“It seems to me that in the history of the Catholic Church there are very many examples that speak to how far we have to go, how much we have to do, to what end we need to defend the truth. Simply, to the very end. Jesus Christ gave His life for proclaiming the truth. Same with the Apostles. From those examples, we should draw conclusions for our own selves.” –Bl. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko

I rejected my friend’s view that optimism is somehow ignorance of suffering and that being joyful will pass when things get difficult enough. But what he said stuck with me and it came back most recently because things are happening in my life right now that are difficult, that bring tears to my eyes, and make my shoulders feel like I’m carrying a weight there. I mused on our conversation and decided to reconsider, think, look into my heart and see if he was right after all.