I'm losing my faith

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HelpingHands

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I’m started to wonder if all the claims of the Church are just the Empreror proclaiming the beauty of his magnificant garment, when in reality there is nothing. Let me share why.
  1. Too many loopholes in Catholic theology. I can give many examples. Many illogical things.
  2. No evidence of anything any difference in Catholics. Look at these forums and all the meaness here. People of ‘faith’ putting one another down with angry words. Is there any difference in Catholics? Where’s the santifying grace?
  3. Where is God anyways? It doen’t make any sense for God to abandon us here on this miserable planet like this.
  4. Why hasn’t the fact that Jesus came changed the world one iota? It seems like all this talk of Christ returning is just delay tactics.
  5. What’s the point in this all? Whole thing doesn’t make sense
6)There’s no logic to this world. Suffering comes to the innocent while the haughty feast. So then people say that it’ll all be made right by Christ in the end.That seems like another delay tactic.

7)The Catholic Church has been a poor witness to the world on many occasions. Look at history. Any one who is honest will admit that Christ’s church on earth has fallen very short.

So, now I wonder if I’m wasting my time. My church seems lost and confused, with constant animosity and no fruit. I don’t even want to pray any more. Does anyone else feel this way? I hope no one comes here and attacks me because I just can’t take it, okay? 😦
 
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HelpingHands:
I’m started to wonder if all the claims of the Church are just the Empreror proclaiming the beauty of his magnificant garment, when in reality there is nothing. Let me share why.
😦
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you are completely ignoring the witnesses of the saints for one thing, and holding the few Catholics you know, and a few posters here (who may not even be Catholic) who fall short of sainthood and characterizing the whole church by the bad experiences you, personally, may have had with a few people - bad logic

You give no examples of “weired theology”, since you have none we will disregard that claim.

You say you have no personal experience of God’s presence, or of the reality of Jesus’ saving action, therefore you conclude that no one else has that experience. Again you are confusing your own spiritual condition with reality.

Your malaise is not one of faith, you are suffering from spiritual depression. The remedy is to examine your life and actions and find the source of things that are preventing you from experiencing God’s presence. I know nothing about you other than we share the same humanity, so I make no assumption at all with regard to your sins or lack of sin, your prayer life or lack of it, your charity toward others or lack of it. I merely assume you are doing your very best on all fronts. Yet still there must be something getting in the way of your lived faith, and it is a cop-out to blame what is internal to you, on someone else or on an institution.
 
HelpingHands,

You sound like an honest person, at least I’ll assume so. Some of the questions you ask are ones I’ve asked myself many times. It can be very hard to convince oneself that God really does exist, or, at least, that He’s more than some divine watchmaker.

I cannot see God. I cannot hear God. I cannot feel God. I cannot smell God. As the Bible says, “no one has seen God”. So, why do I believe in God?

I believe that our existence has a meaning and a purpose. I never liked the existentialist philosophies. They left me feeling empty intellectually. God gave an order to the universe. He created us for a reason and gives us the opportunity to be with Him. I believe there must be something after this life.

This thread will, no doubt, degenerate into a flame war. You are already being mistreated, which is too bad. Try to sort through the attacks for the honest replies.
 
  1. Too many loopholes in Catholic theology. I can give many examples. Many illogical things.
    I’m sure that if you dig deeper into Theology things will get clearer. Many bright minds cross-examined Catholic Theology through and through and found no fault.
  2. No evidence of anything any difference in Catholics. Look at these forums and all the meaness here. People of ‘faith’ putting one another down with angry words. Is there any difference in Catholics? Where’s the santifying grace?
    Indeed, sin is a scandal and Catholics are still sinners. Then again, Jesus came for the sinners, i.e., us. 😉
  3. Where is God anyways? It doen’t make any sense for God to abandon us here on this miserable planet like this.
    He didn’t. Weherever two people are meeting in His name, there He is.
  4. Why hasn’t the fact that Jesus came changed the world one iota? It seems like all this talk of Christ returning is just delay tactics.
    It sure did. Never has Western history been so peaceful as after the fall of the Roman empire. Wars only became pervasive again 5 centuries later.
  5. What’s the point in this all? Whole thing doesn’t make sense
    Hmmm, please, define “thing”. :hmmm:
    6)There’s no logic to this world. Suffering comes to the innocent while the haughty feast. So then people say that it’ll all be made right by Christ in the end.That seems like another delay tactic.
    His kingdom is not of this world. This is not your “final destination”, rather your Heavenly Father’s abode is. Look at Jesus’ suffering: no one was more innocent, yet Herode continued fasting. Where is Jesus now and forever?
    7)The Catholic Church has been a poor witness to the world on many occasions. Look at history. Any one who is honest will admit that Christ’s church on earth has fallen very short.
    Look at history and see how many times she gave witness to the Truth. Look at JPII and the fall of the Iron Curtain, for example. As an isntitution, though imperfect, she’s been by far the best one around. Besides, although she made few mistakes, they did add up after 20 centuries. No other institution is so old, so they may only seem to fare better.
    So, now I wonder if I’m wasting my time. My church seems lost and confused, with constant animosity and no fruit. I don’t even want to pray any more.
    You need to cultivate the virtue of Hope. Desperation is a sin and it seems that you’d be able to understand why this is so. As Arthur Clarke put it (paraphrasing):
    *If one doesn’t believe in God, but He does exist, then it’s a pretty bad mistake. Therefore, believeing in Him is the least risky course.
  • The same could be said about the One True Church. 😉
:blessyou:
 
