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How To Deal With Your Pain

by Father Brian J. Soliven on Sunday June 13, 2021

We all deal with pain. Regardless how we may appear on the outside, we all carry tremendous wounds, gangrene, broken, pus-pouring, wounds that fester from within. We face this pain, in what I call, the "Three P's." We can either (1) PROTECT the pain, which manifests itself as our addictions to alcohol, drugs, over-eating, promiscuity, pornography, relentless shopping, you name it. The goal here to pretend it does not exist. (2) We also PROJECT the pain. Because we're hurt, we hurt those around us, especially those we love the most. Bullies exemplify this tactic. They cause pain in others to hide their pain, as if to distract themselves and others from seeing who they truly are. The last "P" is the better way. We can (3) PURIFY this pain. Here, we face the trauma head-on. We bring it out into the light in humility, confessing our faults,  and removing our masks. This, my dear family, is the harder path that Jesus Christ lays out for us.