To rejoice is not sinful

I have noticed something interesting and disturbing at the same time.
How the true faith manifests itself in a believer, and how a self-professed believer has problems with it.
What in the world do I mean?
Ok. Starting with myself, everything that happened to me these past several months has kept on building my joy and happiness, contrary to the surrounding circumstances. Every grace-centered blessing affirms my election and power of God in my life, be it a caring hand of gifts or a chastening hand of trials. In the end of every day the only words I can utter are the words of gladness and gratitude.

The meaning of Beatitudes...

And so it is with those Christians I know, too. No matter how deep their wounds are, they always look up to heaven for consolation and strength, never doubting the outcome, always rejoicing and staying on track.

So what strikes me is the completely different attitude of other people, those who claim their religion is the only true one, those belonging to Rome. Not all of them, of course, but many, when faced with difficulties, go under. They despair, they seek strength in themselves, and they fail miserably. It is like a dark cloud hanging over them. I have seen it so many times, and there are no words of comfort possible.
This dark cloud of self-mutilation and self-denial, the strange notion that God does not want us to feel happiness, that the only thing worth doing is punishing yourself constantly... And, at the same time, complaining that nothing works, and that their efforts are painfully fruitless.
There are many examples given to catholics about how to do this very strange mental gymnastics. Long lists of so called saints, books written about those, their biographies - all for giving the guidance on how the proper life should look like.
If a person should believe those biographies to be real, he would lose his mind. Some of them are so ridiculous, that no one in their right mind can possibly believe them.
Or so cruel in their message. Or so bleak...

Alice was born at Shaerbeck, near Brussels. At the age of seven, she entered a Cistercian convent named Camera Sanctae Mariae, and she remained there for the rest of her life. The Cistercian community was inspired by her spirit of humility. However, at an early age, she contracted leprosy and had to be isolated. The disease caused Aleydis intense suffering, and eventually she became paralyzed and was afflicted with blindness. Alice's greatest consolation came from reception of the Holy Eucharist, although she was not allowed to drink from the cup because of the danger of contagion. However, the Lord appeared to her with assurance that to receive under one species, was sufficient. Known for visions and ecstasies, she died in 1250. Devotion to her was approved in 1907 by Pope Pius X.

There is much sickness and related suffering in the world today. Like St. Alice, we must try to turn our suffering into good and pray that God will give us the strength to endure and that we may be consoled through the reception of the Sacraments.

As a young cleric, Humbald, of Auxerre, France, excelled in the virtues of simplicity, prudence, chastity, and temperance. Having become bishop of Auxerre in 1095, he zealously upheld the ecclesiastical reforms mandated earlier by Pope Saint Gregory VII, enacting them in his own diocese. Humbald is described as a “lover of the divine offices,” patient and jovial in his disposition, enjoying the company and conversation of his friends, and possessing “the simplicity of a dove and the prudence of a serpent.” Throughout the years of his episcopate, he perpetually abstained from eating meat, contenting himself with an austere diet of beans. During Lent he fed twelve paupers daily at his table. Humbald resolved to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem “for the love of his Savior and the remission of his sins.” At each of the holy places, he was moved to tears in his prayers. As Humbald was returning by ship from the Holy Land, a storm sank the vessel. The bishop and all the other passengers perished.

Anyway, when you read through those stories, you are astonished by the absence of the Bible. There are dreams, visions, revelations, good works, fasts, sufferings, but almost no Word. That is not a good example in what I have learned...

Dear catholic friends, read the Bible. God wants You to find Your joy in Him, in His Grace, in making You His child. If you read this post, it is very possible that He has pointed you to it, and is right now working on your heart of stone to change it to a soft one. There is satisfaction in Him, there is joy in the harshest of times, there is hope eternal. You do not have to rely on yourself. Put your burden on Him, for He is able to rescue you.

Listen to Pastor John:

Our Passion for God's Supremacy, Part 1
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Our Passion for God's Supremacy, Part2
Wednesday, March 21, 2007