Help with religious life!

[wackotaco]

Hey there everyone. I’m here today because i’m lost at the moment as of what to do. I am in highschool and i’m 17. I believe in God and pray every night (and a lot of mornings). But I feel like i’m, at a stand still in my religious life. My life got better starting 8 months ago when I started praying but now I seem to be making no progress at all. The devil keeps throwing sin my way and I apparently am powerless to stop it (I know this isn’t true, it just seems overwhelmingly so). I don’t have an idea on what to do! What are my duties to God as a 17 year old?? How can I live my life to the best of my ability being 17? I know sin will always be thrown my way and I know God has put obstacles in front of my so I can become stronger; but at the moment I seem to be defeated time after time. I feel like I need to learn something in the current state of affairs i’m in before I can move on with life. Please advise some advice that can help me continue passed where I am now in relationship to God and temptation. Thank you extremely much, John

 

[JRKH]

A lot packed into that post.
First of all - what you are feeling in your prayer life is a lack of consolation. This is not at all uncommon and - in large measure is due to nothing more than becoming use to the level of grace that you are currently receiving.
The sense that the devil is tempting you more is quite real. The closer we draw to God, the more the devil will try to draw us away…and especially at 17 ole scratch can toss a lot of temptations in your path.
Best advice on both of the above is to be patient with yourself, but also be persistent. Maybe change up your prayers, prayer times etc. If you can spend some time before the blessed sacrament periodically that can be of help.

As for what is expect of you at 17. Be the best student that you can. Learn all that you can. Guard your chastity and learn to respect any girl you date. Be honest and forthright with everyone you meet and interact with. Respect those who have charge over you.
Do these things moving forward and you will be a credit to God, to your family and to your community.

Peace
James

 

[Christy_Beth]

Where to start? First, obey your parents. If they are good parents, they will have your best interests in mind. Keep praying, and maybe even pray the rosary and/or liturgy of the house daily. Go to confession regularly (I suggest once a month) and go to mass often as well. You might also want to start looking at what you want to do after high school, if you haven’t already. There are many roads to take after high school. If you want to go to college, but lack funds, go into the military and start saving up in whatever version of the GI Bill they have. That is, you save a certain percentage each month, and the military will match it with a similar amount. But, as I found out the hard way, was that to use it, you have to be in a specific degree program. I know that being in the military right now would be rough, heck, it’s meant to be rough, but talk to a recruiter, and someone who has actually be in for awhile, and see what comes of it. My suggested bit is go with the Army Chaplains assistant. Just a load of suggestions.

 

[DevotedChild]

JRKH has said all that I would say. Listen to what he has to say and be patient. Praying to Our Lady in the Rosary would really help you. Our Lady is a most powerful advocate and the Devil’s number one enemy. She is also Our Mother and she will most certainly grant you comfort and peace if you ask for it. If you ask her she will guide you in your life for she always leads us to her Son.

May the Lord Bless you and keep you!

 

[CB_Catholic]

Hey there everyone. I’m here today because i’m lost at the moment as of what to do. I am in highschool and i’m 17. I believe in God and pray every night (and a lot of mornings). But I feel like i’m, at a stand still in my religious life. My life got better starting 8 months ago when I started praying but now I seem to be making no progress at all. The devil keeps throwing sin my way and I apparently am powerless to stop it (I know this isn’t true, it just seems overwhelmingly so). I don’t have an idea on what to do! What are my duties to God as a 17 year old?? How can I live my life to the best of my ability being 17? I know sin will always be thrown my way and I know God has put obstacles in front of my so I can become stronger; but at the moment I seem to be defeated time after time. I feel like I need to learn something in the current state of affairs i’m in before I can move on with life. Please advise some advice that can help me continue passed where I am now in relationship to God and temptation. Thank you extremely much, John

You don’t list your religion. Are you Catholic and do you attend Mass regularly? Are you asking how you can grow as a Catholic Christian, or how you can develop a religious life period?

 

[Gabriel_Serafin]

Please advise some advice that can help me continue passed where I am now in relationship to God and temptation. Thank you extremely much, John

Hey John, sounds like you’re on the right track. The Sacrament of Confession gives us the POWER to do things we otherwise could never do on our own. The only thing God wants of all of us is that we become a saints within our state and circumstances in life. So whether one is a member of the clergy, or in a religious monastery, or is a member of the laity— we are all called to the same objective. But we can do nothing without God’s sanctifying grace, which we receive abundantly through the Sacraments. One of the best things you could do at your stage is to read the lives of the saints—men and women from ages past who were transformed by God within their state in life amidst their daily trials and circumstances during their time on earth as they made their way to heaven…

I would suggest you sit back and listen to these two brief talks by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. He speaks slow in order for the listener to listen carefully:

LETTING GOD TRANSFORM YOU

ACTIVATE YOUR CHRISTIANITY

 

[DexUK]

Hi John

You certainly have packed in a lot of questions into a small post. You might have a career in publishing ahead, editing wordy journalists (and overly verbose people like me!) down into something more concise!

Anyway, as regards your progression with the aid of prayer… you shouldn’t expect things to keep on changing in the same way as you have been experiencing up until now. Your experience will necessarily have to differ or require new approaches as you reach a completion in each new thing you do. You brought a change into your life with the addition of prayer and it effected the changes it needed to in you. You won’t continue to keep changing once that process is complete, at least for the present, so you’ll need to do different things.

I would never say that God puts the obstacles of sin in front of you to teach you to be strong. What he can do for you though is help you use the experience of overcoming the sin for a better end. Despite the bad, comes the good. It’s good’s way of winning over evil, and it’s something the Devil can’t stand.

It sounds to me like you might need to learn different types of prayer but not only that, but you also need to learn various types of Peace that you can achieve. I don’t mean sitting in a silent place, I mean the peace in your heart that comes from prayer, from meditation, from acts of charity, from evangelisation, from actually being busy in the service of the Lord - and not actually having and “peace and quiet” at all!

Beyond that I can’t suggest any more at the moment because I don’t know much more about your circumstances and your interior and exterior prayer lives… But suffice to say, you haven’t reached the end of the spiritual road yet… not by a country mile

 

[wackotaco]

Alright thank you everyone! (haha Im not sure how to reply to each of you or I would thank you each!) You all posted some piece of advice that i’ll commit to memory, and hopefully help me progress in my spiritual life! Thanks and God bless, John