MAY 2005 (part 1 of 2)

Q.- When anyone is sad, do you think God cheers them up?

A. - Sometimes God does cheer them up, of course. He may give them the grace to see it’s not really so bad or remind them of happier things. He may even send someone into their life (a parent or friend) just at that moment to comfort them. He wants us to be happy.

However- it doesn’t always work out that way. Not in this life. It’s important to keep some things in mind. One is that emotions are catalysts, really, and not the be-all and end-all of everything like society tries to make them out to be. Their importance lies in their purpose and not so much in the fact that we’re feeling them. They help us react to our environments and move through our lives and society in a healthy, balanced way.

For example, if someone threatens you, you’ll feel scared. But that feeling of fear is normal and appropriate. Moreover, it is a catalyst for you to protect yourself. It drives you to either hide or seek help, etc. Or if someone steals from you, you’ll more than likely be angry. But that anger is a normal response to injustice. It is, again, a catalyst to prompt you to seek justice (and even fair reparation), whether by involving the police to investigate or through the legal system with some sort of prosecution or lawsuit.

Well - it’s the same with sadness. Any number of things can make us sad. We should first examine what has brought this feeling on and if there’s anything we can do to change it. Has someone hurt your feelings? Can you go to them and tell them so? You may find they never meant to hurt you at all. Or maybe you’re in an argument with someone and your sadness can be the catalyst to make peace with them. You may even be lonely and that makes you sad, but that emotion can also drive you to be more social and make friends with new people. If after careful examination (even with someone helping you look at your life) there isn’t any reason at all to feel as you do, maybe the sadness will even prompt you to see a doctor in case you have a chemical imbalance. Sadness simply means that something, somewhere in your life may be wrong and it needs to be addressed.

We should always strive to keep in touch with our emotions and why we have them. God gave them to us in this life for a reason and it’s ok to feel all of them, even sadness.

We should never despair, though. That’s something totally different. It’s when we give up hope altogether. People tend to slip into despair when they see no way out of their suffering. Maybe they never bothered to see if they could do something to rectify their troubles. Or maybe they have looked but it’s one of those situations that can’t be changed (ie., permanent loss of health or the death of someone special). They feel there is nothing they or anyone can do to relieve the suffering. There’s no way out. No hope.

But there is hope. Hope in Christ. Hope in Heaven. Hope in eternal life. When we suffer (especially when we can’t change things) we are especially close to Christ (who is our Hope).

Suffering came into the world, along with death, as a result of the Fall of Adam. It had no real redemptive value, though. Not yet. It was just a consequence and a punishment brought onto ourselves, really. But Christ, by suffering, redeemed not only us, but suffering itself! It is no longer meaningless but has real value. So when we’re sad or grieving, we can offer ourselves and our suffering to Jesus, who unites it with His own and, in turn, offers it to the Father as a redemptive act. We can become, in fact, “co-redeemers”. We can hold fast to the hope of our salvation and resurrection in Christ when we’re sad and suffering and use our trials to help save souls (including our own). There’s no reason to ever despair. You may still have sadness, but the knowledge that it can be used to save others and yourself has to make you smile.

Q.- Why does Jesus get turned down 3 times?

A.- It’s not completely clear whether you mean why did Jesus fall 3 times or why was He denied by Peter 3 times, so both possibilities will be covered. If you meant something else altogether, please write back and clarify.

3 falls of Christ (as depicted in the stations):

It is commonly thought that the 3 falls we are familiar with are all that’s left of what used to be called the Seven Falls of Christ. The Way of the Cross was practiced differently in the past. The number of stations varied widely and the actual events depicted differed as well. It used to be, in some places, that there were 7 falls but 4 of them also coincided with other stations (Jesus Meets His Mother, Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross, Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus, and Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem). In all of them he was either falling or completely fallen. The mention of the falls in these 4 episodes dropped out after awhile and the only ones that survive now are the other 3 (the ones we’re familiar with) because nothing else happened (except for the falls themselves) to distinguish them from any other station.

Peter denies Jesus 3 times:

In Matthew we read, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter declared to Him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ Peter said, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ (Matthew 26:31-35)

We can find in all 4 Gospels that Peter did, in fact, deny Christ and upon realizing it, went out and wept bitterly.

But why 3 times? There could be numerous reasons. The number 3, biblically, has a good deal of significance. You can find “three’s” all through Scripture. Symbolically it is used to denote different things, some of which are: the divine nature or divinity itself (ex: the Trinity, see Genesis 18:2), the completeness or totality of a thing (the completeness of physical creation: land, sea and sky --- height, depth and width --- past, present and future, etc), to show the veracity or truth of something (ex: someone who is dead 3 days is truly dead ----testimony of three witnesses is accepted as truth, etc).

There are lots of thoughts regarding the significance of the number of times He was denied. They can be found in documents and bible commentaries and are, for the most part, pious meditations on the issue. One isn’t more right than another, necessarily.

Some are listed below:

• Peter’s error was threefold, so his denial reflects that. When Jesus said you will all fall away Peter 1.) in effect told Christ that He was wrong and contradicted Him, when he should’ve already known that God only speaks the truth. 2.) Peter rated himself as superior to the other disciples in his love and commitment because he claimed that, “though they all fall away, I will never fall away. 3.) And finally, Peter relied on his own strength and not God’s grace. He said he would die with Christ rather than abandon him, but was unable to do so of his own fortitude. As Jesus said to him, “the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38) To stick with Jesus requires God’s help. In later years, with God’s grace, Peter, in fact, made good on his promise to die for Jesus rather than abandon Him, but couldn’t back then strictly of his own passionate claim.


• In the beginning of creation, man did not believe the Word of God spoken to him concerning the tree in the Garden of Eden. He denied it was true. So the first sin of Adam brought about a threefold rupture in the order of things. There was a rupture between God and man, between man and woman and within man himself. Peter’s denial was also threefold in reflection of the first rejection of the Word of God.

• There were 3 denials of even knowing Christ to show the completeness and totality of the rejection, not just by Peter but by all of us. “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world knew Him not. He came into His own home, and His own people received Him not.” (John 1:10-11) Peter, as head of the apostles, represents them (and us) in the denial and completely disowns and distances himself from Jesus. It is the total rejection of Christ by everyone, for selfish reasons. The good news being, the mercy shown to Peter as he confesses his love for Christ (John 21:15-17) mirrors the mercy we too receive. Jesus enables him, by grace, to confess his “complete” faith and love and he receives “complete” forgiveness.

Recommended reading:

New advent. Org (stations of the cross)

Ignatius Bible Commentary (Navarre Bible Commentary)

Expressions of the Catholic Faith (Kevin Orlin Johnson –chapter 35 “The Numbers Game)