My faith is at 0%

[PazFeAmor]

Frankly, i have a hard time believing a person who says he/she has no faith… But then… i think of my younger years and it is easier to understand…
Thanks for getting me to think about those years… not that i want to re-live them but because it reminds me of how far i have come… I never used to feel close to God as i do now…

I had a crisis years ago that i didn’t know how to handle. I prayed the rosary, something i had never really done, & i began seeing things differently… more the way God sees things (though you may not believe that?). It changed my life drastically.

Anyway, i have also been “born again”. Have you ever been through that?

I am not 100% happy w/ my life but i have to say that i feel close to God most of the time & that feeling of intimacy w/ Him is everything. You have to give up sin to begin to be close to Him… Sin separates us from Him… not because He wants that separation but because of the “mathematics” of spirituality, as it were… meaning 1 + 1 always = 2… Sin + more Sin always = spiritual disaster…

Anyway, God knows we are human and weak in various ways. He is always there for you & wants to help you… He IS helping you.

One big reason i love God more than before, and stay in His Church (etc) is becausee i know how unreliable people can be. They love you one day and reject you the next… & even the best of friends, relatives, etc… cannot ever understand you like Jesus can… I often (always?) feel lonelier when with people than when alone… (Actually, now that i think about it, that may not be entirely accurate… I don’t feel lonely when with people who see things more or less as i do. but even so, i cannot be with them 24/7).

Jesus knows everything there is to know about being human. He went through every feeling you are feeling… (i believe that anwya).

I have to go but will pray for you… God bless…

I know its hard to understanding how anyone can be at 0% faith but unless you have been attacked with such spiritual dryness that you can’t even believe there is a God it’s hard for those who haven’t gone through it to comprehend.

If you mean born again in the Protestant sense of it, then the answer is no. I haven’t experienced any other born again experience other than through Baptism.

To answer your second post… yes, I have spent time before the Blessed Sacrament. Just this past Saturday to be precise.

Thank you for your prayers and God bless.

Peace.

 

[po18guy]

And you don’t need to replace one irrational belief system with another, by the way. Faith isn’t a neccessary part of life by any means.

Well, faith is surely a necessary part of death! God has not stopped believing in you! The fact that you are both here is testimony that there is something left. A mere remnant, maybe, but something.

Some stumble through life completely unaware, and this is an easy path, since it causes little or no concern about eternity. Having faith is not free. It carries a heavy price, so many turn away.

Mother Theresa experienced spiritual dryness for decades, but kept the faith, as the alternative was unthinkable. She lived, not for this life, but for the next. Since we have no promises in this life, other than God’s love, but do have His promise of perfection in the next, that is what we strive for.

Give it time. The Holy Spirit will, one day, call out to both of you. I pray that you will answer.

Peace be with both of you.

 

[PazFeAmor]

I think that a few posters are mistakenly thinking that I am still undergoing a 0% Faith crisis and **have not read the other pages of this thread. **
I will paste my post **#26 **as a clarification to this misunderstanding and thank you all for the additional prayers which don’t hurt a bit.

I am posting to say thank you to all of you that have posted and for those of you who have been praying for me I thank you as well from the bottom of my heart.

I have been reflecting greatly on what has been going on in my life and backtracking up to the point of where I started to feel this total absence of faith. I literally started marking the calendar on what events took place up to my feeling a total absence of faith and I saw one HUGE red flag. Two weeks before my troubles started I had just convinced my mother to finally go to Confession after 40 years of not having done so. After remembering this I heard a Catholic woman on tv say that we can complain all we want about how God lets bad things happen but it is not because God wants these bad things to happen but that he respects our free will so much that he allows us to make good or at times very very bad choices in our life.

I am not very good at discerning spiritual things but this is one of the few times in my life that I felt such clarity within.

This started to shine alittle light into my heart and interiorly I could sense that perhaps I was being attacked by the evil one. Especially, due to the fact that I helped bring my mother back to Holy Mother Church. Anyways, to make things short, I will be going to Confession tomorrow.

I don’t know whose prayers moved the Lord to have mercy on me but I thank you for praying for me.

Peace

 

[po18guy]

I think that a few posters are mistakenly thinking that I am still undergoing a 0% Faith crisis and **have not read the other pages of this thread. **
I will paste my post **#26 **as a clarification to this misunderstanding and thank you all for the additional prayers which don’t hurt a bit.

I jumped in too late! YES! It is a spiritual attack. Notice that it has been allowed to occur during Lent. Coincidence? I don’t think so. What desolation did Christ feel in the desert as the evil one relentlessly attacked His human nature? What desolation did He experience in the garden as He agonized over the coming events? What desolation did He experience as His life energy drained out of Him on the cross? Lent is a time of spiritual growth, and what better way to experience that growth than first to be emptied of faith and then built back up?

