Joy Joseph on Addressing Hurt and Suffering in Our Lives

"There is a natural phenomenon that's easily verifiable. As an object travels away from its source, it becomes smaller, and as it travels towards the source, it becomes bigger. In other words, the closer we approach the sun the bigger and hotter it gets, and the further we move away from the sun the smaller and cooler it seems.

"Often our resolve, our decisions, are like this. On the day these resolutions are made they are bright and burning strong within us. The further we are away from the moment we made them, the weaker and less necessary they seem!

"How is it with you and our Lord Jesus Christ? Are you daily approaching the Son and finding that all your impurities are being burnt away, or are you stuck in some distant orbit of practical comfort? Is He becoming bigger and more real to you daily, or is it a distant and slightly vague hope?

"Each of us is like particles of light moving towards the Son or going away from Him daily. Either our repentance and love of God grow stronger and more intense daily, or it tapers off into a meaningless acceptance of His presence with an unspoken, perhaps even unrealised, 'all that can wait while I sort out my life first.' We can still continue with our habits of prayer and church-going but it makes no dent on our person."

In a recent commentary, writer Joy Joseph reflected on some of the causes of hurt and suffering in our lives and on ways we can address them.

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Catholic Stand: Why It Hurts (3 MAY 19)