Why is suffering a part of being Catholic?

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Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
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It isn’t. Your header I mean, Where please do you get that idea? Blessings and peace
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
Whether we like it or not, whether we want to or not, suffering is a part of life. Any faith/philosophy that doesn’t deal with suffering is a faith/philosophy that is certainly not based in reality nor worthwhile imo.

None can flee from the Cross in our lifetime, it comes for us all, some more so than others during their lifetime, but we all bear it sooner or later.

And as St Peter said, either way we will have to suffer, I would rather suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

Anyway, I don’t want to sound too pessimistic, there are times of happiness and great joy too.

And suffering certainly sucks, big time, I wish more than anything I didn’t & don’t have to suffer, but when and if I do, I am grateful I can turn to Christ, who suffered it first, and worse, who if He cannot spare me from it, will give me the strength I need to endure it.

And a really great quote from a movie I watched, “It’s okay to be scared, remember there is no courage without fear.”

There is also no victory without a fight. No Glory without the Cross.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13936625&postcount=36
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13936626&postcount=37
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=13936631&postcount=38

I hope this has helped

God Bless You

Thank you for reading
Josh
 
Accepting suffering that we cannot change, can be a part of Catholic life.

We can then offer up our suffering in union with our Lord Jesus Christ, for His purposes, and because we love Him.

We certainly can pray for healing, and do our best to alleviate suffering in ourselves and in others.
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
God allows suffering to bring something better than it. For example, the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ brought the redemption of mankind
 
Its not a Catholic thing, its not a Christian thing, it is a human thing.

However, suffering, because of God’s love for all His creation makes suffering something that as a great paradox, brings us happiness.

The Greek for “blessed” means happy.

Suffering is part of this world; but it will forgotten and absent when we enter into the kingdom of heaven. So, we must pick up our cross daily and follow Christ, never losing the hope of what we have been promised.

This contention is supported by the beatitudes:
Code: 
     Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

     Blessed are they who mourn, 
     for they will be comforted.

     Blessed are the meek, 
     for they will inherit the land.

     Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
     for they will be satisfied. 

     Blessed are the merciful, 
     for they will be shown mercy. 

     Blessed are the clean of heart, 
     for they will see God. 

     Blessed are the peacemakers, 
     for they will be called children of God.

     Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, 
     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Peace and all good!
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
Jesus said he came for those who are ill, not well. I would think religions generally attract people who have a hard time in life, who have it tough, aren’t so gifted etc. GENERALLY. Since religion/God won’t do anything about your problems/wounds, therein lies the key to the mystery. Honestly, I think that Jesus is most happy when you’re not. He’s very big on ‘‘dolorism’’, i.e. the exaltation of suffering. The ‘‘God wants you happy’’ God does not exist. He wants you broken, contrite, humble, Christ-like, long-suffering etc. etc. NOT happy. Depressing, but true.
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
Suffering is a part of being human.

God means us to be happy but we messed it up by sinning.

Accept God’s mercy, try to obey Him, and there is an eternity of joy waiting for us.
 
Suffering isn’t specifically Catholic. It’s a result of human life, of living life as a mortal body.

But while suffering is a priori of no value, the Catholic Church gives it a value of penance.

ICXC NIKA
 
Reepicheep said:
Suffering is a part of being human.

God means us to be happy but we messed it up by sinning.

Accept God’s mercy, try to obey Him, and there is an eternity of joy waiting for us.
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It’s nice to be inclusive, but I wonder if ‘‘we’’ is proper to talk about our connection to a man who may have lived anywhere from 6000 (:p) to 200,000 years ago? But I understand it’s a part of the Christian worldview. Thing is I feel more like '‘he’, messed up than ‘‘I’’ messed up. Not that I’m without sin (thanks John), but rather that because ‘‘he’’ messed up, ‘‘we’’ have no choice but to be born into a world where not sinning is not an option. It also conveniently places the onus on us humans to seek forgiveness from God. Of course it could also lead to the absurd idea* that we seek forgiveness for sins from a God who made us without the capacity to not sin. So for the sake of coherence and social peace, I understand Adam is indispensable.

