Matt Fradd's Blog, page 26

How to Suffer Well

There’s no escape from suffering. No matter how little or how much you’ve suffered, you probably wonder how to overcome it. The Church and the world offer different answers.

For those without faith, suffering lacks spiritual meaning. They see constant, pain-free pleasure as the ultimate value of life.

Catholics don’t want to suffer, but we accept it as a necessary reality in this vale of tears. That’s why we need to learn how to suffer well.

Here are a few tips.

1. Realize that there is good suffering and bad suffering
You recognize the existence of good and bad suffering by asking, “How do I suffer well?”

You can’t escape suffering, but you get to decide how to face it. “Good suffering” means trusting God and offering your pain to Him as an act of love and as penance for your sins and the sins of others.

“Bad suffering” means letting your pain destroy your faith and hope in God and capitulating to despair.

The choice is yours: Will you use your inevitable suffering to grow in holiness or waste it and perish?

2. Recognize that God allows suffering to enter your life
God originally created the human race to live in pure joy without the admixture of pain and suffering. He doesn’t want you to suffer and doesn’t directly will it.

But He allows evil and suffering in order to bring about a greater good that often only He can see. He lets you suffer because He loves you and knows that this pain will help you grow.

But this greater good only comes about if you trust Him and say, “Your will be done.” It’s tough, but it’s the only way back to peace. If pleasure is your ultimate goal, you’ll only find more pain in the end.

3. You need faith to fully make sense of suffering
Reason alone is incapable of solving the mystery of suffering. That’s why many atheists struggle with the Catholic idea of redemptive suffering.

In a moment of darkness, reason often buckles under the weight of pain. If you’ve lost a spouse or child, then you know that logic doesn’t help much.

You need faith and you need to nourish that faith with the sacraments.

These three tips will not magically cure suffering. You will still suffer. But Jesus is always there, ready to help.

After all, He carried a cross heavier than any of us could bear, so rest assured that He can handle your crosses.

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Considerations for Catholics Wanting to Enter Politics

In itself, politics is a noble thing. But in the real world, it is messy and sometimes dangerous.

God calls certain Catholic men and women to enter political life to serve the common good and help build a just society. St. Thomas More is probably the most famous example of a truly Catholic politician.

Maybe you’re wondering if you have a vocation to political life. If so, here are a few things to keep in mind as you discern this path.

1. You may be persecuted for your beliefs
Let’s face it, we live in a culture that’s hostile to anyone who’s pro-life and defends the truth about marriage and gender. We’ve seen people lose their jobs for not jumping on the LGBTQ+ train.

If you believe you can enter politics as a faithful Catholic and be loved by all, think again. You need to expect to be mocked and harassed and perhaps receive death threats.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enter politics. Jesus said that those who adhere to His teachings would be persecuted. That’s just part of following Christ in a fallen world.

The question is whether you have the guts to stand strong while others try to knock you down. Think hard on this.

2. You’ll be tempted to compromise where you shouldn’t
Don’t underestimate the power of political success. Once you find it, you may never want to lose it.

Although you have to compromise in some areas in politics, watch out for the temptation to abandon your essential values in order to stay popular.

3. You’ll need God’s grace more than ever to stand strong
To develop the spiritual and moral strength you’ll need for political life, it’s essential that you maintain a strong prayer and sacramental life. God’s grace alone will carry you through the trials you’ll face.
To do this, plan to attend Mass each Sunday — or daily, if possible. Go to confession at least once a month. Spend time praying to our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration.

As a public servant, you’ll need a heart for the poor and abandoned. Give to charities and volunteer with some. While there can be legitimate disagreements on how to best help the poor, one thing is certain: Any politician who neglects the poor is unworthy of their office.

Plato said the “state is the individual writ large.” The political landscape can only improve if individuals improve. As a Catholic, the greatest contribution you can make to society is to try to be a better person yourself. That will also give you the strength to weather the headwinds should God call you to enter into political life.

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Do Governments Have the Right to Close Churches?

The beginning of the 2020 pandemic was rough on everyone. But for Catholics, there was an additional pain point. In many cities, churches were shuttered for months and the sacraments were out of reach.