This is the Lord’s love in action. This is Lent. This is traveling with Christ along the Via Dolorosa. Take heart. The spiritual climax approaches with the ultimate raising up of our Salvation.

Christ’s peace be with you.

 

[distracted]

Distracted,

I feel him the most when I sit quietly alone on my backyard porch as the sun is going down. No words come to my mind, but I feel His presence. The phrase “Be still and know that I am” is so OBVIOUS at that point.

I wish others could know this peace and presence of God as we do. I know people who can’t stand to be alone… &, not to be uncharitable or anything, i can’t help but think that they are afraid to be alone with God for some reason…

And when I sin, each time I go to confession, it takes longer and longer to get that close feeling back again with God.

May your relationship with Him continue to grow…

Thank you so much. Your post almost made me cry… for a lot of reasons. for one, i feel you are a kindred spriit. It is not every day i feel that way when dealing with people (particularly on this forum?).

Anyway, that one comment you made about how it takes longer & longer to get tht close feeling (w/ God) back REALLY hit home. I am so afraid of losing it that i have literally asked God to take my life rather than allow me to commit serious sin… It’s funny how, as a devout Catholic, i feel this way, whereas when i was “out in the world” i was SO unaware…

thanks be to God and his wonderful Church… (the rosary, to be exact ).

Thank you for taking the time to encourage this (often) weary soul.

God bless you…

 

[IslamicBelief]

this is a message to everyone,
I thank god that you have thought about your faith instead of following blindly and rejected the concept of the man begotten god,
I begin with a quote from the Holy Quran(the book of muslims)
in the name of god, the most merciful
“Say he is god the only one, The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks, He begets not, nor was He begotten, And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him” (Holy Quran, chapter 112)

In islam, we believe that jesus(pbuh) was a righteous prophet sent by god to guide mankind from a virgin righteous mother, but we also believe that god did this miracle simply by ordering it to take place, and he doesnt need to beget or be begotten, since he has already created Adam(pbuh) from mud, therefore it would be easier on him to create jesus from a mother without a father!
as god said in he holy quran:
'Verily, the likeness of ‘Iesa (Jesus) before Allah(god) is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: “Be!” - and he was…(This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt’ (Holy Quran, Chp.3 verses 59,60)
Brother, I invite you to consider the message of islam, the message that we believe is the final message which god almighty have sent to mankind to correct the corruptions that were made to earlier teachings by humans and which god has promised to preserve its teachings and along with his final revelation (The Holy Quran) and which has been preserved exactly the same as it is since the time it was revealed by god 1400 years ago, and no single letter has been changed, and we still have the original book in which it has been written the first time…which proves nothing except this is the true book of god almighty.

Brother , i invite you to the message of monotheism,ISLAM, the religion where god doesnt want you to follow blindly and turn off your common sense, but instead he shows you many proofs and wants you to think about everything he’s telling you and wonder about his glorious and magnificant creation.

Brother, in islam, we have FAITH and PROOF, and believe me you’ll be shocked when you know the truths and facts that god almighty have revealed in his hole book , The Quran

this is a brotherly advice to everyone reading this, to check the message of islam…since its our duty to deliver it to you, then the choice is up to you…

The Holy Quran:
noblequran.com/translation/index.html

Islamic Beliefs:
islamtomorrow.com

 

[distracted]

There are times in life when faith, like love, is a choice. No good feelings, no positive feedback, just a choice. And, after you make that choice over and over and over again, eventually you pass through the valleys of shadow and back into the presence of God. Sometimes it takes a lifetime of perserverance.

I don’t know if it is a “test,” or Satan at work, or just the way the human mind works . . . but it does seem to be part of our lot in life.

.

Very well put!!

It doesn’t surprise me you are Irish!

 

[distracted]

IIf you mean born again in the Protestant sense of it, then the answer is no. I haven’t experienced any other born again experience other than through Baptism.

The Protestants did not invent being filled w/ the Holy Spirit (Yes, i know you know that )… In fact, i was “born-again” when i was very young & wasn’t even physically IN a Church…
I didn’t even ask to be filled w/ the Spirit… all i did was think of God (in a time of need)… but if you actually asked God for this, i am sure He would love to bless you that way…

To answer your second post… yes, I have spent time before the Blessed Sacrament. Just this past Saturday to be precise.

.