PS Something that appears absurd is not necessarily false, either.
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
I must say, as a non-Catholic Christian, that the Catholic Church teaches about suffering and how to deal with it, and why it exists in a much better way than many Protestant churches/congregations that I have interacted with.

Suffering is human, what meaning we give it, and how we face it is up to us. One of the most harmful teachings I’ve ran into is that suffering is always do to sin, and if you suffer it is merely a lack of faith, and that Christians should never suffer with disease, or poverty, etc… but rather have health and wealth at all times even here on earth. That is a dangerous doctrine IMO, and not scriptural.
 
I’ve suffered a lot throughout my lifetime … now at the age of 55, I have finally been able to see that it is a gift from God … to be allowed to carry the Cross is a gift … so I carry it and cling to my Savior.
 
Katherine438 said:
I’ve suffered a lot throughout my lifetime … now at the age of 55, I have finally been able to see that it is a gift from God … to be allowed to carry the Cross is a gift … so I carry it and cling to my Savior.
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Thank you for sharing that!
 
In Luke 2, an old man in the temple saw the baby Jesus in the arms of Mary his mother. Simeon blessed them and said,
You see this child; he is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too …"
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Prayer from the LOTH.
God our Father, the contradiction of the cross proclaims your infinite wisdom. Help us to see that the glory of your Son is revealed in the suffering he freely accepted. Give us faith to claim as our only glory the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. —Amen.
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I Cor. 17, we must be spiritual to understand the crucified Christ. Any other way will fail.
The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s Power to save… And so , while the Jews demand miracles, and the Greeks look for wisdom, here we are preaching the crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans maddness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God
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.
2 Corinthians 1
Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory.
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Meaning that Christ the head loves the members of his body by sharing with them suffering so they may experience the divine glory.
 
I get this thought a lot
In fact since I fell into sin today I fear tomorrow I will suffer for it

I know whenever you hear “suffering is good and brings us closer to God” I usually think Well…of course but I don’t like suffering

I fear suffering and sometimes feel for just a 15 year old kid I’ve basically doomed the rest of my life at times

How I usually get over this is think

I’m making God seem bad
We are bound to suffer by multiple ways by multiple sources for multiple reasons
But if we offer it up to God he will make it into something better and never have it be to much for us to bear

If you’re ever worried that this life won’t have any happiness (I think that a lot) we aren’t supposed to like it here
We need Heaven
I hope I can get my act together and get there
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
Jesus suffered. His Body on earth, the Church, suffers mystically with Him. He is always with us in our suffering, as we are with Him. It is so we can love like He does 🙂

Suffering is not good in itself, but God turns it to good through the Cross
 
fred_conty said:
In Luke 2, an old man in the temple saw the baby Jesus in the arms of Mary his mother. Simeon blessed them and said,

Prayer from the LOTH.

I Cor. 17, we must be spiritual to understand the crucified Christ. Any other way will fail.
.

Meaning that Christ the head loves the members of his body by sharing with them suffering so they may experience the divine glory.
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I agree:)
 
Trotters80 said:
Whether it be physical or emotional. Its as if we are not meant to be happy?.

Just something that crossed my mind.
Click to expand...
Nobody is exempt from suffering. If Jesus Christ wasn’t, then neither are we, since God treats us as He does his own flesh.
 
For all Christians we are to try to help relieve the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ and whomever else needs… Suffering for its own sake isn’t to be sought, and much suffering comes from the world, the flesh, and the devil not from God, but He can enter into it. Suffering will end, that’s the hope of Heaven, and this isn’t Heaven. But, while we are on earth, we are to love one another and help one another, and bear one another’s burdens as a family. Sometimes we have to get our eyes of our own suffering and put them on those around us.
 
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