BEADS OF JOY 04-10-19
“Lent – Day 31”
©2019 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
“Suffering Has Saved Many”
Lenten Season – Day 31
My Friends,
There are many who often wonder
why Christians for example embrace pain and suffering. It's actually a really
simple thing to understand once you understand the wisdom in it. Archbishop
Fulton Sheen once said, "Though pain
never turns into a pleasure, a pleasure can turn into a pain."
Think about that. You can see that transition is so true. Tickling for example
can be fun, but if overdone it becomes annoying and it almost hurts. Same with
some addictions many of us have. Some of the carnal ones that begin with
pleasures of sorts, but when seen in God's eye they are sin, and sin only
separates us from God creating pain. Another way we can see it is like this;
how many people on their death beds who were put there by the pleasures of
alcohol, wild living, drug usage, and so many other things. And at the end of
that long or short ride of pleasure they are knee deep in pain and suffering
and maybe even dealing with the possibilities of dying at any moment. It is
then that so many begin to realize the true value of their life; they see that
it is fragile, limited and our actions will indeed determine our future. So
many turn to God at that point.
Another insight to all this is
best understood by keeping our sights fixed on the next life we are going to be
with Jesus after we leave this world, again Archbishop Fulton Sheen said,
"The Divine Plan is to have real
joys in the next life." So, our suffering here is but
temporary. Now we do know that suffering doesn't always have to be only
physical; we can have emotional suffering, mental suffering. Our bodies can
experience so much on so many different levels. We need to be in the humility
of our hearts to find the joy in having a life of suffering and pain. I will
say that for many years we as a family have been faced with many endless,
almost relentless attacks from satan on our family. Every single turn we made,
every single step we took, there was a battle for survival. We never gave up,
but I can say that I at least began to take it for what it was worth. I know
that in all things Jesus has His plan for us in our lives; it doesn't matter
what we see or think, for He has the plan, we just need to trust in His will
for us. In the past I told my dear friend Al Picogna, I surrender to the
suffering and I offer all of myself up for God's glory. I will allow it to
defeat me, so that in that defeat I offer it all up to God's glory and that
turned it around for my defeat against it.
It is said by the American Poet,
Franz Werfel "Sickness
invites us to heaven or to hell." You see it is because our
pain draws us back into ourselves our focus is no longer outside ourselves; and
by doing so we will either become so focused on our own selfishness that
nothing else will matter and we will be in hell, or it will turn us over to God
and heaven will be our destiny. There is much to think about when we are
suffering. Jesus immediately recognized the eternal value of suffering. Let's
take a look at John's gospel, "As he went
along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither
this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so
that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John
9:1-3. We must embrace the pain and suffering, I know it's always so easy to
tell people to do that; but we need to in order that we, you, us, might have
the work of God shine through us.
The Question many ask though it's
simple is, "What did I
do to deserve this?" Why is it many first arrogantly blame
God, when instead we should be praying for and thanking God for this suffering?
We sometimes in our lives need to be knocked off our horse and land straight on
our face in order for us to wake up. Yes, it will hurt, but in the end we will
realize that we can't control the horse like we thought we could, so we gain a
different respect the next time, and heed caution in times of danger we are
well aware of that can come. We must be grateful for our suffering, always seek
out answers in God's word, "However, if
you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that
name." 1 Peter 4:16. I pray that all of us in our own personal
sufferings can find a place to love, honor and worship Jesus in thanksgiving
for such a blessing.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Take a few
minutes and ponder your suffering as you walk through life. And then let’s
Thank God for allowing us to suffer and offer it up for His glory. It may be a
challenge for those who have life threatening diseases in our face within ourselves
or in the life of those we love. Either way ask for God’s strength or move
forward in your Thanksgiving.
What Is the Secret of
Joy in Suffering?
w/ John Piper
w/ John Piper
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Wednesday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. Assumption of Mary.1 (A Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Wednesday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. Assumption of Mary.1 (A Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
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