Now is the time when we need warmth
The Power of Comfort to Transform Despair

Have you ever felt the constant strain of caring for your ailing parents, or the constant worry about your children's reckless behavior, burning inside? Or perhaps you've felt the relentless rise in housing prices, leaving you unable to buy a home, or the constant emptiness of your bank account. If you've ever felt like your life's background has become a grayish mess, the very act of existence itself can be painful.


In these experiences, you will likely find yourself constantly feeling a surge of self-criticism due to repeated failures and frustrations, and a constant feeling of fatigue and exhaustion that cannot be relieved.
What could possibly breathe life into this gray everyday life? Father Anselm Grün, a spiritual leader who has transformed the lives of 15 million people worldwide, answers without hesitation: "Comfort."


Anselm Grün's new book, "On Being Comforted," published by Catholic Publishing, doesn't just list out the obvious, comforting sentences that are easy to sympathize with.
Because we go through a process that guides us to find a medium that can comfort us in our lives.
Let's look at the 'force that keeps me alive' and look at our daily lives in a new and different way from now on.
All the comfort Anselm Grün offers to anyone who finds life too difficult and painful is contained here.


I hope that readers will find the ideas contained in this book inspiring, and that they will find help in specific places and specific moments in their own lives, and that God will also be merciful to them.
I am confident that you will find something that has been a comfort to you at some point, and something that will be close at hand when you need it. — From the Preface

The most important first step in reading, and the very comfort it provides, is to embrace different perspectives, to immerse ourselves in different worlds, and to encounter our souls in these different worlds.
This is beneficial to us.
From now on, you will see some things in a new and different way.
We will be able to overcome problems that we would normally not be able to solve with greater ease.
---From "Immersing yourself in a new world"

When we sing, we communicate positive emotions such as joy, hope, longing, and love.
In this way, negative emotions lose their power over us.
We don't have to indulge in feelings of joy and love when we sing.
If we just focus on singing, joy and longing will soon arise within us.
---From "Melody that Resonates in the Soul"

Anyone who appreciates Van Gogh's paintings senses the artist's love for what he expresses in them.
You will feel a passion for the beauty that lies within nature, a passion for the mystery that lies within simplicity, and an openness to the light that shines within the poor.
That love resonates within the soul of those who appreciate the painting.
Looking at these paintings, you can feel his love come alive and comforting.
---From "Beauty that Moves the Heart"

I sense vitality in nature.
It breaks down the rigidity that arises and allows new things to arise.
You can feel this vitality especially in spring.
The trees and grass on the ground are all adorned with a new green color as the water rises.
I consciously pay attention and move through nature, sensing this vitality within me as well.
It is ultimately the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God permeates and fills nature, and at the same time keeps me alive.
---From "The Experience of Becoming One with Everything"

Flowers bloom anew every year.
Flowers are also a constant source of comfort in a changing world.
When we are sad, flowers say:
They say that even in the midst of a harsh world, flowers bloom.
The flowers simply stay in their place.
And yet, she radiates beauty regardless of whether anyone is looking at her or not.
Flowers are a symbol of hope for a healthy and beautiful world.
---From "Joy Blooming in a Harsh World"

Wine enhances and deepens the joy of life.
Only then will wine be a comfort.
Wine can be a place to practice the joys of life.
But wine should never be a substitute for a life you have not lived or for your inability to live.
Wine is a comfort to those who challenge life and find time to enjoy wine with friends even when life is tough.
---From "Slowly Savoring Little by Little"

Let us imagine that we rest peacefully in God's broad hands every night.
This is a good exercise to prepare for death.
His hand will protect us at night.
And it will hold us even when we die.
Therefore, sleep takes away all the horror and harshness of death.
And it brings comfort to our entire lives beyond today.
---From "The Quiet Comforter"

“Tears take away fear.
Where there is no longer fear, the bright light of joy shines.
From this eternal joy the love of the holy God blossoms.” Tears keep the heart from being torn apart, and they allow us to pray with a pure heart and focus our minds on God.
Tears shatter pride and drive away the thoughts that humans always cling to with arrogance.
Tears open our hearts to God's mercy and fill them with joy.
---From "Crying is also healing"

There is nothing in our lives that cannot be transformed.
Darkness is brightened by light.
The rigid is transformed into the vibrant.
Failure turns into a new beginning, and sorrow into comfort.
The festivals celebrating death and resurrection show us how closely these two things are connected in our lives.
In death there is already the mystery of resurrection.

---From “The Root of Faith, the Comfort of the Church”