The world is a seriously depressing place at the minute - there is a crisis in the Church, in families, in countries and in the world all around us - an alarming crisis that is so depressing it is so easy to get bogged down in negativity. The world is dying before our eyes, we in the west may well be close to civilization collapse. I have found myself becoming depressed by the sadness I see all around, suicides, sickness, violence, death and destruction, natural and man made, it is almost overwhelming. Please God give us all the gift of joy in these depressing times, help us to live in the joy of the Gospel and without compromise to live fully and joyfully in our saviour Jesus Christ. Help us to live out the sermon on the mount, grant us peace that the world cannot give. Help us to totally die to self in this crucial hour to abandon ourselves without compromise to Divine Providence, to choose Jesus above all things & like the martyrs choose God over life itself so that we can give the Christian witness of hope to those in despair. The law of love is sacrifice. Dear God, give us the strength to sacrifice ourselves fully to pour out our lives like a libation out of love for you and our neighbour like St Francis of Assissi to be a light in the darkness of a fallen world. Ave Maria Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
I had just posted this on the Pope Benedict Books and Quotes thread, when I saw this one. I think it's appropriate here also. "Lord, show us that love is stronger than hatred, that love is stronger than death. Descend into the darkness and the abyss of our modern age, and take by the hand those who await you. Bring them to the light! In my own dark nights, be with me to bring me forth! Help me, help all of us, to descend with you into the darkness of all those people who are still waiting for you, who out of the depths cry unto you! Help us to bring them your light! Help us to say the “yes” of love, the love that makes us descend with you and, in so doing, also to rise with you. Amen!" Pope Benedict XVI, Easter Vigil, 7 April 2007.
The phrases, these depressing times, and the sadness I see all around: I am jealous of prior centuries. Yes, there were more trials from lack of comfort, deadly diseases, unexpected wars erupting without prior notification, and unanticipated weather disasters, etc...But life was slower. And simpler. We weren't bombarded by the world of instant news. We focused on nearby relationships.
Keep the Faith! Please. Don't get caught up in this world, focus on the next. Be JOYFUL . . .look what Jesus suffered. You were born for this time and prayer is our weapon. Were the Carmelite Nuns who were martyred in despair? No, they sang hymns going to the guillotine. Make your life count, make your sacrifices count . . . Keep your lamps lit, the Groom will come for his Bride.
I remember Michael Voris in Church Militant. I used to be disturbed by the constant hammering on about the bad things in the Church. It reminded me of the old saying, 'Is your glass half full or is it half empty?' I find many Catholic commentators are very,very negative at the moment about events in the Church. It would be wrong to be a Pollyanna and only want to look at the good and ignore the evil But once we recognise the evil for what it is. Once we understand that there is nothing we can do to change it but Sacrifice and prayer we reach a point were we have to leave it be. It is like the Serenity Prayer: 'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change'
This is very cool Katfalls. One of the amazing parts of the spiritual dimension is that no one gets away with anything for free for good or bad. So these people doing all this evil are going to get it all back seven fold. But even better is that all those who suffer are blessed, because at some point, in this life or the next, they are going to get a positive return on their suffering many times over. It why the saints all wanted to suffer. Jesus talked about this all the time! This is why St. Carlos Acutis is such a great saint, he said all you have to do is keep looking up. You're getting oppressed for the sake of Christ? guess what you're blessed. It sucks to go through, no one likes the cross, but the benefits are excellent.
Personally found yesterday's Gospel perfect for our time! It was so edifying to hear, God, the good gardener, knowing the good grain and weeds are so entangled that they cannot be separated. Isn't that the world we live in today? God permits this. I must put all my faith in this one saying because it is overwhelming looking at the evils in the world. I am also reading some St. Francis De Sales and this line has really hit me because I am so far from the mark! He explains it's the highest form of charity: A truly loving heart loves God's good pleasure not only in consolations, but also in afflictions, but it loves it most of all in the cross, pain, and labor, because love's principale power is to enable the lover to suffer for the beloved object. It finally hit me, all the little inconveniences I hate dealing with, the labors I struggle to accomplish in this chapter of my life, all the people I am really bothered by, it's all given to me by God's hand! Like a bitter medicine but if I want to get better no matter that it's bitter! St. Francis concludes: "Since affliction is in no way lovable in itself, it is a very easy thing to love it solely in reference to the hand that gives it." Returning now to the Gospel, it is God's hand which permits the weeds to grow, so be it.
In the Litany of Loreto, one of Our Lady’s titles is Comforter of the Afflicted. I thank you for this post, Philothea.
