My faith is shaken

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theratandthecat

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I am raised a Catholic, but recently I have begun to question my faith. It’s partly due to my aunt and uncle, who house me with them. Whenever they attempt to explicate a phenomenon that has to do with the Catholic church (and they’re devout, by the way), their explanations do not make sense, and their stereotypical beliefs have driven me away from the faith. Part is because I’m living in a very liberal society, and last summer I met a group of scholars and spent time with them, and almost all of them were liberal, and view gay/ lesbian issues very openly.
I haven’t denounced the Catholic faith, but now I’m in a dire situation myself. Starting from last August to now, I have made some grievous mistakes in my academic and relationship way, and my goal to academics success is now in jeopardy. So many times I have prayed to the God and Saints, asking them to not help me screwed up, and for me to achieve my goal, but so far, nothing has come up. I was denied admission to one university which I thought I could have easily got in. Desperately, I prayed more and more, asking God for only one sign that He had heard my prayers. Nothing. My faith is shaken. I’m questioning whether there is a God, and if there is, would he hear me? How do I know? I’m suffering from great anxiety, and I dread having five years of studying go to a waste.
I don’t want to leave my faith at all, and so I’m trying to hold on in every attempt I could. Please share with me your story of odd beatings with the help of God, and if possible, a Hail Mary and Padre Pio prayer would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you, and good day.
 
I have been where you are.
I wish I could give you some magic words that will make all the doubts go away, but there are none.

There are 2 sayings about prayer that have made all the difference in my life.
One is the quote in my signature, the other is this from Kathleen Norris.
“Prayer is not asking for what you want, but being changed in ways you cannot imagine.”
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Continue to pray, avail yourself of the sacraments, and think about finding a spiritual director who can give you some guidance.

Peace be with you on your journey! 🙂
 
You’re not alone in your faith journey.

It seems to me that now would be a good time to deepen your faith by learning what the Church teaches on everything you’re struggling with; the internet is a wonderful resource for doing just that. Use the search feature on this site to find articles written by learned people to help answer your questions and quell your uncertainty.

Though I’d rather not share personal details, I will say that the Rosary and Brown Scapular are extremely important to me 🙂

Most of all, hang in there.
 
Greetings,

I am not the most eloquent on these matters, but I feel the pain in your words so I’d like to offer a couple thoughts (and I will pray for you as well).

First off, regarding your academic mistakes, and since you didn’t include any details, I can only extrapolate so please forgive me if I am off base: If you made some mistake that caused you to have trouble in a some classes, you must suffer the consequences of those actions. God may forgive any sins you may have committed - e.g. cheating or lying on exams or projects for example - but any punishment or consequences related to those must be paid as well. If your prayers are to spare you from these then unfortunately I don’t think God will answer the way you want - but He does answer with the way that is best for you.

I do want to share with you a story of huge mistakes in my life that nearly cost me my marriage, but my kids are running around and i have to tend to them. I will PM you when I have some time.

Please continue to pray and if I may humbly suggest ask for God to give you the strength to overcome your challenges and to help discern **His **will and plan for you. Focus on God first, and over time you’ll find (at least I have) that everything takes care of itself - even if painful at times.

God bless,
Bryan
 
=theratandthecat;9007495]I am raised a Catholic, but recently I have begun to question my faith. It’s partly due to my aunt and uncle, who house me with them. Whenever they attempt to explicate a phenomenon that has to do with the Catholic church (and they’re devout, by the way), their explanations do not make sense, and their stereotypical beliefs have driven me away from the faith. Part is because I’m living in a very liberal society, and last summer I met a group of scholars and spent time with them, and almost all of them were liberal, and view gay/ lesbian issues very openly.
I haven’t denounced the Catholic faith, but now I’m in a dire situation myself. Starting from last August to now, I have made some grievous mistakes in my academic and relationship way, and my goal to academics success is now in jeopardy. So many times I have prayed to the God and Saints, asking them to not help me screwed up, and for me to achieve my goal, but so far, nothing has come up. I was denied admission to one university which I thought I could have easily got in. Desperately, I prayed more and more, asking God for only one sign that He had heard my prayers. Nothing. My faith is shaken. I’m questioning whether there is a God, and if there is, would he hear me? How do I know? I’m suffering from great anxiety, and I dread having five years of studying go to a waste.
I don’t want to leave my faith at all, and so I’m trying to hold on in every attempt I could. Please share with me your story of odd beatings with the help of God, and if possible, a Hail Mary and Padre Pio prayer would greatly be appreciated.
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Thank you, and good day.
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My dear friend in Christ;

