Welcome to the St. Jose Maria Institute podcast. On today's podcast, a reflection on Jesus, our hope in times of trial. Father Peter Arminio, a priest of Opus Day, explains how suffering is not a sign that should cause us to lose hope, but rather it is a sign of our sharing in the cross of Christ, which according to St. Paul, is the power of God.

We also hear how we can grow in hope by making Jesus and His cross the center of our lives,

and how that is also the best way to give hope to others.

Jesus, who is good news of great joy, in the practice, how does that impact on the daily life of your average American who is a serious Christian?

Because part of being a serious Christian is to love your country, especially when your country is established on moral principles, on at least preambles to Christianity.

Our country began as a religious movement and our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution is founded on objective

morality. And what do we see now? To be brutally honest, we see our religious freedom being taken away.

Our collective consciences, if we embrace standards of morality, fundamentals, nothing sophisticated, a right to live.

The sacredness of marriage that virtually no culture is questioned until these contemporary

times.

It's a fulfillment of the Lord's prophecies, that violations of these commandments will be seen as goods. St. Paul weighs in as well.

The Christian feels that he or she is from another planet.

Protection of human life has been substituted by its destruction on behalf of a woman's rights.

This is seen as a good.

And as we look at the possible candidates, and again, I just weigh in on the moral issues, Christians are wringing their hands. How do I decide? Who are the less, who's the lesser of the two evils?

Compounded.

I'm not going to leave you depressed, don't worry.

But a lot of good people who follow Christ are on another planet even in the heart of their household.

Their children. another planet even in the heart of their household their children in many instances are indifference towards the gospel and following Christ and following his teachings and embracing the basics of the moral law that was

a characteristic of ancient thought even before Christ in the Greek world and obviously in the Jewish world,

is seen as an anomaly. And you're labeled now with a fresh word called intolerance. You're

intolerant. If you espouse preambles to Christianity called the natural law or the gospel.

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