How do you explain this?

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uglygal

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A person is a Catholic, perhaps even a cradle catholic, but a catholic for many many years.
They pray to God to be led to the truth and to know Him as He truly is. They pray that His will be done and He guide them always to him.
Yet the longer they pray, the more they get drawn out of the church and away from Jesus.

What’s going on? Why would God lead someone away from the church if its His church? What are these feelings, this knowledge that the church is not quiet right. Wouldn’t God lead someone to Him if they prayed like this?
What if this person struggled long and hard to not succumb to these feelings and knowledge, tried to reason everything in favour of the faith they were raised in … yet their heart, their soul, their conscience direct them otherwise?
What’s happening?

thanks
 
I don’t think it is God who is leading the person astray. He would never lead someone away from His Truth. The person in question needs to speak with a Priest ASAP for guidance, prayers and direction.
 
I agree with the previous answer and add-ask for some suggested reading also. It is hard to persevere in the Faith when one has had a bad experience in the Church or reads about scandal, or is assaulted by conflicting ideas and doctrine from outside the Church. Please know that I am praying for you during this Holy Week. God loves you always and will help your sincere effort to seek His Truth!
 
uglygal said:
A person is a Catholic, perhaps even a cradle catholic, but a catholic for many many years.
They pray to God to be led to the truth and to know Him as He truly is. They pray that His will be done and He guide them always to him.
Yet the longer they pray, the more they get drawn out of the church and away from Jesus.

What’s going on? Why would God lead someone away from the church if its His church? What are these feelings, this knowledge that the church is not quiet right. Wouldn’t God lead someone to Him if they prayed like this?
What if this person struggled long and hard to not succumb to these feelings and knowledge, tried to reason everything in favour of the faith they were raised in … yet their heart, their soul, their conscience direct them otherwise?
What’s happening?

thanks
Click to expand...
Can we assume this person is you?

Can you be specific on what you are drawn too?
 
The problem is not that the person is searching, but that he or she is searching in the wrong way. It is like this: If you were to try to go to a specific location in Athens, GA on foot, you would most likely look at a map. in the same way, when you are searching for God, you need a map of the spiritual journey in the scriptures and dogmas and teachings of the Church.
To try to get to Christ without this guidance would be like trying to get to Athens, Ga from Claifornia simply on “Gut feelings”. You would more than likely get lost. Maybe you get kind of close, perhapse even making it to Athens and even in the right neighborhood, but you would never get to the specific location you desired. Most likely, you would loose heart in the searching and assume that the location is a lie, or never existed.
Does this help?
 
At some point in ones’ life they question things. It’s not bad to question things. But, when you ask questions be careful to the answers that you get… they may not be from Heaven. God gave us an inquisitive nature and be glad that He did. Faith is in part being submissive to His will. Don’t try to put your own “spin” on things. It takes some real disernment. He would never lead anyone away from Him. That said … keep your faith trust in God
and may your faith be strong.

Paul
 
quote: uglygal
What if this person struggled long and hard to not succumb to these feelings and knowledge, tried to reason everything in favour of the faith they were raised in … yet their heart, their soul, their conscience direct them otherwise?
What’s happening?
Click to expand...
I’d say that such a person should coffee up and
think hard about theological realities.

Once God is accepted as Creator and Father, with a
will to save, that’s it. All the rest is sheer speculation
and frothy assertion.

The time and energy saved may be well applied to practical works of mercy.

Just my thought.

reen12 :coffeeread:
 
These are good questions that are absolutely impossible to answer without knowing more about the person, and the state of the persons soul, that this is happennig to as there could be a whole host of things going on.

If you begin to read about discernment and the experiances of Saints with respect to messages and urgings of the Lord you will find some common threads. Urgings and communications that come from God are usually straight to the point and leave the reciever with a feeling of peace even years after.

This person you describe is not in a state of peace which leads me to suspect that these urgings are not of God.

I suspect that this person you are referring to is probably someone who was in a bad place once with respect to sin, and is now doing all the right things and trying to be better going to church and praying. Satan sees this and doesn’t want to loose this soul so he will do what he does best which is to plant alot of doubt and hopefully separate this person from the church and even better from other Christians.

Before this person makes any official decisions they need to make sure they talk to a Priest and ask to be prayed over to be delivered from demonic oppression and ask the Priest to bless them. It wont hurt. Then this person should try praying again over the next few weeks and see how they feel. I would be willing to bet some of hte confusion lifts BUT then again I know nothing of this person so I could be wrong.

Love,
Sarah
 
Yet the longer they pray, the more they get drawn out of the church and away from Jesus.

Such a person is being strongly tempted. If you pray to God for guidance, He will NOT lead you from the Church and especially from Jesus. This is nothing more or less than delusion from Satan.
 
uglygal said:
A person is a Catholic, perhaps even a cradle catholic, but a catholic for many many years.
They pray to God to be led to the truth and to know Him as He truly is. They pray that His will be done and He guide them always to him.
Yet the longer they pray, the more they get drawn out of the church and away from Jesus.

What’s going on? Why would God lead someone away from the church if its His church? What are these feelings, this knowledge that the church is not quiet right. Wouldn’t God lead someone to Him if they prayed like this?
What if this person struggled long and hard to not succumb to these feelings and knowledge, tried to reason everything in favour of the faith they were raised in … yet their heart, their soul, their conscience direct them otherwise?
What’s happening?

thanks
Click to expand...
It is certainly not God drawing them away from the church. It can be mixing up internal feelings, can be the devil drawing them away. God clearly promises in Jeremiah 29:12-13:

*Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.*

Considering the rock solid reliability of the Bible, they can take God at His word and trust with full faith and confidence.
 
Discernment involves this:
Is it from God?
Is it from myself??
Is it from the unholy one???
If I knew someone in the situation you described, I would suggest they talk to a good Priest that will help them. Jesus has never led anyone out of His Church.
 
uglygal
What’s happening?
Click to expand...
Mostly, its a surrendering to a person’s own will, rather than to the will of God.

To be sure you are following God’s will, surrender yourself to him, by following His commandments and the teachings of His Church.

Humble submission to God, is where the transformation occurs.

If you believe in God, you believe in Jesus Christ, who is God. There is no two ways about it.

The less you surrender of yourself to Christ, the less you will receive the peace and happiness you are searching for.

So, if you desire faith, go to the source of faith, Jesus Christ. It is He, who is calling you.

Jim
 
I don’t want to get too much into Mystical Theology, but throw out the idea that you could look to the saints regarding the feeling of the absence God in your life. I can’t tell you where it comes from but two ideas come to mind:
  1. St. Teresa of Avila comes to mind in that she kept persevering although she went through a time of “Spiritual dryness” in her life.
  2. Read the poem “Footprints.” Sappy, I know, but probably apt.
As a previous posster suggested, meet with a priest or look into getting yourself a spiritual advisor. The commitment to a spiritual advisor will help greatly for you to re-dedicate yourself to your faith. The exercises and meditations recommended will help immensely.
 
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