First understand God’s criteria for answering Prayer MAY NOT be the same as our own. After All God’s thoughts and way’s are but a mystery to us. Essentailly God will GRANT prayer request that GOD knows are in our BEST MORAL/Spiritual Interest.; even then they may NOT be answered in the time frame we request; or in the precise mannner that we request? THOSE remain God’s options.

Simply because we ASK God for something does not mean He will grant it. *:o

Now as to you’re other issue; I can be of GREAT help. If you’d care to send me a PM with you’re concerns on Faith issues and matters we can discusss them. I’m a trained, tested, certifed and experienced theacher of our Catholic Faith EXTREMLY loyal to our Pope and our Church.

My friend set you’re expetations at a reasonable level.Either you’re in chatge or God is in charge and the responsibility can’t be split.🙂

Please let me know if I can be of further help to you. everyting I do id FREE of all cost to you.

God Bless,
Pat
PJM here on the Forum*
 
Thank to all of you.

@bscastro: It’s not in the way of grade, but more about course load-- something that college admission stresses. I asked God to be with me and help me not screw up, that help me so that every action that I take academically would lead to my success. So I went ahead and chose something which I completely regret. It wasn’t like I acted on my own, but at that time of choosing my schedule, I did ask God to help me.
 
theratandthecat said:
I am raised a Catholic, but recently I have begun to question my faith. It’s partly due to my aunt and uncle, who house me with them. Whenever they attempt to explicate a phenomenon that has to do with the Catholic church (and they’re devout, by the way), their explanations do not make sense, and their stereotypical beliefs have driven me away from the faith. Part is because I’m living in a very liberal society, and last summer I met a group of scholars and spent time with them, and almost all of them were liberal, and view gay/ lesbian issues very openly.
I haven’t denounced the Catholic faith, but now I’m in a dire situation myself. Starting from last August to now, I have made some grievous mistakes in my academic and relationship way, and my goal to academics success is now in jeopardy. So many times I have prayed to the God and Saints, asking them to not help me screwed up, and for me to achieve my goal, but so far, nothing has come up. I was denied admission to one university which I thought I could have easily got in. Desperately, I prayed more and more, asking God for only one sign that He had heard my prayers. Nothing. My faith is shaken. I’m questioning whether there is a God, and if there is, would he hear me? How do I know? I’m suffering from great anxiety, and I dread having five years of studying go to a waste.
I don’t want to leave my faith at all, and so I’m trying to hold on in every attempt I could. Please share with me your story of odd beatings with the help of God, and if possible, a Hail Mary and Padre Pio prayer would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you, and good day.
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I wish I could offer advise but any Christian is not going to think that gay, lesbian is not a sin in the eyes of God, we hate the sin but love the sinner like God said to do. That is any faithful Christian belief. Read the Gosples to get closer to Jesus. We all have to live in a liberal society but we have to realize that we are Christians and follow Christ and not man.
Keep praying to God , there may be a reason for him not answering the prayer you are praying, he knows whats best for you , and you need to continue to have faith that he will open the right doors for you. God Bless.
 
theratandthecat said:
I am raised a Catholic, but recently I have begun to question my faith. It’s partly due to my aunt and uncle, who house me with them. Whenever they attempt to explicate a phenomenon that has to do with the Catholic church (and they’re devout, by the way), their explanations do not make sense, and their stereotypical beliefs have driven me away from the faith. Part is because I’m living in a very liberal society, and last summer I met a group of scholars and spent time with them, and almost all of them were liberal, and view gay/ lesbian issues very openly.
I haven’t denounced the Catholic faith, but now I’m in a dire situation myself. Starting from last August to now, I have made some grievous mistakes in my academic and relationship way, and my goal to academics success is now in jeopardy. So many times I have prayed to the God and Saints, asking them to not help me screwed up, and for me to achieve my goal, but so far, nothing has come up. I was denied admission to one university which I thought I could have easily got in. Desperately, I prayed more and more, asking God for only one sign that He had heard my prayers. Nothing. My faith is shaken. I’m questioning whether there is a God, and if there is, would he hear me? How do I know? I’m suffering from great anxiety, and I dread having five years of studying go to a waste.
I don’t want to leave my faith at all, and so I’m trying to hold on in every attempt I could. Please share with me your story of odd beatings with the help of God, and if possible, a Hail Mary and Padre Pio prayer would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you, and good day.
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That’s a common problem. You are raised by old people who have their own faith. Then you go to atheists Universities and you doubt.