At times, government regulations forced bishops to do this. Bishops may have the authority to close churches, but does the government? It’s one thing to encourage churches to implement social distancing. It’s another to completely cut off people’s access to the sacraments.

Here are two reasons to be extremely careful about how much authority you let the government have over churches.

Some of the sacraments are necessary for salvation.
For Catholics, the sacraments are not just symbolic ceremonies. They actually communicate God’s grace to us. One of the sacraments — baptism — is necessary for salvation because it washes away Original Sin and gives us a share of God’s divine life.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is necessary if we’ve committed a mortal sin. Christ said of the Eucharist that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).

It’s true that God can save us in other ways if we’re cut off from the sacraments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but He Himself is not bound by His sacraments.”

Still, the ordinary means of salvation is through the sacraments. Governments need to keep this in mind when enacting public health policies — even in a pandemic.

History shows the horrific consequences of giving the government power over church attendance.
Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Church history knows that bad things often happen when the government gets too much power over the Church. In the Roman Empire, Christians were seen as subverters of society. At times, they were forbidden from meeting in common for worship. Those who disobeyed faced horrible consequences.

Then there’s King Henry VIII during the Reformation. He declared himself to be the head of the Church of England. Catholics who refused to recognize his authority over their worship were often sentenced to death.

Of course, most governments today don’t execute Christians for worshiping as Christ commanded. Still, we are seeing many disturbing intrusions into our freedom, especially when it comes to sharing the truth on abortion, transgenderism, euthanasia, and other highly controversial issues.

That means there can be legitimate trust issues when it comes to government regulations or decrees affecting religious practice.

Again, we’re not saying that governments shouldn’t enact health policies that affect churches. But we need to be extremely careful with just how much power we allow them to have. History offers dozens of warnings of government overreach. If we’re not watchful, we may end up handing too much of our God-given religious freedom to those who don’t respect it.

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To Lie, or Not to Lie

Is lying always wrong?

Most of you probably just shouted, “Of course!”

But consider the following scenario: You’re in Germany during World War II. Some close Jewish friends of yours come to you and ask you to hide them from the Nazis. Of course you agree and hide them in a secret room.

Later, you hear a knock on the door and open it to find a Nazi officer standing there. He asks you if you are hiding any Jews in your house.

Can you lie and say there are no Jews in your house? Some of you may have said yes immediately. The rest of you may desperately want to agree, but hesitate because you wonder if lying is ever justified.

Is it?

Here is our friend Dr. Peter Kreeft’s take on this question. (In their conversation, Matt doesn’t agree with him on every point.)

Lying is a more relative thing than most evils.
Lying affects your interpersonal relationships. You lie to someone either to harm them or protect them. Lying to someone to protect them is not a bad thing.

In the Nazi scenario, lying would be justified because you promised to protect people from a death they don’t deserve. You’re also helping the Nazi officers from committing the additional sin of murder by convincing them that you’re not hiding anyone.

Lying, properly understood, is not an intrinsic evil.
Part of the debate boils down to how you define “lying.”

If you believe lying is “deliberately deceiving someone in a way that harms them,” then you think lying is an intrinsic evil (meaning it’s evil in and of itself). But if your definition is broader and includes deception with the intent of protecting someone from real harm, then it’s hard to argue that it’s intrinsically evil.

In fact, you may find yourself morally obligated to deceive someone who doesn’t have the right to know the truth you are hiding! Murderers don’t have a right to know where their intended victims are because they’ll use that truth to do evil.

The goal of speech is to communicate what is, but there’s more to it than that.
This goes back to our scenario of hiding the Jews. The main purpose of speech is to communicate the truth. But if that entails bringing a horrible evil upon a person, is your speech really in service of God?

Lying is a tricky topic and Dr. Kreeft gives us a lot to think about.

What’s your view? Is lying always wrong or is it sometimes justified? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section of the YouTube clip above or the social media post you clicked on to get here.

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3 Tips for Becoming a Writer

When you think about the writing process, what comes to mind? Is it a blissful scene of someone tucked away at their desk, smoking a pipe by a crackling fire and letting the Muses guide their pen?

