Bishop Barron on Should Suffering Shake Our Faith?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- Friends, a new survey from Premier Christian News found that 67% of people who call themselves religious have had their faith in God shaken due to the events of the COVID crisis. However, suffering should never negate the existence of God. When times are difficult, we should follow the examples of biblical figures such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David. They offered lament to the Lord, they wrestled with him, and yet they listened to the still, small voice of the Lord.
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Thank you Bishop. You're drawing so many people (including myself) to consider embracing the Roman Catholic Church.
I'm be very glad to hear of your being drawn to Catholicism. I weep for all the Catholics, young and older, who have left or are leaving the one, true Church established by Jesus Christ. We need more people like Bishop Barron to teach the whole, undiluted Truth.
Praise God for this! Will pray for you!! 🙏🏼🤗
I lost my brother Michael to covid in April 2020, plus I suffer from a debilitating condition that limits my life generally. I've become closer to God if anything, because of these challenges. I've no idea why, but I'm immensely grateful.
That’s an example for me and for many of us, sister. Thanks for telling your story!
May God remain close to your heart and give you much Grace through Jesus Christ our LORD
@@Abc19853 I think you are judging suffering as a synonym of lack of material possessions. That’s gravely wrong. I am Brazilian, my country is in process of development. There is here plenty of poverty still and by that I say misery, not the same kind of ‘poverty’ we could see in the USA or in Europe. But even so, there is something about material possessions and how slavering they can be to us and our souls. The radical secularization of our societies maybe was a simple result from it, specially in the US and the richest European countries. And this is more intimate to despair than we can possibly think. It’s just another type of suffering, but the one that endangers the soul for sure. The other sufferings, all of them were described more on less on the beatitudes, I respectfully think:
01. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
02. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
03. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
04. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
05. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
06. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
07. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
08. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
God bless! _Christus reinat!_
What a testimony. God is so good. I will pray for you right now friend ❤
These are serious, divine mysteries, and tests of true FAITH! May God keep you close, and continue to comfort you! You sound like you are living a real, deep faith, that few can accept or comprehend? 💓💕👍
If anyone lets COVID shake their faith the it a fare weather faith. Consider all the tragedies in history. As soon back as the 1917 Spanish flu. Yes, Covid is horrible but we need a stronger faith than that. The people that suffered through that actually went to church more. My heart aches for the families of the one’s lost to this horrible virus but God is our place of comfort, not a God playing a game that we should question.
God Bless everyone.
This is my favorite youtube channel hands down
Keep up☆
I'm thoroughly enjoying it also. I'm currently reading Centered: The Spirituality of the Word on Fire.
I‘ve heard many people say that they couldn‘t believe in God because of all the evil and suffering in the world - but I always had the feeling there was a deeper, more personal pain behind that blanket excuse. But one of the reasons I believe in God is precisely because I couldn‘t even cope with my own pain without him, let alone with the suffering of the rest of the world.
And by his Passion and death, Jesus has proved to us that God hasn‘t kept aloof from any of our suffering, he went through it all to the end - and beyond.
Jesus told and showed us that there will be crosses to bear...Let us pray we can endure unto the end
Bottom line .... This earthly existence, suffering, and all? is over much too quickly? We must have, keep a firm, solid FAITH in God, an afterlife? .... Or what were we really born for? Eternity would tell us .... we were born only to give GLORY, PRAISE to GOD!
Suffering taught me to pray for souls in purgatory 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Pray, hope and don't worry! (Padre Pio).
Yes I will lament and complain but I won’t be shaken in my trust in God. Pray for my faith
When it comes to suffering, no person comes close to better explaining it than rabbi Harold Kushner in his bestseller, When Bad Things Happen To Good People ! I have no patience for pious people who go through suffering and claim they never question God.
In the book Silence by Shusaku Endo, Christ says to the tortured apostate priest " I understand your pain and your suffering. It is for that reason that I am here." " Lord, I resented your silence," says the priest. Christ says "I was not silent . I suffered beside you". I find this book comforting and challenging in its examination of suffering.
