What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them...we must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly. 
- A. W. Tozer

(What problems are you struggling with these days?  What opportunities for spiritual formation do they present?)

ACTS 18:9-18;    PS 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7;    JN 16:20-23

R. God is king of all the earth.

All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth. 

He brings people under us;
nations under our feet.
He chooses for us our inheritance,
the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.





No matter who we are, where we live, or how much money we make, life throws each and every one of us curve balls.  We all have our ups and our downs; it's all a part of being human. 

I don't know about you, but I am a firm believer that even after our toughest moments, we will find joy.  Through prayer, trust in God, and time, we will, if not fully recover from the pain, find some joy as a part of our situation. 

For example, we experience great pain when we lose someone we love and care deeply about.  Whenever I have lost someone dear to me, there's a quote I think about that reflects this idea of finding joy amidst our pain.  It reads, "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure."  Ideally, although we miss this person, it should bring us joy to think about how he or she has touched our lives. 

Jesus tells us today that when he comes again, no one will be able to take the joy that we will feel in that moment away.  We will no longer remember any of our pain.  Can you imagine what that will feel like? "Awesome" won't even begin describe it. 

It's easy for us to wallow in our sadness and feel stuck in our pain.  Jesus says today, "Your grief will become joy."  There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, even when we feel like we can never escape pain.  If we trust that God has a plan for every one of us, he will help us find that joy that accompanies the pain we feel.  He will, in the end, take away our pain, and instead we will be filled with eternal joy. 

- by Madeline Zukowski, student at Creighton University

Selected Quotes from St. John of the Cross on the Journey of the Soul to God by Contemplation

- from Ascent of Mt. Carmel

Bk. 2. Ch. 22. #6. In the Son of God are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. (Col. 2:3) 

#16. Humble recipients of supernatural experiences obtain new satisfaction, strength, light and security after consulting about them with the proper person.

Bk. 2. Ch. 23. #4. Solitude and denudation concerning all things is a requisite for this union.

Bk. 2. Ch. 24. #4. This dark, loving knowledge, which is faith, serves as a means for the divine union in this life as does the light of glory for the clear vision of God in the next. 

#8. A person should not store up as treasures these visions, nor have the desire to cling to them. 

#9. Our journey toward God must proceed through the negation of all. One should remain in emptiness and darkness regarding all creatures. He should base his love and joy on what he neither sees nor feels -- that is, upon God who is incomprehensible and transcendent.

- compiled by James and Tyra Arraj