Lessons on Love and Suffering
First Friday Conference – March 2015
We know the story of Saints Perpetua and Felicity from their firsthand account. During one of the general persecutions of the Church, these two heroic, young women gave their lives for Christ.
It is important to understand the meaning of a “type” and how God uses types or prophecies to foreshadow things to come. We see one of the most vivid types of Christ in the patriarch Joseph. Just as Joseph was the favorite son of his father and the envy of his brothers led to their murderous desires, so too was Our Lord, the only Son of God, put to death out of envy. Joseph became the savior of his family by offering them life-giving bread during famine, as Christ redeemed the world and gives to us the Holy Eucharist.
Catholics should not be troubled by temptations, or confuse them with sins, but view them as opportunities for merit. Even those trials from the devil may be turned to acts of love for God.
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