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Tarcann
Guest
Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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truetofaith
Guest
How can you not love God for creating you & dying for your salvation? Now, you may not feel this love like love for your parents or wife, but it is more of an intellectual love.Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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TheSurvivor
Guest
No, it is not possible. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God; therefore, by not loving God you would be disobeying Him.
May God Bless you
May God Bless you
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dmar198
Guest
I second what TheSurvivor said above. And I just want to point out that, in Church teaching, love is not so much a feeling as it is an action. The actions you described seem to constitute love to me, because Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” – John 14:15.Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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Gliggle
Guest
It’s okay not to FEEL love for God. Some people don’t have this, it’s because of Original sin. Our emotions are disordered. God knows this. To feel love for God is a grace.
But to love God is an action. It is to live exactly as you have said. You can ask God to help your emotions become more ordered so that you can feel the love you enact for him. As everyone knows the feeling makes the action easier, but there are countless people everyday who enact love for God and others without feeling it, and God knows this can sometimes make their love all the more beautiful. It is different for everyone.
But to love God is an action. It is to live exactly as you have said. You can ask God to help your emotions become more ordered so that you can feel the love you enact for him. As everyone knows the feeling makes the action easier, but there are countless people everyday who enact love for God and others without feeling it, and God knows this can sometimes make their love all the more beautiful. It is different for everyone.
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fhansen
Guest
Love of God first of all, and neighbor second of all, is the goal; it’s the very definition of justice for man, that which makes us just or righteous or holy. And God is patient and kind in helping us get there; this is a process whereby He transforms us, with our cooperation, increasingly into His image. This is the New Covenant, the covenant of grace. Trust in Him and be patient with yourself. If we’ve already “arrived” we’d have no need for Him. And, BTW, the greater our spiritual maturity the more intensely we do feel love for God.Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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sudy
Guest
I think that in this case, it would be a case of not really knowing God. If you read Matthew 7: 22-23, people are saying to Jesus all the things they did in His name… but Jesus tells them that He never knew them… therefore I would conclude that they never knew God either, which would explain the lack of love for God.Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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sudy
Guest
I’m sorry that what I wrote earlier was a bit harsh. I have been thinking about it and I would like to explain further.
I was really responding to the part where you wrote about finding it ‘impossible’ to love God …as though all attempts are over. And I couldn’t understand how you feel that you can obey His commands to love your neighbour (which would include enemies and those who may persecute you and those whom you love) while finding it impossible to love God. In John 15: 5 it says that ‘apart from God we can do nothing’.
I do believe we can develop love for God though. Love is something that is both learned [in the case of loving our enemies] and instinctively natural [in the case of loving our parents], and it develops over time in both instances. Placing trust in God would be a good first step. And as the other posters have said, it’s not all about ‘feelings’ really… though personally I’ve found that feelings do intensify over time.
I was really responding to the part where you wrote about finding it ‘impossible’ to love God …as though all attempts are over. And I couldn’t understand how you feel that you can obey His commands to love your neighbour (which would include enemies and those who may persecute you and those whom you love) while finding it impossible to love God. In John 15: 5 it says that ‘apart from God we can do nothing’.
I do believe we can develop love for God though. Love is something that is both learned [in the case of loving our enemies] and instinctively natural [in the case of loving our parents], and it develops over time in both instances. Placing trust in God would be a good first step. And as the other posters have said, it’s not all about ‘feelings’ really… though personally I’ve found that feelings do intensify over time.
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ready
Guest
How can one be a good Catholic and not love God or be grateful to Him? It is impossible to be a good Catholic and not to love God and be grateful to Him. God bless you.Is it possible to be a good Catholic by respecting God, obeying his commandments, and treating others with love, but also find it impossible to find gratitude nor love for God?
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Tarcann
Guest
Id like to say thank you to everyone who responded to this thread. More than anything, it feels like I am thankful for my creation or existence, but not the circumstances that have influenced my life.
I also understand there’s a lot of time and work to be done before I can really determine what my relationship with God is.
I also understand there’s a lot of time and work to be done before I can really determine what my relationship with God is.
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