Anyone else feeling further from God due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

[Benjinho]

For background: I’m a pretty new Catholic, I was confirmed about a year ago through RCIA. I felt a drawing to the Church after meeting my now-wife (she is Catholic and we were wed in the Church). I was raised in a household with a rock hard atheist father and a lapsed catholic mother who denounced all organized religion, saying they were the cause of most war, about organizations more than spiritually, etc…

My wife isn’t too serious about her religion either, she has never gone to confession that I’m aware of and tends to skip mass…says she doesn’t need church to have God in her life…I go to mass and have confession as often as I can, and these past few weeks, because mass has been cancelled in person, and because confessions have been more difficult to arrange, I’ve felt very isolated from God.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have a firm Catholic foundation, but I feel disconnected and alone from Him, though I know He is everywhere with me in reality. Anyone else feeling this way?

 

[tommy37]

Hi friend,

I’m sorry that you’ve been having difficulty. For me, I went through RCIA 15 years ago, so I’ve had more time as a practicing Catholic. My faith hasn’t really been affected by this. Although, I’m frustrated with the isolation and no Mass that’s for sure. (I’ve been watching/praying the Mass on Bishop Barron’s website, Word on Fire. I recommend that. His homilies are very nourishing for my faith.)

It can be so hard when we are surrounded by people who either don’t believe or are lukewarm. All I can tell you is to be very honest with God about how you feel (if you haven’t already done so.) Tell him that you feel isolated in your faith. Tell him that you are frustrated with how things are going.

And remember that feelings don’t mean anything. With God it’s all about the will. Many saints have attested to this fact of faith. Sure it’s easy to pray and do good things when we feel very spiritual and close to God. But we please God most when we pray and do good when we feel lousy and when he feels a million miles away from us. And, we make more spiritual progress when we feel isolated from God. It can be very difficult to feel this way but in the spiritual life, it’s actually the more beneficial way.

A good book that talks all about this is Secrets of the Interior Life by Luiz Martinez. I’ve always struggled with not feeling close to God and this book really helped me early on in my journey (and even now). So keep praying through this (and offering up your sufferings for others in union with the Mass everyday) and when this is all over you’ll find that you have grown through it.

I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes from the saints and others:

“One ‘Blessed be God’ in times of adversity is worth more than a thousand acts of gratitude in times of prosperity.” St. John of Avila

“It is surprising to see how much spiritual progress we make in times of aridity, when no conscious joy of any kind unites our souls with God. It is then indeed God himself whom we love, and not his consolations; and whatever we do then, requiring constant effort and appeals for grace, is indeed duty in all its starkness. Then, when the dusty road is over and the way becomes easier, we are astonished to see how far we have come; sometimes we arrive at a gentle resting place, in peace, near the heart of God.” Servant of God, Elizabeth Leseur whose husband was an atheist and constantly attacked her faith.

“The patient endurance of the cross is the highest work we have to do”—St. Katherine Drexel

“When you die, you will see that you have saved more souls through your suffering than by all the good works you might have accomplished in health”—St. John Vianney

God Bless!

 

[DScott]

I understand. We are attending mass through Facebook, but it is not remotely the same. Truth be told, I am frustrated, for myself but even more for my children. I don’t know how I am going to re-educate them after the lessons they are learning from the our Church’s reaction to this. How do I convince them of the importance of our faith and beliefs when our religious leaders ran for cover at the first whiff of danger? How do I counter the all too obvious message that the Holy Sacraments are only important when they’re easy to receive?

Anyway, hang in there. As the old expression goes, “This too shall pass.”