Well, Michael, being faithful to Christ and the Church right now is a martyrdom. It is especially a martyrdom of loneliness, of disappointment, of hunger and thirst for the Bread of Life, of hunger and thirst for justice, of hunger and thirst for friendship and community, and of profound misery.

I can tell you that over the course of thirty years things have gotten harder and harder for me, more and more bleak, humanly speaking, more and more abandoned, more and more alone. But never once - no matter how terrible the decisions I've had to make to stay always faithful to my God - have I ever questioned whether I did the right thing. I've never questioned any decision I've made to follow the Lord radically, no matter what human misery it put me in.

Ya'll were talking about scrapping, fighting, and concussing on the other thread. The Lord Jesus loves stout fighters. And guess who He loves the most. The women, children, and old men who suffered excruciating torments rather than offend Him in any way.

There's toughness of body, and there's toughness of soul. In God's economy, the toughest souls love the most, suffer the most, and have the most joy.

If you choose to follow the Lord where He leads you, you can bank on dire suffering like you've never experienced before. You're a big sinner, and you've got lots of expiation on the horizon. I say this to you so boldly because I am the very same, and I've been doing big expiation now many years. But you can also bank on a love and a joy that no man, no demon, and no misery can steal from you - a love which will continue to grow until you exhale your last breath.

Jesus Christ, the Beautiful Master, is worth any kind of suffering. He is no trifle. He does not come cheap. He is the pearl of great price; and the possession of Him must be radically striven for. We must "sell all" in order to buy that Pearl.

Now, to stoke your coals, I've got one of the most remarkable hagiographies in existence. If it doesn't move you to heroism, nothing will:

https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/maryegypt.asp

The modernist can’t even consider this story. I’m sure they can only accept the principles in some weird way but I bet they simply wouldn’t believe it. I’ve seen too much to doubt it. Not to compare myself to Mary in anyway the only difference was I suffered through my sins and found little joy in life. I only heaped sorrows on top of sorrows. The only joy I’ve had in life is God a good family that loves me and I’ve met  a lot of good friends in life and I don’t deserve. I’ve don’t my best to destroy myself and somehow Gods persevered more than I deserve. I get it. That was a beautiful story. Maybe if that was read to us as kids rather than growing up on Rocco’s modern life, ren and stimpy, bevis and butthead not to mention the crap we learned in school it could have saved us a lot of sorrows. 🤷‍♂️ it’s a crazy time to be alive. Thank you for that Simeon. You’re expanding my vocabulary and list of saints! I appreciate you! 

The modernist can’t even consider this story. I’m sure they can only accept the principles in some weird way but I bet they simply wouldn’t believe it. I’ve seen too much to doubt it. Not to compare myself to Mary in anyway the only difference was I suffered through my sins and found little joy in life. I only heaped sorrows on top of sorrows. The only joy I’ve had in life is God a good family that loves me and I’ve met  a lot of good friends in life and I don’t deserve. I’ve don’t my best to destroy myself and somehow Gods persevered more than I deserve. I get it. That was a beautiful story. Maybe if that was read to us as kids rather than growing up on Rocco’s modern life, ren and stimpy, bevis and butthead not to mention the crap we learned in school it could have saved us a lot of sorrows. 🤷‍♂️ it’s a crazy time to be alive. Thank you for that Simeon. You’re expanding my vocabulary and list of saints! I appreciate you!

I'm happy to hear that you read St. Mary's story. It was a grace for your soul!

I may reply to this more later on, but I've been flapping my jaw too much lately. Need to slow it down. Pax tecuм!

Yep. We have the V2 crisis for six decades and the World today is a hardcore VUCA Environment.  But as Simeon said, we must persevere and we will be rewarded in the next life.

Amen. Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, I like that. Order out of chaos.