This channel is an oasis for the mind.
I've just realised that I was taught not to complain to God. It changes my mind.
Actually this encourages to Complain to God, but not to deny the existence of God..
Amazing!
I think this "don't ask God why" mentality is POISON.
Yes, it shows little/poor faith, but nevertheless it shows a faith - however puny- that God exists! You are interacting with God and expecting a response from Him.
Plus it shows honesty with God - honesty that you just don't have that "Great Faith". And God appreciatws honesty over pretense.
Read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, written in 1941, a time much more dire than now.
@@Itsjustelectrons This is exactly the human answer "there are many people suffering more than you, so don't complain".
@@thekingslady1 How much faith has a child when showing his wound to his father?
As someone who's been challenged with a life changing illness, I've been drawn closer to God more than ever. We tend to think temporally in this life and this is natural, but God and Heaven are eternal.
For me, personally, any suffering that I have had, I've deserved. I think that it has made me a better person and I am eternally grateful that the good Lord has given me the opportunity to repent and to serve Him and His people. It is an ongoing endeavor to surrender more fully and completely to Him. This pandemic has been a golden opportunity to live in solitude to come ever closer to our Lord.
I am commenting before listening. My thought when I read the title. Suffering SHAPES our faith. 😊
I am also Catherine 🤗💕🌸
Thank you Bishop Barron. You make me realize how much we assume there is something wrong if suffering is present. That thinking led me on a detour into the Indian teaching of Advaita, or non-duality, that practically crushed my soul. So glad to be finding my way back to Christ and the church. Thanks to you!
Negotiating suffering gives life meaning and Almighty God gives me the strength to go through. Sad about those peopke who found it challenging. So did I: list my husband, lost my job. I can't see the light yet. But God's with me and I'm getting through.
Take care and thank you, Bishop Barron.
❤️
IT was a long and debilitating illness that drew me back to Jesus Christ and his Church. IT took a few years but I am now healed and feel so greatful. Thank you Lord!
Suffering is the most difficult path to a love of God. To believe that there are elements of God’s plan that are beyond human comprehension is not difficult. In fact , it is human arrogance that would think otherwise. I don’t expect my dog to understand calculus. And, I don’t expect to always understand God’s calculus. The best I can do is to believe that God is love, and in that love God endures our suffering standing always close by.
Amen!
Respectfully - Why do you need a loving and conscious God in that equation. Why can’t the universe just be occurring as it occurs. Sometimes we are on the bad side of that equation. What is wrong with the model - just wondering?
I don’t wish to taint your faith - simply an honest question.
@@dariofromthefuture3075 It’s a really good question and one that I asked myself for a long time. I was into studying the physical world and came across a book by the director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins. I admired his leadership on the human genome project. His book “The Language of God”, outlined the improbability that the Big Bang (a term first used by a Catholic priest named Georges LeMaitre) would produce from a void a universe that would allow humans to evolve precisely as we have. That the mathematical constants and equations that explain our universe would exist with such precision. Einstein said the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is how comprehensible it is. This did not convince me of God’s existence, but it opened a door to the possibility. As I studied quantum physics I found that the theories developed to explain the 20 or so mathematical constants lead to abstractions like 10 dimensional space that were unlikely to ever be proven with certainty. God can’t be proven. God is an abstraction like love or consciousness. I can only say that when I opened my heart to God’s potential, I felt a very real presence that I call God. The joining of the abstract to the material in the person of Jesus Feels true to me. Using all my senses , reason, experiences, intuition, and emotion I simply feel this to be true. But each person must find their own spiritual connection. Mine was a very long road that ended with Christ. I wish you the very best on your journey.
@@johnclark1371 Thank you for your answer. If you don't mind, I will read it to people I know will appreciate it too. Have a nice week.
Want some kind of answer read rabbi Harold Kushners book, When Bad Things Happen To Good People, most clergy won't debate it. It's to convincing. Rabbi Kushner saved my faith. His son died of progeria the rapid aging disease at 14 yrs.
