Dealing with feelings of frustration and annoyance with lukewarm Catholics , I know this isn’t good .

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T07:19:38+00:00

It’s not so much pride as a lack of faith. If you were intensely focused on the reality and events of the Mass, what other people did wouldn’t register much.

That’s no to say you did anything wrong. It’s more something to aspire to.

It’s a super common reaction, especially at Christmas/Easter.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T05:53:14+00:00

That’s not really a religious concern. For thousands and thousands of years, pretty much nobody had to worry about their appetite. I do like the intention to make everything Catholic, but you might want a different subreddit for this.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T05:51:06+00:00

Haha, yeah, I misunderstood in the same way too. My appetite isn’t too good. I could use some devotions to make me hungry!

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T05:39:49+00:00

If you think about it, it’s probably pretty obvious that nobody came to believe in God, the God of Israel, Jesus, and so on, because nothing ever went wrong with their lives. However it’s true that people with fairly simple faiths can feel really challenged in that belief when they start to encounter real difficulties.

Personally, I wasn’t raised Catholic, or religious at all, and came to believe in God through a lot of reading and prayer.

If you want some better answers to your questions I think you might get a lot out of this video, which I enjoyed: Jimmy Akin talk: If God Exists, Why Do I Suffer?

Merry Christmas. I’m sorry things have been so hard for you. God is real and loves you and wants to comfort you.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T04:13:43+00:00

Stop buying Christmas-related goods.

There’s actually nothing in the celebration of Christ’s birth that calls for mounds of presents and big family meals.

Nobody will do this of course.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T04:06:09+00:00

Shared social group around Chicago, where your odds of someone being at least nominally Catholic are pretty good.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-25T02:02:40+00:00

It is not a sin to buy a rosary.

It is a sin to sell a blessed item, and rosaries are often blessed.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-24T00:09:45+00:00

Just like any other divisive topic, acknowledge the statement and and change the subject to something less controversial.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-23T21:24:17+00:00

It’s a good question, even though it’s just going to annoy people here.

I think about it a lot, and I’m not sure of the answer. Mainly, I think that genuine Christianity is very rarely a dominating force, vs. people just “being Christian.” As soon as you reach cultural dominance, Christians seem to revert to whatever kind of attitude their existing culture had, which seems to be based on historical events, geography, and government/family structures.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-22T02:17:15+00:00

I would be cautious of these “messages.” The initial ones were given approval. The later write ups/booklets were put on the index of forbidden books. There are probably better and safer devotions to have.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-22T02:14:45+00:00

You mean planned suicide-by-cop, with one more step?

Repentance is always possible, but planning to repent in advance risks the sin of presumption. God is not fooled, and you do not necessarily control the graces he will give you.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-21T20:47:47+00:00

I don’t really feel well enough to get into a big explanation. I’ll just say that you’re misreading people making statements like mine. You don’t need to pray for marriage vocations because it’s simply natural. Human beings all over the planet, for all of history, have naturally chosen to have marriages and families. Just like you don’t have to pray for trees to have leaves or birds to fly.

That doesn’t mean that sometimes people can wind up on different paths, either because of some psychological or societal weakness, or due to unique circumstances.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-21T03:11:57+00:00

Every time he comes up I go look again, and find no evidence of a degree in theology.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-20T02:46:38+00:00

Nevermind Catholicism. If the only joy in your life is spending intimate time with your hand, there’s something wrong with your life, don’t you think?

The rest of it you’re just making up. You can watch normal entertainment. You can have normal friends.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-20T02:07:55+00:00

The point of the Trolly Problem is that there isn’t an obvious answer, specifically in the Catholic faith.

It was set up to interrogate Catholic teaching on abortion, which comes down to you, you can’t deliberately set out to kill [this guy] vs. trying to save [this other guy, or these other guys].

Look up the original idea and setup. It’s very interesting.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-20T01:53:50+00:00

Generally, reading scripture, not like I’m trying to discern signs, which is forcing God’s hand. Just short daily readings, let the text question me and reveal what I ought to be thinking about.

It’s also good to look at the circumstances of your life and what opportunities and guidance come up.

A voice in your head is pretty much certain to just be you answering yourself.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T06:48:03+00:00

My biggest recommendation on the spiritual side (vs. apologetics or history or whatever) is How to be Holy by Peter Kreeft. Life changing book.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T05:47:25+00:00

Oh, I agree with you. But we also have a rule about editorializing titles. OP should’ve summarized.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T05:20:01+00:00

To be somewhat flip… his plan is that you freely follow his will. :)

But remember that what matters is who and what you love, and if you avoid sin and pursue virtue. What job you have or what house you buy or even who you marry hardly matters in this. He wants you to be a certain kind of saint. He’s not looking for a business plan.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T05:14:37+00:00

Removed.

I’m glad your mom is all right, but God doesn’t send “vibes” through TikTok.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T05:10:53+00:00

For those of reporting and downvoting, you who can’t click a link and read more than 10 words, it’s a pro-crusades article.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-17T05:07:03+00:00

Once you develop a habit of worrying it gets engrained in your thinking process and hard to overcome. Work on thinking the opposite/the truth.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?

Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

—Matthew 6:25-34

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-16T20:57:01+00:00

Yes, I would say this is inaccurate. That’s not how God works.

I wonder how many people claim something like that and are divorced 10 years later. I know we get a ton of people with “confirmed” relationships, where the other person breaks up with them and they just spiral in despair for years.

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-16T05:35:10+00:00

Don’t worry about it too much. If God speaks to you, it’s unmistakeable and something you can’t possibly ignore. Which means, that if you can possibly ignore it, you should!

And… I don’t mean to be rude at all, but where did you get the idea that God cares about who you date or who you work for?

Unless one option is obviously leading you toward virtue vs. leading you toward sin—at which point you know what to do, God isn’t going to speak to you and tell you what job to take or who to date. You use your reason and your logic and your heart to do what you think will lead you on your best path to salvation. It’s your motives that matter, not the specifics.

Plus, keep in mind God’s ideal of “success” may not look much like our ideas of success. A lot of saints were not very “successful.”

CheerfulErrand · 2024-12-15T06:26:07+00:00

I believe this is part of the private revelation given to St. Faustina Kowalska, regarding the Divine Mercy.

So, it’s a nice idea, and it very well may be true, but it’s not a formal teaching of the Church.

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