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Benedictus:
This thread will, no doubt, degenerate into a flame war. You are already being mistreated, which is too bad. Try to sort through the attacks for the honest replies.
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I pray it doesn’t. These are honest questions and should get honest answers. I’m sure that to most of us to the same questions befell once or twice, so it’s not like we can cast stones…

Faith is a grace, it doesn’t come from us. As you exemplified, we cannot believe exclusively by our own means.

:blessyou:
 
**Helping Hands: **Know that you are in my prayers and the prayers of others on this board who have experienced such spiritual depression. Such depression is not an easy thing, but, as puzzleannie suggested, a good examination of your life may help. Also, try to find a place of where Christ is exposed in the Blessed Sacrament or go into a Catholic Church and pray in front of the tabernacle, and ask him these very questions, while remaining patient. Unite yourself with Christ’s cry, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” You may not completely understand this yet, but if you just trust in Christ, you will. You are in my prayers.
 
I just thought I would point out that a lot of people have said they cannot see God, yet He’s in every Tabernacle in the world. You can see Him daily at the most Holy Mass.

HelpingHands, the best thing you could do in your situation is to pray. If you find yourself doubting His Church, ask Him why. He will be able to tell you the answers you seek. Pray in the instances where you want to pray, but always take the time for prayer in the instances where you don’t want to pray. That one prayer could be the difference between seeing the glory of the Lord and sharing in it or not. Trust in the Lord, abandon yourself to Him and you’ll find yourself much more joyful than you could have hoped for.

As to the people in these forums who argue constantly: Take a break from the argumentative threads. If it seems argumentative, don’t enter. You can normally tell which ones will turn uglier than others. If that doesn’t work then take a break from the forums entirely. It wouldn’t be worth your energy to continue reading the arguments on the forums if you’re losing your life.

I do pray that you don’t end up leaving the Church Christ built. It’s always painful for a parent to see a child leaving home. Take the time to patiently ask the Lord for guidance, He will lead you to where you ought to be.
 
As far as my life, my sins are pretty typical ones, nothing earthshaking. I was trying to keep up with confession. My priest doesn’t encourage it and last time I went, he just didn’t show up. Now I’ve lost track. He was gone a lot this summer, so there was no daily Mass. My parish is a poor spiritual support system, being small and members at odds with one another, just like I see here. My priest has his own problems, and gets really mad at people he doesn’t like, and they have fled the parish.

Everyone has either a too strict and unbending approach, condemning everyone with vehemence, or else they are too much seeing the Church as just a soup kitchen for the poor and think sin is an outdated concept. Meanwhile, I feel abandoned. 😦
 
Helping Hands… **
Always** remember God loves you. Pray to Him to help you with your troubles, your doubts and your fears. Don’t ever stop praying.

I apologize on behalf of all those who have distressed you in any way. Our nature is a fallen one and sometimes people try to make themselves look good and intelligent instead of working for the Glory of God. (I admit to this). Please forgive us.

With love,

Jason

P.S. I hope this gives you hope.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it: “LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.” The LORD replied: “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
 
HelpingHands,

Please continue to pray. God is listening! He is right there beside you. Trust the shepherd who went out after the one sheep and left the others safe in the pasture! I’m not saying you are the lost sheep or anything, just that the guy who would do that is beside you. HE is near.

Truly, I’d bail on these forums, if I felt as you do. I couldn’t handle the level of harshness here if I were down for long. I honestly think that heavy exposure to discussion boards could break someone’s faith who is hurting.
There’s no logic to this world. Suffering comes to the innocent while the haughty feast
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The answer to this maybe lies in the Psalms. There is lots of stuff like, “[T]he LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

PS You mention “no fruit”. Do you feel that way about your life, or the lives of those in your parish? Perhaps, if you feel you can handle extra work in your life right now, you might try to volunteer in a very hands-on way.
 