It’s easy to romanticize the life of a writer. And while it can be a great hobby or career, writing actually is more difficult than it seems.

Here are three points to keep in mind.

1. Only write if you truly love it
Although this may seem obvious, many people dream of having their name on books even though they hate writing. This includes avid readers who are so moved by published stories, they want to create some of their own.

Oftentimes, if they sit down to write something, they quickly realize it’s not easy to do. For those storytellers out there who don’t like writing, there are other avenues to explore, such as acting or music. Why force yourself to do something you hate?

2. Don’t wait for inspiration
As Stephen King said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

This advice certainly paid off for King, who has written over 65 books and more than 200 short stories! Our friend Peter Kreeft, author of over 60 books, writes whenever he finds the time, even if it’s just a few minutes.

You won’t get anywhere by waiting for the “right moment” to start writing. Just sit down and push the words out. It won’t always be pleasant, but it’s the only way to get a piece of writing done.

That being said, it helps to create a comfortable, attractive writing environment with good lighting. Make it someplace quiet and, by all means, invest in a comfortable chair. Your body will thank you!

3. Be humble enough to revise and rewrite
One problem many novice writers have is trying to create a perfect first draft. Instead of getting all the words on the page first, they spend forever trying to make the first paragraph a literary masterpiece. Not surprisingly, this wears them out and discourages them from writing further.

Don’t fret too much over your first draft. Get your main ideas down and go back and revise. Then revise some more. Finally, revise again.

If these three tips haven’t fazed you, start practicing them now. If you keep it up, you’ll become more proficient and make your dream of writing a reality.

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How to Maintain Your Peace As the World Falls Apart

Many people today believe that the world is heading to a scary place. This includes those of different faiths and political persuasions. They may not agree on what’s wrong with the world, but they feel something big is about to happen — whether that be a civil war in the U.S., more worldwide pandemics, nuclear war, increased religious persecution, or even a complete collapse of modern civilization.

From a Catholic perspective, it’s hard to close our eyes to just how bad things are — especially on the spiritual front. There was a time in the United States and Europe when most people held certain Judeo-Christian values in common. They didn’t always live up to those values, but they accepted them in principle.

Now, those values – the nature of marriage, the importance of the family, the existence of objective morality, and the freedom to evangelize – are under attack. And proponents of the many anti-Christian “isms” seem intent on silencing those who speak the truth.

What’s a Catholic to do when the entire world is going mad? Rely on your Faith and follow these principles to maintain your peace.

1. Accept the state of things with a healthy degree of pessimism
Don’t pretend things are sunny when they’re not. Realize that you’re in a decadent, decaying culture. Expect that God may increasingly call upon you to make heroic sacrifices. We’ve already seen faithful Christians lose their jobs because they refused to get on board with today’s LGBTQ+ ideology.

God willed to send you into a battlefield, not a garden paradise. We’re here to help save people from spiritual death.

2. Realize that Christ has already won the war
You may lose many battles in the near future, but we already know the outcome of this great spiritual war. Christ won it 2,000 years ago with His Passion, death, and resurrection. He destroyed death and opened heaven to all who answer His call to follow Him.

Always remember, you are on the winning side! God has provided the whole story, including the final chapters. The Book of Revelation — while full of symbolism — offers a glimpse of what will actually happen at the end. Despite horrible events unlike anything ever seen in history, Christ will come to rescue His faithful ones from the darkness to live with Him forever in heaven.

3. Understand that you need supernatural faith
So great will the final battle be, that without supernatural faith you’ll perish in the fight. That’s why you need to nourish that faith by frequenting the sacraments and praying without ceasing.

Purely human faith, while helpful, will not be strong enough for this supernatural battle.

Of course, we don’t know if the events of the present are the beginning of the end of time. Even if they aren’t, we need to be ready for the spiritual fight of our lives.

Let’s take inspiration from the words of Samwise Gamgee from “The Lord of the Rings”:

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. . . . Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. . . . There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

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Do These Three Small Things to Become Happier

When we think of happiness, we often think too big. We dream of fame, riches, and an easy life.

But most of us will never be rich and famous. If we hang our happiness on these big things, we’ll become disillusioned and depressed.