Quite an amazing response to suffering! I was looking for the mercy chaplet, left TH-cam on an interesting animal report, proceeded to do my mercy chaplet and was complaining to God even to the point of arrogance!🙈 Came back to the phone and there you were talking about my complaint! How does that happen?🙈 Sometimes I wonder if God exists at arms reach! 👀I'm often baffled by how he responds!😱 Amaaazing!Thank You!🙏🏻✝️🙏🏻
Bishop
Thank you . No condemnation...I’ve been frustrated with seeking God through Catholic Prayers...being affiliated with a non-denominational religion stating Jesus is NOT God (with all the frustrations of being black /approaching retirement age, etc)
I will still state” I’m thankful and grateful as I complain “🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾
Have you tried reading the works of St Theresa of Avila? I started reading her because as a life-long Catholic, with my share of frustrations, I thought I could use some better understanding. Catholics use saints as...good teachers and good friends. I pray you find the strength and peace you seek.
@@BB-hx1nk you are Wonderful! Thank you for the gems of knowledge 🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾
@@BB-hx1nk Amen 🙏🏼🤗
@@wreloise1 🙏🏼🙏🏼
I've always liked Jesus' hidden commentary on his suffering during his last hours--psalm 22. We remember the phrase, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" However, like a song remembered by its first line, Jesus is using a rabbinical teaching method to prompt a contemplation of the whole psalm to the (often forgotten) end --"future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!"
"Here below, true love cannot exist without suffering"
-St. Bernadette
Nice 👍
I like the way the cameras pull back and show more depth of the room. It is more grounded.
Paz y Bien. Estamos más cerca cuando hemos sufrido, aunque no entendamos ni entonces ni ahora. Paz.
My experience of my dad suffering sickness and dying opened me to another dimension of my relationship with God. I am not the same. It was tough. Suffering does something that we can't even put well into words... Well expressed. Thank you, BB.
😢
Thank you Bishop Barron, it is in the pain and suffering that we can feel closest to God, if we so choose 🙏🏻
I am incredibly grateful for this reflection! The philosophical problem of how All loving and all powerful God can allow evil simply wears one out. It remains unresolved and only gives an excuse to doubt God's existence, His goodness and His love. Thank you Bishop Barron for offering such different perspective and reminding us of the biblical view of suffering.
Some of the best words for explaining love and suffering from any theologian. Thank you Bishop🙏🏻
Thank you Bishop Barron!! I remember one passage from Thomas a Kempis' book, The Imitation of Christ, he stated there that "Love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, gentle, strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking her own; for wheresoever a man seeketh his own, there he falleth from love. Love is circumspect, humble, and upright; not weak, not fickle, nor intent on vain things;
sober, chaste, steadfast, quiet, and guarded in all the senses. Love is subject and obedient to all that are in authority, vile and lowly in its own sight, devout and grateful towards God, faithful and always trusting in Him even when God hideth His face, for without sorrow we cannot live in love."
God bless you and your ministry Bishop Barron!!
Amen
Thank you Padre.
Thank you bishop Barron. An excellent tool for the toolbox.
@Bishop Robert Barron bishop Barron, this is very unlike you
Beautiful
Wonderful to listen to this small reflection. Encouraging. God bless Bishop Barron.
Thank you for this clarity..clearly the wrong gospel has really gotten into our heads. This is such clear Biblical teaching
Love you Father. Thank you for all
My father died of covid last december and was And Is still the worst thing i have felt but thanks to my parents who gave me a catholic raising, i have not doubt of God so far i think Many people wants a God who solves their lives in every way AND God can do that but they dont believe they just dont want to live , jesús called God Father and a Father has to give lesson to their childs God has gave us freedom to all of us and our acts bring suffer or joy not only to US but others
I’m so sorry for your loss
My dad died of Covid 12/18/20. Right after that my mother, sisters and myself also caught it. I feel so distraught. I still believe in God but I am having a ver difficult time feeling good about the future.
