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The Trials God Permits in the Furnace of Love, by Rob Sexton – Brown Pelican Society of Lousiana

The Trials God Permits in the Furnace of Love, by Rob Sexton

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Vision_de_San_Francisco_de_Paula. Image from Wikimedia Commons

By Rob Sexton, Catholic Exchange, Nov. 25, 2025

Rob Sexton is a Catholic writer, husband, and father of six. He’s the voice behind Costly Things, a blog exploring faith, fatherhood, and spiritual formation through the lens of everyday life. A lifelong student of both theology and strength training, he writes about discipleship in the trenches. A stationary engineer by trade and contemplative by nature, he draws from late hours logged in the boiler room and the Adoration Chapel and is as comfortable with a pipe wrench in his hand as with a rosary.

 

Rob Sexton_Headshot - updatedThe geography of life is marked by mountains and valleys. From new life and new love to the sorrow of loss and disappointment, our journey through this vale of tears always seems to find us ascending or descending. The same pattern is mirrored in our relationships; anyone married for a long time will attest that struggle and strife often go hand in hand with laughter and joy.

Because the interior life is a relationship with God, it is not exempt from the same challenges and difficulties. The Church and the saints even tell us to expect it. Whether it is the desolation described by St. Ignatius, the harrowing Dark Night written of by St. John of the Cross, or the luminous experiences of advanced prayer recorded by St. Teresa of Avila, the Christian life is not stagnant. It is marked by alternating periods of triumph and trial as we draw nearer to God. …

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