In short: God id not dead. Atheist University Teachers cannot kill God. Now you must joiin University Catholic organizations to help you connect Faith and Science.

Believe me forever: God does not contradict himself.
The God of Science is the same of the God of Faith.
It is the problem that we do not see.
But we must discover…
 
Well, when praying to God as if he were a Magic 8 Ball or giant Slot Machine in the Sky you will likely continue to receive the “answers” you are receiving now.

James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

I suggest you go talk to your priest and start working on spiritual direction. Learn how to build a real and solid relationship with God (perhaps your Aunt and Uncle whom you look down upon are on to something here and you could learn from them).
 
It has often been said - “One may loose one’s Faith before one actually finds it.”

This apparent union of opposites may initially make all the sense of a Zen koan, but if one thinks about it, it may indeed make sense.
 
My basic prayer is:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
Grant me the Wisdom and Strength to know and to do Your Will.
Not my will, but Your Will be done.
Our relationship with God should be one of trust; not one of demands or else I will leave you. Sometimes what we want is not what God wants for us. We cannot know for sure our future. We have to trust that God really does want what is best for us. IF we remain open to His Will, He will provide at the proper time. We have to demonstrate the courage of our convictions.

As for those who cannot express their beliefs clearly: Be patient with them. Buy a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and find answers there. Continue to attend Mass every Sunday and receive the Sacraments frequently.

As for the liberal views of educators: In the Air Force (In my part anyway), our polite term for BS was “fantastic.” My point is that quite often we realize we cannot speak our alternate view while also trying to build working relations needed for a successful career. Yet at the same time, we, in good conscience, cannot agree and promote such views. So we develop a number of non-commital responses. And sometimes we can change the subject to safer ground.

For specific guidance I hope you contact PJM.
 
theratandthecat said:
Thank to all of you.

@bscastro: It’s not in the way of grade, but more about course load-- something that college admission stresses. I asked God to be with me and help me not screw up, that help me so that every action that I take academically would lead to my success. So I went ahead and chose something which I completely regret. It wasn’t like I acted on my own, but at that time of choosing my schedule, I did ask God to help me.
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Did you take too many classes? If so, and you haven’t missed the drop date, drop some.
Did you procrastinate and get super far behind? If so, and you haven’t missed the drop date, drop the ones you’re least likely to pass.

If you can’t drop classes, all you can do is make the best of your situation.

I’m the queen of royally screwing up with school, and getting myself out of trouble. If you elaborate more on what your situation is, I can likely help you work through it. It could take a bit though. I’m writing a report I procrastinated on and was due a month ago.
 
theratandthecat said:
It’s not in the way of grade, but more about course load-- something that college admission stresses. I asked God to be with me and help me not screw up, that help me so that every action that I take academically would lead to my success. So I went ahead and chose something which I completely regret. It wasn’t like I acted on my own, but at that time of choosing my schedule, I did ask God to help me.
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Understand that whether you should take a certain curriculum in college is up to you to figure out with the help of a competent school counselor. Whether someone wants to choose between opening a bakery or an ice cream parlor is God gave you an intelligence to seek proper advice for these temporal things.

***God’s only will for you ***is that you may become holy and allow Him to weave saintliness in your heart so that you may become a saint within your state in life—and become an instrument of His grace for the salvation of souls. We pray to do His will.

Don’t reduce your faith to what God can do for you so that you may become successful, and collapse when God doesn’t rubber stamp your blueprints. That is missing the entire point of Christianity…

Here is a great talk about how to dialogue with God
 
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