Hi,
I work in a helping profession of nursing and am really good at it. So, that is my fruit. I love to help my patients in their suffering. But, my job can take it’s toll, and also my personal challenges and temperment limit me.

Since I work in this profession, I’m too burnt out to volunteer in a similar one. I’m trying to protect my emotional/physical health because I have obligations to my family.
 
Could you probably be going through a “Dark Night” experience? sometimes when I have felt that God’s presence was farthest away that is when he was really so very near just waiting for me to come to Him and ask Him for His Love and His Grace. Take heart!
 
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HelpingHands:
Hi Cesaria,
I notice that when you are far away from a spectacular peak, such as Mt Rainer, that you can see your goal clearly from that distance. Then, as you drive closer, you lose sight of it. Then, finally as you get closer still, you can see it again.

Mt Rainier from a distance
http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/education/student/volcanoes/images/rainer_sm.gif

Mt Rainier close up

http://www.spring.net/geo/Conference/Public/Julie/Julie3/Rainer 3.jpg

Or, Click here to see Mr Rainier close up
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I guess it’s our journey on the way that we can lose sight of our goal, but when we all get there – The Crown!
 
I recommend the book The Spirit of Catholicsm by Fr. Karl Adam. It should shine a new light of your Faith in Christ’s Church. 🙂
 
Dear Helping Hands,

There are many books to help you through the spiritual desert. Some of us have had to cross through it before - some of us more than once. When the Heart Waits is one. I was lucky - I have a wonderful Church community that surrounded me with love, prayer and support. I will pray that you receive the Grace to go on. Good times don’t last, but neither do the bad times.

I learned that faith is a gift. Ask for it. Keep asking because sometimes God can take as long as two weeks.
 
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HelpingHands:
Since I work in this profession, I’m too burnt out to volunteer in a similar one. I’m trying to protect my emotional/physical health because I have obligations to my family.
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Very understandable! I only mentioned it in case. But it is not the case for you, I see.😃

I do notice you mention being burned out at work. Anything any of us can help with there? Is there a story there that you’d like to share?

Is there another parish anywhere close where you can get regular confession? I actually drive a distance (well, I need to hitch a ride from a friend, but that is another story) once a month where there are awesome confessors. There are priests out there who specialize in hearing confessions. And they do believe that sin is a real thing, and will lovingly listen to a person confess to, say, one of those sins, uh, that people get a habit of.
 
Hi Pug,
I have gone out of town for confession because I like variety. The closest other parish is 40 minutes away, so it’s just not workable for me, esp since I’m a single parent and need to be with my children. Really, I just feel like the Church is not a good resource for me. Then I see people outside of it who are good and kind. The people in my church are not particularly helpful and are always either angry at the priest, or currying favor with him. It’s very confusing and I just don’t know where to turn. 😦
 
I must admit, it is very hard for anyone to try and give good advice for your life, when all we have is small snippits of it. Often we will blow one aspect or another out of proportion, and ignore a real problem. I hope i don’t do that. I apologize in advance if this is the case.

From what i read, it sounds like you are lacking a solid christian community. You seem to be frusterated both with your priest, as well as the attitudes of the people within your parish. I don’t fault you for this, it’s entirely possible that their focus is not really on God.
I would suggest that you find a christian community. A group of fellow God-followers who face the same struggles that you are. This has often helped me with the “no fruit” issue, when i sell myself short my community tells me the truth and lifts me up. When i’m frusterated with the world, or even the church, they both help me check that frustration, and agree with me.
How are you supposed to be a body with other parts you cannot connect with? How are you supposed to bring questions of faith to fellow believers if you cannot trust those around you? Jesus prayed about this in John 17, when he prays for all believers. He prays that we will be connected to each other as he is connected to the Father. Christian community is vital.
It sounds like you are a very busy person, and i can understand that. But pray, and see if maybe God doesn’t want you to become less busy. You may be bringing fruit through your job, but God may have a different direction for you.
It also sounds as if you may live in a more remote area, and it may be hard to find any more christians than attend your parish.
I have a suggestion that would require much prayer. A lot of people become close minded, however, before they ask God.
Perhaps a community of Protestants would be better than no community at all.
I know, there are many splits between the two sides, but most can be overcome.
In any case, this is between you and God.
Hope that helps, sorry if it didn’t.
PM me if you have any questions
 
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