It is good you know about the Real Presence. I was raised Catholic & didn’t know about the benefits 2b derived therefrom for many years after baptism/confirmation (etc) … If i had only known, my life could have been/would have been much different. Even so, God blessed me just the same and I am (more or less) OK w/ how things turned out…

God bless…

 

[PazFeAmor]

The Protestants did not invent being filled w/ the Holy Spirit (Yes, i know you know that )… In fact, i was “born-again” when i was very young & wasn’t even physically IN a Church…
I didn’t even ask to be filled w/ the Spirit… all i did was think of God (in a time of need)… but if you actually asked God for this, i am sure He would love to bless you that way…

I have asked more times than I can count for a metanoia or complete conversion of my heart and mind from the Lord. So, I think the Holy Spirit is very acquainted with my desire for this…

It is good you know about the Real Presence. I was raised Catholic & didn’t know about the benefits 2b derived therefrom for many years after baptism/confirmation (etc) … If i had only known, my life could have been/would have been much different. Even so, God blessed me just the same and I am (more or less) OK w/ how things turned out…

God bless…

I believe with all of my heart in the Real Presence but I often get attacked with one distraction after another and it doesn’t allow me to enter into contemplative prayer and just being still in order to hear God’s will. I am glad that God has blessed you in this way.

God bless.

 

[Jason_W]

I would call this a crisis of faith but I don’t have faith anymore. It has been over a month since I last visited CAF and stopped going to church as well.

I know many of you will say that if I am here at CAF posting then it must mean I have faith but I can honestly with 100% of my heart say that I have no faith at all and cannot even accept the Christian concept of God.

I reverted to the faith around 4 years ago and had doubts in my faith before that have come and gone as I am sure many of you here have experienced but this is so much worse now.

Lately, I have started reading some old books I have on Buddhism… but other than that I don’t do anything even remotely spiritual. I no longer pray and feel like a hipocrite having statues of Christ and the saints…so I stored them away in my closet.

I guess I am here at CAF because I am wondering if any of you have gone through extended periods where there is a TOTAL absence of faith?..because this is exactly what is happening to me now.

note: I reposted this thread for a second time since my first attempt was eaten by the server… should the first attempt pop up please delete it moderator.

Well its hard to come up with something to tell someone who says they have no faith at all anymore. just dont be too hard on yourself. I recommend seeking a better understanding of what faith really is, after all faith is not just some feeling, its an outward expression of things we believe, that we may not be able to see or prove. faith isnt just saying i believe, but actually conforming your life to what you believe.we dont just get faith at once,but like a person it grows with time and nurishment. Even John the Baptist when he was in prison sent some disciples to ask Jesus if he really was the Christ , the one who he said would come , even after he heard God say " this is my son , with whom i am well pleased". You can go where you please and do what you please ,but just remember God and all of Heaven is waiting to rejoice at your return.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Just keep seeking God, Paz. Persistence pays off, however long it might take.

 

[PazFeAmor]

I appreciate the encouraging posts and ask that God bless each and every one of you. Every time this thread gets resurrected again and again I have to explain that I posted this thread back in January and that since I posted this I have not had a similar crisis in over 4 months. God is indeed merciful.

Thanks again for your concern and God bless each of you.

 

[water]

I appreciate the encouraging posts and ask that God bless each and every one of you. Every time this thread gets resurrected again and again I have to explain that I posted this thread back in January and that since I posted this I have not had a similar crisis in over 4 months. God is indeed merciful.

Thanks again for your concern and God bless each of you.

I like your shrine:
mysite.verizon.net/vzew4v2y/catholic4life/id8.html
and I remember the Archangel Raphael every day.

 

[KingAlfred]

I would call this a crisis of faith but I don’t have faith anymore. It has been over a month since I last visited CAF and stopped going to church as well.

I know many of you will say that if I am here at CAF posting then it must mean I have faith but I can honestly with 100% of my heart say that I have no faith at all and cannot even accept the Christian concept of God.

I reverted to the faith around 4 years ago and had doubts in my faith before that have come and gone as I am sure many of you here have experienced but this is so much worse now.

Lately, I have started reading some old books I have on Buddhism… but other than that I don’t do anything even remotely spiritual. I no longer pray and feel like a hipocrite having statues of Christ and the saints…so I stored them away in my closet.

I guess I am here at CAF because I am wondering if any of you have gone through extended periods where there is a TOTAL absence of faith?..because this is exactly what is happening to me now.

note: I reposted this thread for a second time since my first attempt was eaten by the server… should the first attempt pop up please delete it moderator.

Just remember all things human are fleeting. Even the greatest human achievements fade away with time. If there is no God, then what is the meaning of our existence? Jesus lived in such a way as to highlight the futility of the human struggle without God. Jesus is all truth. All truth is life.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

I appreciate the encouraging posts and ask that God bless each and every one of you. Every time this thread gets resurrected again and again I have to explain that I posted this thread back in January and that since I posted this I have not had a similar crisis in over 4 months. God is indeed merciful.

Thanks again for your concern and God bless each of you.

Okay, great!

 

[distracted]

I]I have not had a similar crisis in over 4 months.

God is indeed merciful.

Thanks again for your concern and God bless each of you.

What was the main thing that strengthened you??

 

[Klara_Collins]

What was the main thing that strengthened you??

At the OP’s request, this thread is now Closed.
Thanks all for participating.
Klara