Instead, we should be focusing on the little things we can do to grow in joy.

Here are a few activities to start practicing right now to become happier.

1. Learn to live in the present
We live under a tyranny of distractions — especially about the future and the past. Maybe you’re at work, but anxious to see how many likes your latest social media post has gotten. Maybe you’re worried about your future finances or even the collapse of civilization!

Train yourself to be more attentive to what’s happening in the present. That’s where you’ll find God. There is no past or future with God. Only the present. On the other hand, the devil loves to get you to worry about the future and resent the past.

Here’s an exercise to help you focus on the here and now. Close your eyes. Notice the sounds and smells around you. Open your eyes and focus on what’s there — whether it’s a flower gently shifting in the wind or a bird flitting from bush to bush.

The more you practice this, you’ll be surprised just how inexhaustibly rich and beautiful the present moment is!

2. When spending time with someone, act like they’re the only one around
It’s easy to take the people in our lives for granted. Often, we’re blind to their importance until they’re no longer around. Then, we notice a big hole in our hearts.

If you have a special person in your life, make the most of that relationship. Give them your full attention when you’re with them. Put away that phone and talk to them face to face.

As an extension of this, learn to appreciate people you don’t know well or are merely passing on the street. Remember these words of C.S. Lewis: “There are no ordinary people … It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.”

3. Don’t confuse appetizers with the main course
In other words, don’t confuse the transitory joy we experience in this life with the ultimate fulfillment we’ll only find in heaven. God wants us to enjoy good things, whether that be our morning coffee, romantic love, drinking whisky on the porch with good friends, or whatever else He has blessed us with.

But these finite goods are only signposts pointing to the fulfillment of all desire we’ll experience in heaven. Don’t ask these things to give what they don’t have. Otherwise, they’ll disappoint you.

These three activities, when practiced daily, can greatly increase your happiness. They’ll also help you endure the more painful times by opening your eyes to the goodness and beauty of God revealed in the ordinary people and things around you.

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What Bible Translation Should You Read?

Here are three translations of the Annunciation in Luke 1:28:

“And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

“The angel came to her and said, ‘Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!’” (Good News Translation)

“And coming in, the angel said to her: ‘Greetings, you highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.’” (New World Translation)

Translations matter. Luke 1:28 has often been seen by Catholics as evidence for Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Translation one offers some support (“full of grace”). The other two translations don’t support that belief as strongly.

Of course, no translation completely captures all of the nuances of the original languages. But some do better than others.

If you’re wondering how to choose a Bible translation, here are a few points to keep in mind.

1. For beauty and accuracy, go with an older translation
Many people assume that newer means better. However, newer translations of the Bible aren’t always more accurate than the older ones.

The King James Version (Protestant) and Douay-Rheims Bible (Catholic) are hundreds of years old, poetic, and incredibly faithful to the original languages. Of course, you won’t get all of the books of the Bible with the King James, since Protestants reject seven Biblical books accepted by Catholics.

2. Beware of the word “new” in a translation title
The problem with the King James and Douay Rheims translations is that they use a lot of archaic words and expressions, making it easy to miss what the passage is actually saying.

Many newer translations of the Bible use contemporary language, but be careful here. Some are not as faithful to the original texts as older translations.

Theological nuances are often lost in an attempt to rewrite passages of Scripture to make them more “relevant” to modern-day readers. And the freer the translation, the easier it is for the translator to insert their biases. We see this with the Bible translation used by Jehovah’s Witnesses — the New World Bible — where the translators seemingly undermine passages showing Jesus’ divinity through questionable word choices.

Some new translations have also fallen victim to today’s political correctness. Flee any translation that doesn’t call God “He.” If a translator can’t respect God’s pronouns, they can’t be trusted to accurately translate the rest of His revelation in Scripture.

3. Find a balance between old and new
So, what’s a Catholic to do? You want a translation that’s faithful to the original languages, but still understandable.

One translation that strikes an impressive balance is the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE). Note: This is not the New Revised Standard Version. The RSVCE is very faithful to the original text, yet easy to read. Sure, it doesn’t have the latest trendy language, but we find that refreshing!

