How to help a friend reignite her faith?

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Hello. I’ve been reading this forum for a while and there seem to be many wise people here, so I figured out I’d ask for advice.

My best friend and I met on a Catholic retreat holiday for youth. We live in different cities but keep in touch online, visit each other sometimes and basically know everything about each other. I love her deeply and I want her to be happy. She has always had some troubles in her faith but God was always able to pull her out. Now I am worried because for over a year, she hasn’t gone to Mass, and she said it’s difficult for her to even pray daily. In the past, we talked about God and our spirituality all the time, now it doesn’t feel as natural for her. I believe she has some kind of a spiritual block - she has told me that she can’t regret her sins or make a resolution not to sin. During my last visit, she said she was preparing for confession but it’s going really slowly and I’m afraid she is slipping into indifference and it may become even harder to change her situation. Is there anything I can do besides praying? I tried to persuade her to go to Mass on Resurrection Sunday but I don’t know if she did, I believe she would have mentioned it if she had, though I don’t want to assume anything.

Anyway, it hurts me a lot to see her in such a state. Does any of you have any experiences with this? Maybe you went through such a phase or know someone who did? If so, how did it turn out? Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
You are such a good friend to care about your friend’s spiritual life. I would gently keep talking and in private I would pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for her…

For the sake of his sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world…
 
Request her to pray a rosary for you. I have one of my friends that hasn’t prayed a rosary in years, and I requested he pray a rosary for his friend that was struggling with some things. He text me yesterday and told me that he has been praying the rosary almost daily now that he is going through tough times.

The rosary is a powerful and magnificent weapon
 
I know about some family issues of hers that probably are an influence. For one, I know her view of her father made it difficult for her to approach God the Father, and was more inclined to pray through Mary’s intercession. Also, I think she has difficulty believing that confession could change anything, as she’s been dealing with some serious sins for years and said that she’d been confessing again and again and it never made a difference and she doesn’t feel able to be sorry anymore. Before this phase, she was even thinking about getting one priest to be her spiritual director/confessor, and I have gently suggested that recently by quoting someone on that but it’s the lack of contrition that’s the biggest problem. You know, my whole family believes and I always have someone to go to church with, but her family isn’t practicing and it may just be natural for her to slip into their way when it gets difficult… I wish I lived near her so I could go with her.
 
That’s a great idea 🙂 I’m definitely going to be struggling with life when I move out of home this year… And she will too, so maybe an agreement to pray for each other could keep her motivated. This way, I could show her that I trust her and her prayer is valuable even though she may feel worthless in terms of faith.
 
Our Father, Who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
 
Pray for her.
Keep being a good friend to her as much as you can.
Set a good example by your own practice of the faith.
Remind her often that God loves her no matter how many times she sins or what her personal situation has been in the past.

Don’t pressure her or push too much. You can encourage her to participate in the faith with you (“Let’s go to Mass together and then we can go have lunch” etc.) but don’t make religion the main thing you talk about when together. A person who is struggling and feels pressure on top of that will likely just pull away. I’ve been in that situation.
 
Keep on in contact with her and encourage her. You did the right thing to talk with her about God. Yes, she might go through a bad patch in her life. Your encouragement will make her feeling not so alone.

God bless.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I’m definitely making sure not so be pushy, I only mention it sometimes when the situation is right since I know it’s a tough topic for her now. To be honest, I admire how she can still strive to be moral in all other areas besides the one that she can’t seem to find a way out. She never gets discouraged from trying to be a good person and I see that she has hope that in the future, all will be well and she’ll be meeting God again. I hope that this spark will keep her soul safe from any further fall. In the meantime, I’ll keep praying for her and loving her the best I can 🙂
 
I know how you feel. My family are all unbelievers, so it hurts me to imagine them in Hell. Paul said that we are ambassadors of Christ. We’re His representatives on earth. One thing you can do is to be a joyful ambassador. Let the love of Christ flow through you. If your friend is spiritual, she may one day see your peacefulness and come to admire it. That can lead to her approaching you and asking you how you remain so joyful and so peaceful. If that happens, that’s a perfect opportunity for you to share the Gospel with her.

That’s the only thing I can think of. Be glad and do things without expecting anything in return. Don’t stop believing, either. 😃
 
Are either of you in a position to go on spiritual retreat? Might be a good way to put her back in a more spiritual place, and she’ll be able to seek help there if she needs it.

You could also suggest that she try to get a spiritual director who might be able to guide her spiritual growth. Worth a try?
 
It’s difficult. Recommend:

Wash her feet with the Holy water whenever you can or have a woman to do that.. Jesus taught us this at the last supper. Popes did this too.
 
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