@@Yolduranduran i am so sorry for your lost , i just can tell you what i say to myself everyday we just have to keep living joy and happiness Will come again to our lives and the people that we lost are whit us they are not gone we are in a union of eternal love whit them every day of our lives
@@miguepreza5870 thank you Miguel. God bless you
It solidified my faith in God. Humanity may have gone full loon in their over reaction to Covid. But God, He’s rock solid. Always has been and always will be.
Word.
Thank you Bishop Barron for sharing your personal thoughts during your prayers. This message is enlightening. God bless you!
The problem is partly because the church has encouraged us down the centuries urged us to pray to God to deliver us from and save us from suffering
Your final point as you wonder about the clergy being a tad philosophical about the existence of God is spot on Bishop Barron. In my humble opinion....
"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God" (Philippians 2:14-15).
I don't know if suffering brings you closer to, or further from, your faith. I think that the answer to that question lies within who you are, how you are and your expectations of Our Lord and GOD. I don't know that suffering brings me any closer and I know that i have become all about myself with mental anguish. That can certainly separate you from your faith. But as the suffering continues, we make a choice. To blame GOD, to blame ourselves or maybe to blame our parents or someone who hurt us in some way. We try to deflect the suffering onto someone else. Well, that is one choice. I have never been a finger pointer and would be more likely to blame myself and I have never had the audacity to have any expectations of GOD. Not suggesting that you or anyone should or shouldn't but it is certainly not MY right. But there is an expectation on us to be joyful, and I am unsure how we can exist in Heaven if we are not. I am not joyful when i suffer and i do not enjoy pain. I have it and have since childhood and it only increases with age. Whether from sins of my past, sins of my parents, sins of my people or maybe simply the luck of the draw. Don't know but we all have our cross to bear. I have experienced true joy in my life, on several occasions. But, I am not a joyful person. Not unhappy but happiness and joy are not the same thing. My first period of pure joy was as a child, when i had a personal visit/encounter with the Holy Spirit. It was absolute and perfect and something that I will never forget. Other periods of absolute joy, that i have experienced and would compare to that day, is when the pain vanishes. Not from drugs, as that fogs your brain as it masks the pain and you don't feel great emotion of any kind. With drugs, the pain remains but is lessened, and the goofy lightheadedness is not an emotion. So, without the ability to succinctly communicate anything of substance, it takes me forever to get to the point. I don't believe that we will have these pains after we die and suffering now brings us closer to GOD if we allow it AND prepares us to be more joyful when it is gone. Not necessarily agreeing that suffering in this world purifies us for heaven because there are choices to be made. I find it hard to believe that GOD would cause me to be in pain. I don't pray for relief which would mean that I pray more, thus bringing me closer to my faith. No, none of those things. I could say it is a happy accident to see the benefit of suffering as i don't see THAT either. Just suggesting that it can. Or maybe i hope that it can and fool myself. But as it is a consolation, i am okay if i am mistaken, because the belief that I will see greater joy makes this a lot easier to tolerate. Win win!
I feel you! I too have had chronic pain for years. Reading from my journaling : Pleasure and Pain. All I know now is pain. Pleasure is a forgotten memory. Though if it were not for pain, death would seem unimaginable. But as it is, pain is what allows us to accept the unacceptable in order to escape the unbearable.
God does not mind if we get angry at Him for whatever reason. You can get as angry at God as you want. But never forget His mercy. I want my earthly life to be all about following Him.
Thank you very much Bishop, you have explained it just perfect.
Susan Neiman points out that a very significant dimension of suffering is generated by our expectations: the modern protest against suffering seems to arise from an almost gnostic sense that all suffering reflects a kind of “manufacturer’s error”. It’s as if we expect never to suffer - a sensibility that I suspect was almost unknown prior to the emergence of the modern Theodicy debate in the 18th century. One indicator of spiritual maturity can sometimes be expressed in saying, “Why not me?” instead of “Why me?” However, I also believe that we should be ruthlessly honest with ourselves - and with God - when we cry out in pain - we’re definitely allowed to get angry with God, the duty to be truthful demands nothing less.
