan of thinking about the Passion of Christ; it’s awful and miserable and one doesn’t like to feel responsible for it. The fact that it’s not an “easy” thing is precisely why I chose to focus more on it for my daily devotions.
 
Last edited:
returninghome31 said:
…
Click to expand...
We become Christlike and participate in the suffering of Christ. This is love.

Catechism
609 By embracing in his human heart the Father’s love for men, Jesus “loved them to the end”, for "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."425 In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men.426 Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to stve, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."427 Hence the sovereign freedom of God’s Son as he went out to his death.428
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Reminds me of the old yellow pages ad with guys dressed up as monks wearing way too short robes. Each had a phone book substituting for their prayer book, and were chanting… “Used the wrong dry cleaners, should have checked the red yellow pages.” At the end of each repetition, they would smack themselves on the forehead with the book.

Hell, damnation, sinning, and suffering… must be a Detroit church 😜
 
Its hard. The problem I have is the suffering makes me feel despondant and miserable. I guess that is how life is supposed to be just misery. If it made me stronger on my faith or made me a better person I could see some use of it but the thought of it continuing and getting worse during life makes me feel I won’t be able to perservere to the end.
 
I also find the more I pray the worse it gets. Whenever I pray befpre going into work I get a problem from a member of staff its like Satan wants to pay me back for praying.
 
I realize you didn’t ask for (name removed by moderator)ut here, but based on your other posts I think you’re giving Satan way too much credit. Satan is not the author of every minor annoyance and bad interaction in your life.

Sometimes coworkers are just annoying. Doesn’t mean they’re Satanic.
 
Because many Catholics, especially in this forum are focused on preaching hopelessness rather than the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ.

Years ago when I read the book, “Teacher Man,” by Frank McCourt, a Catholic, wrote about his experience taking a cruise back to Ireland, his homeland.

While on the cruse, he met a Pentecostal man, who shared his faith in Jesus and his love for the Bible, which he read daily. The man had a glow about him as he shared his faith.

One night, Frank McCourt, couldn’t sleep, so he took a walk out on deck and found a chair. While sitting there observing the night sky, he saw the Pentecostal Man walk up to the railing. He had his Bible and read a little then just gazed out into the ocean.

McCourt thought to himself, now if they were informed that the ship was sinking, he as a Catholic would be scrambling through the ship to find a priest to give him the last rites. Meanwhile, this man pf faith at the railing would be singing divine praises to God with joy at the prospect of going to Heaven to be with Jesus Christ.

It pretty much explained to me, the mindset of many Catholics. How this happened ? The Church preached guilt more than redemption as a means of keeping people in the Church out of fear of hell.

Somehow, the Church lost the message of the Good News which Jesus told the Apostles to share with the world.

Jim
 
Two words:

It’s universal.
Most people seek healing and release from terrible situations.
It’s a Gospel (and element) of mercy.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
McCourt thought to himself, now if they were informed that the ship was sinking, he as a Catholic would be scrambling through the ship to find a priest to give him the last rites. Meanwhile, this man pf faith at the railing would be singing divine praises to God with joy at the prospect of going to Heaven to be with Jesus Christ.

It pretty much explained to me, the mindset of many Catholics. How this happened ? The Church preached guilt more than redemption as a means of keeping people in the Church out of fear of hell.

Somehow, the Church lost the message of the Good News which Jesus told the Apostles to share with the world.
Click to expand...
This isn’t entirely the fault of “The Church”. Mr. McCourt obviously never got deep enough in with his faith to see it as building a relationship with Jesus, rather than OMG MUST FIND PRIEST FOR LAST RITES.

If he were spending every day communing with God, whether through the Bible or Adoration or Rosary etc., he would have a better perspective.

Catholics love to blame “The Church” for the fact that they themselves didn’t bother to think about something relating to God.
 
First off, you don’t know how deep McCourt got into his faith, but it’s obvious that being raised Irish Catholic, had it’s problems as he attests, but also most Catholics of the pre-Vatican II era would agree with.

Also, before Vatican II, reading the Bible was not common among the average Catholics as we were told that it was dangerous to do so, because we might come up with interpretations which contradicted the Church.

So, for McCourt, reading the Bible everyday as you suggests, would’ve been frowned on in his day and place he grew up.

Jim
 
Last edited:
Because, we suffer.

It is difficult when a church never mentions suffering. People begin thinking if they are not happy, slim, pretty and rich that they don’t have enough/proper faith or that God does not love them.

That is the opposite of the teaching of Christ.

HE told us we would suffer. He also gave us a Church so we know our suffering is not in vain!

 
I’m Irish Catholic and my mother and her parents, her five siblings and dozens of cousins also.
I’m quite familiar with Irish Catholicism in USA.
I stand by what I said.
 
I’m sure if Frank McCourt were still here, he’d stand by what he wrote,

However, I’m not going to try and speak for him. You’ll have to read the book yourself. 😃

Jim
 
Last edited:
I’m not concerned with what happened with McCourt. It’s between him and God.

I am concerned with the general idea that “The Church” gets in the way of our experience of/relationship with God. It can, but only if we let it. People need to take responsibility for their own spiritual development.
 
“I’m not concerned with what happened with McCourt. It’s between him and God.”

Well why did you judge him in your earlier posts ? See below
McCourt obviously never got deep enough in with his faith to see it as building a relationship with Jesus, rather than OMG MUST FIND PRIEST FOR LAST RITES.
Click to expand...
Like I posted, you don’t know what level Frank McCourt’s faith was, but what he wrote was pretty much the common belief of Catholics of his time.

Jim
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top