July 14, 2011 – Catechism 946-953

953 really hits home when you think about the world we live in today. When someone else suffers, do we feel that suffering. How fast is a video of someone getting hurt on YouTube and watch by millions. I am as guilty as anyone of that. Do we suffer for the person. Or when someone is honored, do we rejoice, or do we become jealous and envious of their success. When thinking about this, I don’t know if it is a fact telling us that when one suffers we all suffer or if it is telling us that we should suffer when another suffers. I think it is easier to see that we suffer as a group when anyone of us suffers (and maybe someone getting hurt on YouTube is a bad example of suffering). It is harder to see us rejoicing for others when they are rewarded. I can see that the body gains because of one being honored or doing something good, but I see that if many become envious or jealous as a result, the sum total is not a gain for the body, but a lose. This appears to be more of a “should do” rather than a fact that is. And think about what happens to a body when even the gains equal a combined negative. The body will not last long. In our world where nothing but Sinicism and greed are promoted and even those that do good are seen with jealousy and their motives are challenged, what is our total gain as a body. Where are we heading.