I want you guys to teach me how I can feel that I love God. I always pray to God and picture him as a father, and Jesus as his son, but I feel that if I have to evaluate my actions, my motivations for not doing sinful acts is my longing for heaven and to stay away from hell although I give primacy to the latter. My problem is basically on how to increase my faith so that my focus would be on my love for God rather than for eternal life (though I know heaven is precisely eternal life because it is a life in God’s presence). Help me guys, I just want to know and feel that I love God as a person.
Well, first i would say, do not seek to *feel *your love for God or Gods love for you, first seek to prove your love for God, and if God sees it fitting to give you such consolations then He will,
it’s ok to want to feel that you love God or that God loves you, but do not let that be your goal, let your goal simply be to know, love, and serve God, and then those kinds of things will follow,
those feelings of love are not something we need in order to love, instead they are a gift from God, we do not deserve those consolations, but because God does love us, and depending on whether or not they would do more harm then good, He will give them to us.
the reason we should first seek to truly love God before we seek His consolations, is that we could easily fall in love with the feeling of loving God before we love Him enough to not be dependent on that feeling,
well, perhaps i am just misunderstanding you, so i will also address your question a different way -
to love God more and be motivated by His love in everything we do is something that happens over time, it is something we learn and grow in, it is something you will obtain more and more as you pray, meditate, receive communion, do penances, practice your virtues, read good Catholic books, and then also by the graces you receive and accept from God,
if you want to have Gods love you must be filled with His love, and to do that you must empty your heart of all things pulling you away from God,
now of course that does not mean that you have to physically remove yourself from anything that may be a distraction in your life, but simply that you must try and detach yourself from anything or anyone that you may have an inordinate attachment to.
the first way to do that is, simply ask for the grace to do it, pray for a detachment from worldly things,
and although at first it will seem like nothing has changed, over time you will notice a difference in yourself,
that is how God works in us, gradually, He is patient with us because He knows more than anyone how we learn and grow, and so you also must be patient with yourself,
you will obtain this motivation by Gods love you seek, but first you need to make room in your heart for it, and that will take time, if you try and go to fast, you will become overwhelmed, so just take it easy,
although be diligent and persevering also, don’t slack off just because you know God is being patient with you(not that you would
)
another thing you can do to increase your love for God is, just get to know Him more, read about His life in the bible, or in the “Life of Jesus Christ And Biblical Revelations”
from the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich -
tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/610
or other good books on His life, because by learning of what Jesus did for you (during His life and also His passion) you will then feel motivated to also do things for Him, because He has shown you how much He loves you in what He endured for you, you will want to do the same.
and another thing you can do is, each day just spend time alone with God, a half hour or fifteen minutes at the least, just talk with Him, say anything you want, how your day went, what’s been troubling you, things you want to know, things you struggle with, things that make you happy, just whatever you want, and by doing that each day, you will grow closer to God, He will even respond to you, although not in words, but by inspirations in your heart, or even thoughts in your mind.
well, basically the best things you can do is pray, take part in the sacraments, and practice your virtues,
simply show your love for God by doing what He has taught you and commanded you, seek His teaching through the church, because the church is the means He has given us to have the most deep and intimate relationship with Him that we possibly can, so learn from her, and also read the writings of the saints(such as Saint Therese or Saint Alphonsus) since they achieved what you are currently seeking, i’m sure you can find the answers from them.
alright well i think that’s enough, i hope this helps, take care.
me, keep my commandments. - John 14:15