We’re not saying the RSVCE is the only valid choice. If you enjoy the challenge of older English, then the Douay-Rheims may be for you. And you may find situations where a newer translation is needed for, say, explaining a passage to your youth group.

But the RSVCE is the one we recommend for Catholics who simply want to read and meditate on the Word of God without having to pull out an Old English dictionary or look up the latest slang on Urban Dictionary.

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3 Things Catholics Can Learn From Protestants

Recently, we featured a blog on why Catholicism is better than Protestantism. And, of course, we stand by what we said and also firmly believe that the Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ.

But that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn anything from our Protestant friends and family members. We’re not talking about doctrine or liturgy, which are found in their fullness in the Catholic Church, but about the devotional lives of many Protestants.

Specifically, here are three things we can learn from Protestants.

1. The importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus
Let’s be honest: The personal devotion many Protestants have to Jesus really puts many Catholics to shame. Sure, we rightly critique some Protestants’ reduction of Christianity to a “just-me-and-Jesus” faith. But, the fact is, Jesus wants each of us to develop a deep personal relationship with Him. That’s something He made clear in revelations to saints such as St. Faustina and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Our Lord yearns for us to speak to Him throughout the day, even about seemingly insignificant stuff. Yet, so many Catholics just go through the motions of their faith without really nurturing their personal relationship with Christ.

Which is sad, because we have a great gift that Protestants lack — the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist! We have no excuse.

2. A passion for Sacred Scripture
The Bible is a Catholic book. In the early centuries of the Church, the magisterium discerned which of the many competing writings were truly inspired by God. In the past hundred years, popes have been exhorting Catholics to make Sacred Scripture a bigger part of their lives.

Yet, it feels like we’re still falling far short of our Protestant friends in our enthusiasm for the Word of God. But there’s no excuse anymore, as there are so many Catholic resources out there to help even complete beginners get into Scripture.

3. A drive for evangelization
You’ve probably experienced it before: A Protestant friend, family member, or coworker asks you out of the blue if you’ve been “saved.” They may then invite you to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior to ensure your salvation.

Of course, the theology behind this is erroneous, as we don’t believe in “once saved, always saved.” But you can’t help but respect many Protestants’ enthusiastic efforts in bringing people to Jesus.

What about you? What are you doing to share the truths of Christ and His Church with those around you? This is part of our baptismal calling as Catholics. As with studying Scripture, there are so many resources available to help you learn how to convincingly share your Catholic Faith.

Let’s step up our game on this!

Maybe the suggestion that you can learn anything from Protestants is making you squirm a bit in your seat. And, again, we’re NOT saying that Catholicism itself lacks anything.

But while our Catholic faith is complete, our own personal devotion may be weak. And God may very well use a Protestant friend or family member in our lives to show us where we need to improve.

In a spirit of humility, let’s accept that challenge!

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Catholics, Get Ready To Be Canceled

I recently sat down with George Farmer, the CEO of Parler (and husband of Candace Owens). Part of our conversation was about mainstream social media’s attitude toward alternative platforms and how that might affect Catholics.

 

One point came up that Catholics really ought to remember: Just like the transgender issue has evolved into a free-speech issue, it’s going to happen with abortion too. That’s because mainstream social media promotes a certain narrative, and Catholic teaching doesn’t fit into it.

And now that that narrative is perceived to be under threat because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, media moguls will crack down even more on dissenting voices.

Which means Catholics have even bigger targets on their backs.

We’ve already seen hints of this. Think of how PayPal (which offers services for its employees to travel across state lines to get abortions) attempted to update its Acceptable Use Policy with a clause to directly fine customers up to $2,500 for promoting “misinformation.”

So Catholics, get ready to be canceled.

We’ve known this was coming for some time. George made it very clear that the Catholic world is in the eye of the storm right now. If you’re a pro-life organization and reject the transgender craze, your days are numbered.

Of course, that includes “Pints With Aquinas” on certain platforms. Which is why — though we don’t intend to leave Facebook, YouTube, and other tech giants at this point — we’re encouraging people to watch and support us through platforms that are friendly to free speech.

Just in case we get canceled.

You can find Matt’s Parler page here, our Pints With Aquinas Rumble page here, and our Locals community here.

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