Thank you. For us Christians, the resurrection is surely central to the biblical narrative about suffering. It affirms that ultimately goodness, justice and mercy wins, that all will be well, not only for Jesus who is raised from the dead, but for all humanity.
You know what a faithful Priest told me once during a side conversation during Mass? I said these are the Day's Priest! He said it's always been the Day's? Praise God. Jesus lives.
what amazes me every day is how all people who were closest to God, had to suffer like him....and they loved it!...I think that is simmilar to suffer that sportsman endure...the suffer to them is like playing the game of life...they do want it! they see purpose in it...doing some good work for God
Bishop Barron, BRAVO for bringing up the fact that we have a problem with how we catechize our children. As I've said so many times, we have Catholic adults walking around with an image of God learned when they were 7 preparing for Holy Communion, or at best, Confirmation at age 13. And that image does not serve us well into adulthood and that, in my estimation, is why so many adults leave the Church. So my question is this...is the USCCB addressing this issue? It just seems to me that our Protestant brothers and sisters have this down better than we Catholics do. As always, you are the best!
I figure it this way, if you’re suffering now, it’s not over yet. Keep on holding on - and keep looking for the recovery
.: God is faithful !
“ We Pray 🙏 Because we BELIEVE 🙌🏽 “
From Misión Cruz Hermitage in Somerset, Texas. Blessings
Thank you Bishop Barron for all the work you do. Thank you for teaching us and trying to get us to know Christ and understand the teachings of the Church a little bit better.
I read a few of the questions from your last Reddit session. May I suggest that you write a book (kind of like “Crossing the Threshold of Hope”) with answers to some of the more well thought out and interesting questions. You might have answered them in some of your previous writings, but if presented in a book format it might attract more readers... just a thought..
In contrary, suffering is precondition to believe in God.
Only in face of suffering,
We surrender our egos,
Strip away self-deceits,
Only then,
We hear the booming voice,
Only then,
We see the burning bush.
Our suffering is but a small shadow of the suffering we have seen others endure. Yet, their faith is unshaken. We try to offer our discomforts to God for the repose of souls.
*"It's the touch of pain that makes all joys divine."*
After every dark night there is the bright morning
After every storm there is deep calm
Behind every grey cloud there's always the silver sky
Together with all pain there comes Joy
It's the darkness of the night that makes the heart long for light
The violence of storm makes it thirst for peace
It's the raincloud that washes the sky so bright
It's the touch of pain that makes all joys divine
Now, I don't understand why there is so much suffering and pain on Earth. If you are lucky to be a billionaire's son/daughter, life will be much easier for you. Now, we can complain to God, but if He is going to do what He wants, I don't understand why should we constantly pray? For example, I am begging you to help me financially and you hit me with more bills and eviction from my house...
We should pray because that prayer could be the cause God in his providence has placed to cause good, and because through prayer we can confirm ourselves to God's manner of being and to trust him, even if we don't immediately see the results of that trust. Complaining to God affords us the opportunity to work out, as little as a finite mind as a human being possesses can, what God could be working toward in our own spiritual growth by allowing this suffering. And regarding the counterintuitive response to supplication by God that you present as an example, that supplication may not be a part of God's providential will, in which case the outpouring of financial difficulties, as psychologically exhausting they very well may be, are allowed to occur by God for some greater good, e.g., a lessened reliance on material goods and welfare in the place of spiritual goods and welfare.
Excellent
"We were born to suffer." - C-3PO
Thank You Bishop Barron for very Insightful teaching on Suffering.
Suffering entered when we humans disobey (ob audire) God by listening the evil one I.e. original sin and all sin (deafness of God) derived. There are three types: 1) Suffering of the cross = our struggles to follow Christ’s teachings of love to get to heaven in a fallen world. 2) Unnecessary suffering = We listen a lie or permit the evil one to make us suffer. 3) Redemptive suffering = Pays for others sins. (Christ, some saints and victim souls). It seems that suffering is related to individual/family sin, group/ local sin and national/world sin. It would be a good topic to unfold by Bishop Barron 🙏🏼
Well said! Thank God in heaven there will be no more suffering.
