As I read your reflection, I could not help but think about that conversation and how you so well captured a lot of what we talked about — so much so that I had to share your wonderful and articulate reflection with him.

Thank you for your service and may God continue to bless you.

“Sometimes we have to sacrifice, sometimes we are the sacrifice.” I first read these words on this website, and I’m thinking that it was from you, because you used them now. Very profound reflection that those words were in, and the concept became a game changer, to use your words, for me.

I suffer from chronic pain, and through the reflections here, Living Faith, homilies at Mass, and, of course, Scriptures themselves, I have become grateful for my pain. It has allowed me to ponder the nature of suffering, and God used it as a means for intense spiritual growth for me, and I got closer to Him. I experienced, and still do, God’s peace, even with the pain. I doubt that I would have had such intense spiritual growth were it not for the pain that, at first, I was so angry and in despair about.

I have a question for you. With all the “marvels of modern medicine” over the past 100 years ( 50 years ago id surely be dead) .at what point can one refuse medical treatment to extend ones life? Note: I said extend not save. I’m entering my golden years and have been hit by an illness that has left me home bound almost totally dependent on my wife. Any more infections could end my life without antibiotics. What to do – what to do? Any litature you could recommend that could help me to better understand. Thanks in advance.