We ask you, urgently: don't scroll past this
Dear readers, Catholic Online was de-platformed by Shopify for our pro-life beliefs. They shut down our Catholic Online, Catholic Online School, Prayer Candles, and Catholic Online Learning Resources essential faith tools serving over 1.4 million students and millions of families worldwide. Our founders, now in their 70's, just gave their entire life savings to protect this mission. But fewer than 2% of readers donate. If everyone gave just $5, the cost of a coffee, we could rebuild stronger and keep Catholic education free for all. Stand with us in faith. Thank you.Help Now >
Never Be Ashamed When You Suffer for Christ
FREE Catholic Classes
By Fr. Robert J. Carr
Catholic Online
There is a line in the Suffering Servant narratives from Isaiah that seems out of place. The passage talks about the suffering servant who will be beaten and insulted, but will not be put to shame. There is a question: how that is possible?
How is it that this suffering person is not put to shame when he is treated as described in the first reading? The answer can be seen in recognizing that God is this servant's help. It gives us an understanding of vision that is central to our faith as Catholics.
There is a prevailing attitude in our culture that life is about living it to its best while you are here because you are here for only several decades, then you die. So this world becomes a place to exist and there is nothing else. This philosophy has been growing in our society more and more. So what happens is that people believe there is no life beyond this one. They believe that since this is the only life that exists on Earth then this life is for enjoying everything possible. It is about making the most money possible, owning the most things and being entertained the most. This is not a Catholic attitude. It is also not realistic. Those who seek that attitude also do so at the expense of those for whom such pleasure is not possible.
We believe something very different. That is that this life is a preparation for the next. This is where we learn about whom we truly are and how to become everything God created us to be. This is our apprenticeship to all eternity. It is not the end of our existence but only the beginning.
The suffering servant in the first reading and, of course, Jesus in the Gospel demonstrate to us an essential element of our faith. When we are focused on doing God's will regardless of the consequences, we become people who bring his grace into the world. This is our vocation as Catholics. God calls us to be his servant and to testify to his truth. This is our vocation. No matter how much we suffer, we are never put to shame because we are doing God's will; we are pleasing our creator. We are testifying to His truth.
It is time we realize that if we are going to live our faith in Christ then the attitude we see in today's first reading is the one we are called to have from our Baptism to our death. This means that we are going to be at odds with those in and outside of our Church who maintain the growing attitude in our society. However, it also means that we can give hope to those who have been excluded from the advantages by those who are capable of seeking the materialistic dream. This includes the poor, the imprisoned, the homeless, the disadvantaged and all those who do not have the power and advantages needed to pursue the vision that has grasped our country. We also testify to those who have attained all that materialism promises them and found that it is an empty gain.
Karl Marx taught that religion is the opium of the people. This is wrong, our faith gives people a hope that is beyond the ability of any nation to promise any of its people. Further, his materialistic system and the consumerism of ours that both promise nothing but material comfort to people cannot deliver on its promises to so many who do not fit the system. Those who seek and find everything the worldly system have to offer cannot find the promises of Christ. Jesus warns us of this in Luke.
This is why you need to have an attitude that others do not have. You need a vision that others do not have. That vision is one of seeking to do the will of God and all the rights and responsibilities that entails. This means that no matter how much we suffer for doing God's will, we will not ultimately be put to shame. This means that no matter how many people seek to silence our voice because they reject our belief, they will not destroy us. This means that we have a hope that they do have and a responsibility to testify to that hope.
One of the most important pieces of literature for our time is the story The Lord of the Flies which illustrates a world with no hope and that has no belief that there is anything beyond what we can see now. This is the growing attitude in our world. If you know the story, then you know that such an attitude leads to a tribal concept the breaks down into anarchy. There is only one way to fight it, that is to be beacons of hope that proclaim to those of the world around us that they are wrong in their hopeless assessment of our society.
We need to daily give of ourselves to Christ that we may testify to those around us who have no hope that there is something beyond this existence and we find it by seeking His truth. We need to embrace Christ that we may show others hope. We need to know Christ that we may lead others to eternal life. This means that we make ourselves enemies to those who reject Christ, who reject the hope he offers and who reject the life he promises. This includes the communist and the consumerist atheists. We need to understand Christ's vision for us and to embrace that vision. We then need to teach it to those who cannot embrace the false vision of this world and those who have chosen not to embrace it. As for those who have and continue to do so, Jesus told his followers in Luke, they already have their reward, ours is still to come and it is much greater.
Father Robert J. Carr is a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston.
Contact
Catholicism Anew
http://www.revrobertjcarr.com
MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Priest, 617 230-3300
frbobcarr@earthlink.net
Keywords
Palm Sunday, Suffering Servant, Lord of the Flies,
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
- Easter / Lent
- Ascension Day
- 7 Morning Prayers
- Mysteries of the Rosary
- Litany of the Bl. Virgin Mary
- Popular Saints
- Popular Prayers
- Female Saints
- Saint Feast Days by Month
- Stations of the Cross
- St. Francis of Assisi
- St. Michael the Archangel
- The Apostles' Creed
- Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony
- Pray the Rosary

What Really Happens to the Brain During Pregnancy? A Catholic Look at One Groundbreaking Study

Pope Leo XIV to Religious Sisters: Let God Be Your Everything

Catholic Online AI Open Letter
Daily Catholic
Daily Readings for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
St. Junipero Serra: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Prayer of the Chalice: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Daily Readings for Monday, June 30, 2025
First Martyrs of the See of Rome: Saint of the Day for Monday, June 30, 2025
- Good Night My Guardian Angel: Prayer of the Day for Monday, June 30, 2025
Copyright 2025 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2025 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.