Faith is found through suffering, Jesus is the God who has come down in the human flesh, it is the only Christian answer to suffering and God, God himself has suffered for our sins, died, and was raised in glory. Patient endurance is the test for our faith, if everything is alright there is no point to believe.
I'm not sure why my comment in this video was gone, maybe I deleted it by mistake? God bless you Bishop.
Brief summary: God says “I love you” with his fist over and over again and we have no idea why.
Most people on this thread relate suffering to their own suffering. That shows a lack of empathy. The problem with suffering isn't your own suffering. It is the problem with the suffering in which no lesson is taught. And, it is the problem of the magnitude of suffering.
The fact that the problem of suffering isn't a Biblical problem isn't a strength. It is a weakness of the Bible. For example, when we evaluate modern news sources, and we look for bias, it isn't always how a story is slanted. It is how some stories are ignored, because these stories don't reinforce the overall narrative or political slant of that particular news source. For those who resonate with the problem of suffering, and it is addressed in the Bible in the book of Job, the paucity of material is a detriment to accepting the message.
Theodicy is an unacceptable concept. The Bible presents two main possible solutions to suffering. In the case of Israel, suffering is the result of revolt against God's will. It is just punishment. In Job, the response is the Euthyphro conclusion that things are holy because God does them and who are we to question. Both of these point to a God for whom might makes right and who practices collective punishment, even on the innocent, including animals.
The ten plagues of Egypt clearly point to a God who will punish infants and animals for an act that he encourages, by hardening Pharaoh's heart. Those first born animals were killed, merely for being Egyptian or owned by Egyptians, whether or not they even supported the actions of Pharaoh, who ruled them.
And, of course, for example, if the Holocaust was "instructive", could one less person have died, especially, say, a 5 year old who died of painful disease or starvation? In a forest fire, which is not instructive, could one less deer have been burned alive, a deer that nobody knew about, and had no instructive power?
I respect the Bishop's learning, but I have yet to hear of a sufficient answer to needless suffering, either man or nature caused.
We don’t know what good or evil is without God.
God is innate, absolute, total.
He is goodness itself.
Therefore when we ask, why would God allow bad things to happen?,
we are assuming that we have a greater knowledge of what Goodness is than the One who literally is Goodness itself.
We assume that we must have some better idea of what Goodness is than God, without whom we would have no concept of Love and Goodness.
Just my take.
Pax Christus.
Intelligent observation on the part of the bishop.I think the answer lies in the way modern utopian political ideas affect the modern mind. Modern folks expect human problems to be solved easily. The people living at the time the Bible was written expected life to be difficult most of the time. The possible exception being the ancient Hebrews wondering in the desert. For some reason they demanded God make things easy for them.
@Bishop Robert Barron Oh, I don't disagree with that principle. Loving our neighbor in his needs is fundamental. But on a grand scale it's very difficult. I'm no Libertarian, but the well-intentioned programs of the Great Society destroyed the Black family and it may take decades to bring that institution back. I'm all for government and private action to help the poor, widows and destitute but wisdom is called for.
Well said. 🙏🙏🙏
At the time of writing this, my father's brain cancer had returned for a 3rd time.
It took me a while to calm down. However, im still caught on one thing.
I said
"If this is, your will Lord just tell me why. Please just tell me."
Im NOT angery that suffering happing. I'm angry because I want an explanation as to WHY.
That's all I want. An explanation.
Wonderful talk Bishop Barron , thank you and GOD bless you. ➕❤
Amén Bishop Baron👏👏👏🙏🕊✝️💞
Praise the Lord
It is interesting because in Tolkien’s work his creation story had a beautiful theodicy built into in. In the beginning there was God and twelve angels and they sung creation into existence.
However one of the angels, Melkor sought to introduce dissonance to cause the song to go awry. However every time Melkor sung a dissonant high note it was cancelled by a low note from God.
