Tag Archives: Suffering

Ep104 Hope

September 7, 2024UncategorizedAbraham, Anger, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Book of Revelation, Depression, Faith, Fear, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, God, Gospel of Prosperity, Heaven, Hope, Hopelessness, Israel, Jamil Jivani, Kardashians, Love, Materialism, Narcissism, Old Testament, Optimism, Paula D’Arcy, Pinball Machine, Plastic Surgery, Pope St. John Paul II, Second Corinthians, Suffering, Suicide, The Bible, United States, Victim Mentality, Viktor Frankl, World Youth Daywrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:52 — 47.5MB)

Father Len helps us grapple with tough times in our lives and understand the virtue of hope. What is it? Where does it come from? Why it’s essential for peace and joy in our lives.

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Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

Paula D’Arcy Theologian of Hope
“Gift of the Red Bird: The Story of a Divine Encounter” by Paula D’Arcy
Faith, hope and love are different aspects of one spiritual reality.
Hope is illogical. It’s not a matter of sitting down and rationalizing with people why they should have hope. If you have some rational reason for hope, that’s not hope. That’s logic.
Fear is logical. Depressed people are not irrational. They’re just excessively logical and obsessed with their current state of life.
“Notes from the Underground: The Original Unabridged and Complete Edition” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Wealth, comfort and safety don’t bring hope.
Poverty and abuse don’t take away hope.
Hope is a theological virtue. It comes from God alone, not the circumstances of your life.
Hope obliterates the idea that life should be easy.
Hope is uncertain, it believes in possibilities.
Hope takes work to participate in. It comes from this relationship with divine love and life.
The Book of Revelation reveals the struggles we have on earth and tells us how the story ends with a huge victory party in heaven.
“Optimism and pessimism are twins. Both are blind to possibilities and lock you in to your current state of life. Optimism believes you will always be happy and beautiful, with a full head of hair. Pessimism believes life will always be crap.” – Father Len
Hope is not optimism.
We live better in the United States than any human beings in history. We live in such incredible comfort. Yet, our young people have the highest rate of suicide and the highest use of prescription pharmaceutical drugs to deal with depression. If circumstances give hope, our children should be thriving.
“We live in a culture of hopelessness because we keep telling people, you need the right circumstances to be happy. Unless you’re a Kardashian, with tons of money and social media likes, unless the world treats you a certain way, you’re a victim.” – Father Len
Hopelessness suffocates hope.
“Why Young Men: Rage, Race and the Crisis of Identity” – Jamil Jivani
It’s a myth to tell people if they have the right circumstances, they’ll be happy, they’ll be hopeful.
A sense of meaning to your life is oxygen for hope.
You have to suffocate the things that kill hope. Suffocate anger. Suffocate victim mentality. Suffocate the propaganda that circumstances give you happiness.
Characteristics of people who have hope.
- They can endure higher levels of pain.
- They enjoy competition, win or lose.
- They believe life is good, no matter their circumstances.
- They can survive in humble circumstances.
- They turn out happier.

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to More Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep88 Sadness is a Blessing and Superpower

October 24, 2022UncategorizedAleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Amplification, Bitterness, Catholicism, Christ, CS Lewis, Depression, Franz Kafka, Heaven, Homesickness, Judaism, Leonard Cohen, Longing, Love, Malcolm Gladwell, Repression, Robert Schuller, Sadness, St. Maria of Paris, Suffering, The Biblewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:31 — 36.2MB)

Father Len explains that sadness is our lot in life and how embracing it will bring us wisdom, love, a sense of purpose, and help guide our path to heaven.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

The pain of sadness wakes you up to be more tender and compassionate.
Sadness is a superpower that can transform you into being more creative.
Depression sucks all the life out of you.
Denying sadness can lead to self-absorption and a toxic life.
Father Len shares the story of how the sadness of prison life became a university for growth for Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Depression makes you listless and less concerned for action and the suffering of other people.
Depression is when you’re alone. Sadness is when you’re with other people.
Those who embrace sadness have a greater sense of purpose in their lives.
American society is obsessed with positivity and always being happy, happy, happy.
Studies have found Americans smile more than any other country, but test out to be more depressed.
Obsession with positive thinking is just a form of denial of sadness.
The more you repress something, the more likely you are to act on it.
America’s obsession with positivity and always having a positive attitude is a form of repression.
Sadness is hard, but it also gives birth to love.
Links to Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions
- Wrestling with God Show: http://WWGShow.com
- Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
- A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/
Make a financial donation here: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions
We welcome your questions and comments:
- Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
- Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Ep39 Commitment and Happiness

November 23, 2020UncategorizedBo Eason, Book of Ruth, Catholic Church, Commitment, Dan Gilbert, Happiness, Houston Oilers, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Marine Corps, Narcissism, San Francisco 49ers, Selfishness, Suffering, The Biblewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:38 — 21.6MB)

Father Len explains the relationship between commitment and happiness.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

Father Len shares the story of NFL football player Bo Eason and what he learned about commitment from fellow Pro Jerry Rice.
“There’s No Plan B for You’re A-Game” by Bo Eason
Commitment breeds commitment. Indifference breeds indifference.
There are two types of commitment: “even if” and “as long as.” Even if commitment never wavers even when there is trouble, hardship, sickness, sacrifice, and suffering. As long as commitment is always conditional on finding something easier and more pleasurable to do than keeping the commitment, like watching a favorite television show or going to a party.
Father Len shares a favorite “even if” commitment story from the Book of Ruth in the Bible.
Commitment leads simultaneously to suffering and happiness. Uncommitted people don’t suffer much pain, but surprisingly, it’s the committed people who are willing to suffer that end up happier.
TED Talk: “The Surprising Science of Happiness” by Dan Gilbert
Irish explains how commitment saved his marriage.
Father Len embarrassingly explains how watching the Oprah Winfrey show helped him understand why couples who live together before marriage have double the divorce rate of those who don’t.
“If you chase two rabbits… You will not catch either one.” – Russian proverb
People who are low on commitment are also low on control over their egos.
Bible symbolism: the number seven shows up frequently and is code for complete commitment.
Happiness and suffering go together.

Ep20 Good and Evil Are Hard to Define and Fully Understand

July 24, 2020UncategorizedBook of Job, Book of Wisdom, Coronavirus, evil, Faith, God, Heaven, Humility, Jesus, Moral Contagion, Religion, Satan, spirituality, Suffering, The Biblewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:48 — 21.8MB)

Father Len explains why defining and fully understanding good and evil is pretty much beyond our ability as humans.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

The only wise reaction to evil is faith in God.
The mystery of what seems like evil to us may actually be something used by God for our good.
Father Len explains why we shouldn’t settle for cheap and easy answers for why evil and suffering exist in the world and instead humbly ask questions and more questions.
We will not understand evil until we can have the same perspective as God.
There might not be answers about good and evil that we can see and understand until we get to heaven and can look back in time.
Real wisdom is acquired through intimate experience with suffering.
What we proclaim as good may actually be bad for us.
What we proclaim as evil may actually be good for us.