A reading from tonight’s Evening Prayer reminded me of God’s availability during times of suffering:
Psalm 142: 2-4;
With full voice I cry to the LORD; with full voice I beseech the LORD.
Before God I pour out my complaint, lay bare my distress.
My spirit is faint within me, but you know my path.
No matter the trouble you are having, God is always near to hear your plaintive scream for help. No matter the seeming insignificance or overwhelming deluge of the problem, unload and vent to God, “lay bare” your “distress” . You may feel weak and strung out, but God knows the path that you’re on and how your current troubles will ultimately lead to your salvation. For that is essentially the meaning of all suffering, as Jesus suffered for our sins, we must accept any that comes our way. Not in any masochistic need, just a humble awareness that as Christians we too must take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Suffering is also an effect of the Original Sin that Jesus died for. So to reject suffering is to reject the true nature of the world and to ultimately resent God if you cannot reconcile the world today with the essential existence of suffering. This may be rather difficult to contemplate and accept while going through trials, so all the more reason to turn immediately to God and with your “full voice”, “cry out” and “beseech the Lord”. Pray. Pray hard.
The Lord knows your path. He knows what special mission you are on, the unique and special purpose that He called you into being for. He will see you through your troubles.
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A beautiful entry. I could relate to it so much.I am a recovering alcoholic/addict with 3-1/2 in sobriety. I, too, have been through the 12-Steps. I find, though, that I am looking for something more. I am seriously considering converting to Catholicism. All my life I have wanted to, but I couldn’t because I was married to an evangelical protestant. We are now divorced and I have remarried.Could you direct me to where I can learn more about the Catholic faith?Thank you.Julie
Hey Julie!Just a quick response for now as it’s late at night, but for starters, you can try “Catholic Answers” at http://www.catholic.com . Another is “Catholic Digital Studio” at http://www.catholicdigitalstudio.com. “Scripture Catholic” at http://www.scripturecatholic.com might be good to help counter anything you picked up from your ex-husband, as well as “Bible Christian Society” at http://www.biblechristiansociety.com. I’ll see what a priest friend (he married my wife and I 3 weeks ago), can suggest. The “For all things Catholic…” group of links in the sidebar is great, but some of the info can be overwhelming at first. I included them all just to satisfy varying levels of curiosity and interest. But the above ones are great for starters.
Julie:I forgot one:http://catholic-converts.blogspot.com/