When Melkor tried to sing a dissonant low note it was cancelled by a high note. All this played out and eventually creation was finished but the dissonant notes and their cancellations proceeded to ring through the created physical world as well until the end of the age when all was finally restored.
It was a great metaphor with creation being made of music foundationally and Melkor singing his own song but God resolving his dissonant notes in the symphony of creation. Weaving evil and its resolution into the same song and cancelling it out.
It is kind of like a master symphony conductor and an audience heckler. Instead of his heckling killing the symphony, the conductor weaves the heckling into a beautiful work of music resolving the dissonance in the song.
Reminds me of Joseph’s inspired words at Gen 50:20:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Tolkien did a great job indeed! I love this account of creation...
Lord of the Rings and the bible, both masterly works of fiction
I don't know too much about suffering bur i born suffering i live then in suffer i think i'm still passing suffering bur what change everytime is a different suffering this change yes, but i can't remember times without suffering in my Life talking clearly and serious!
Please Bishop speak on betrayal and how to live past it.
It's only in suffering that we learn and grow to be what God intended us to be... We're like immature children who only learn the hard way.
And today more than ever.
Despite you're a young woman I guess you''ve arrived to a conclusion which demands wisdom and experience. God bless you and your whole family if you've the luck of having one!.
@@jorgeluismaida3996 I do have a family, but I'm not so young. Thank you. God bless.
God is infinite in power and he loves me infinitely. There is no snatching out of his hand. God will never send me where his grace cannot sustain me. If he asks me to do something difficult, like become a priest, he will give me the grace to do it. I will not fail because he is with me. And I will be happy because I am doing his will. Even if I lack some of the needed qualities, God will help me develop them. In his will lies my peace
All fears can be overcome by increasing one’s faith, hope, and love. In fact, it is not overly simplistic to state that every problem known to man can be fixed by these three theological virtues
“There are only three kinds of persons; those who serve God, having found Him; others who are occupied in seeking Him, not having found Him; while the remainder live without seeking Him and without having found Him. The first are reasonable and happy, the last are foolish and unhappy; those between are unhappy and reasonable.”
Brannen, Fr. Brett. To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood . Vianney Vocations.
How often do those who are lamenting suffering and making themselves God's judge remember the flip side of the coin? When God gets blamed for the suffering, does he get thanked for all the good things?
A conversation can be had as to God's relationship to suffering and humanity but regardless of the outcome do any of us really want to live in a world without suffering of any kind?
Jesus himself use this Psalm to prove he is the son of the Most High Jehovah. Psalms 82 God takes his place in the divine assembly (HEAVEN); In the middle of the gods he judges. 6 “I have said, ‘You are gods, All of you are sons of the Most High (Angels) 7 But you will die just as men do (Rebel Angels)
John 10: 33 The Jews answered him: “We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy; for you, although being a man, make yourself a god.” 34 Jesus answered them: “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said: “You are gods”’?.. 35 IF HE (JEHOVAH) CALLED 'GODS' those against whom the word of God came-and yet the scripture cannot be nullified- 36 do you say to me - WHOM THE FATHER SANCTIFIED AND 'SENT' INTO THE WORLD...- ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said...‘I am God’s Son’?
I loved this video. Thank you Bishop.
The conundrum (if it may be called that historically) is a function of luxury and the alienating bias it creates. The solution is not "oh, then we must divest ourselves." Life does that in various ways. Our response is to cooperate with the Spirit in guiding us into deeper trust in the God with whom we have to do.
Thank you for bringing up complaining to God, and encouraging it. For myself, I often hold back complaining and questioning God during prayer, and cover up my prayer with what I think I should be saying. But the complaints and questions are the truth of what I feel. So, to have the encouragement to bring those to God honestly and openly is much appreciated.
Also, I do agree that there has been a failing in connecting the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament, and showing clearly how they are one God. This is often used as fodder for critics.
I think God brings great good in our life by sending suffering!! If he can suffer, so should we!! Thank you Bishop Barron 🙏
Bishop, indeed the true and living God, the God of the Bible, is not the abstraction that Catholicism regrettably adopted from antiquated and mistaken Greek philosophy. Unfortunately the problem of evil is fatal to the notion of the “ground of all existence” idol constructed by philosophers and theologians.
