Status Updates From THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH Confe...

Ch. 6 was too short for the seriousness of its subject matter. People who have suffered terrible personal tragedies feel emotionally alienated from God in ways that even the Bible addresses only in the abstract (Job). « Why is suffering allowed to happen to me » is a profond question Durand treats too flippantly here

Saying « I will never sin again » has seemed ridiculous to me. Like… obviously I will stumble into this again. I’m kind of lying to insist I won’t. While Ch. 5 doesn’t exactly nail it, I do appreciate that shame for being weak is not the same as humility: accepting that weakness is part of the human condition and God doesn’t hold it against us

Sparked some good reflections on the nature of « intense joy » : the happiness that comes with reconciling oneself to a standard of life-affirming attitudes and behaviors. Then again, I can’t see myself giddy and skipping to confession 😅