An article concerning Pope John Paul II stated that the pontiff used to flagellate himself with a belt to share in the suffering of Christ. He says he did this to get closer to Jesus. It seems from the article that even Mother Teresa self-flagellated and that it is a commonly accepted and approved practice of the Catholic Church. What does the Bible have to say in this regard?

Depression plagues many people. I’m not talking about having a bad day or feeling blue, which everyone experiences now and then. The depression I’m referring to is the kind of feeling that incapacitates a person with overwhelming feelings of dark and foreboding thoughts that cannot simply be shaken off. It is the kind of depression that drives people to do desperate, often irrational things, including suicide.

Sometimes, we can look at a thing and not truly “see” it for what it is, from every angle. Our approach to life with its joys, trials, and challenges often depends upon our perceptions of something—how we choose to see—in any given situation. An analogy that seems to fit this human proclivity is how one looks at a diamond, the rarest of precious stones.

My family and I watch our share of nature documentaries, and we are always entertained by scenes of newborn animals—gazelles, giraffes, etc.—struggling, mere moments after birth, to walk. As they struggle on their wobbly legs, instinct pushes them to walk and run as soon as possible, lest they fall as quick prey to predators or become a burden on their herds.

The commercial was ending as I returned with my snack into the living room. The website address and the catch phrase remained on the screen like a stain on the carpet.  "Life is short. Have an affair," read the website's catch phrase. My shock was entangled with confusion and disbelief. Was this a crude joke? Did I just see an advertisement promoting an extra-marital affair? Has the concept of "Whatever happens here stays here" overtaken every aspect of life?