Here is a personal reflection on suffering I offered this year as a Lenten reflection:
The crucifixion of Christ didn’t eliminate suffering for humanity, so say nonbelievers. His resurrection however, provided a “way” for believers to transcend it. Jesus accepted his worldly suffering, rather than submitting to the evil nature of his persecutors. He chose the cross over conformity and our church history is filled with people who willingly did the same as Christ.
Father Barron, if you want some food for thought and also know what young people are up to, I think you should take a look at an album called "Everywhere at the End of Time." It's an album that simulates the decline of the mind from dementia, and i think it has a very powerful memento mori theme.
I’m constantly seeking to understand. I need to stop doing that.
Thank you, Bishop Barron, for making this video. I listened to your recent talks with Jordan Peterson and with Alex O'Connor, and it got me thinking about how pervasive the idea that suffering disproves God's existence is. I think that both of these figures tap into that philosophical issue among people who are on the borderline of disbelief. I sincerely appreciate your tackling this topic.
Jesus knew suffering throughout his Life among us; yet God the father showed Him love as well throughout His life. Called to carry our crosses, we know suffering too. Its part of our walk.
Hello Bishop, I don’t know if you’ll be able to see this but this question is about Job’s lamentation to God which may be considered as a prayer.
If I am not mistaken, you’ve mentioned in one of your talks about prayer about a wife whose husband died after a long battle with his illness who expressed her anger and frustration towards God by throwing rocks at Mother Mary’s statue. It was said that this is also a form of prayer. Wouldn’t this be considered a sin? To what extent can we be “angry” towards God for it not to be considered a sin?
Thank you very much, Bishop Barron! Your teachings have always encouraged and sustained me. God bless you always.
Good question
You want to listen with the "ears of the heart." Someone suffering, complaining, arguing, or wrestling is usually someone in pain. Our role is to follow Christ's example and to try to hear that pain and have a loving response to it. Whether or not the action taken is a sin is between that person and God. God is love and therefore greater than our anger, and His divine mercy is available as soon as we are ready to ask for it.
Solid videography.
I think suffering is necessary in one's life. Once I surrendered to God, even though I was amidst a lot of suffering, I was joyful for finding our Lord. My mindset has quite a bit on suffering over the years, and now I believe that only in the Season of Suffering, I will be able to See God working, because that is when I am in need of a miracle the most.
In a way, Jesus taught us that the problem of pleasure should be more concerning to us than the problem of suffering. We are called upon to take up our crosses, not to be comfortable and cozy. The Christian answer to the problem of suffering is to show that God's priorities are different and higher than ours. Are you poor? Oppressed? Sick? Have faith and love your neighbor as yourself. All the rest is a distraction.
Its a hard lesson to teach in this culture of hedonism and consumerism.
I am thankful for the video. Bishop if you read this, I need more of easy listening explanation especially for non english speaking listener. I believe more people will listen that way. Thank you.
Thank you for this video, Bishop Barron. My name is Lourenço, I'm from Portugal. I have been questoning myself about this. However, after watching this video, the big question remain: how can our God, who we belive to be the creator, would allow deseases such as cancer to Good people or tsunamis killing children? I understand the suffering of Jesus, since it was inflicetd by humans! However, nature is not uppon us... It is uppon the one that we believe to be the creator. Then, my question remains: how can God allow a cancer to a person that deffinetly embodies the Holy Spirit by his actions? How can we, people around these beautiful human beings, interpret this? Is a way of God saying "see! this is how you should act"? It is because they already accomplished what God wanted for them and so the time to end their journey on earth should end? Are these the things God can't control? Are these things evil's work? I honestly do not understand. I do not understand the christian prespective for the end of life of these people that give so much Life to the ones around them. Maybe you could help me Bishop Barron...
Bishop Barron, I absolutely love your videos. I am a newly confirmed catholic and I have decided to start veiling at mass, can you do a video on women veiling?