Passing out during adoration

[andante]

Hi guys,

newbie here So I passed out during adoration today, and actually it was the third time already since I joined the church last May. Before I blamed the hot weather, but it’s so cold now we’re wearing our overcoats inside the church!

This is what happened: we were praying for the souls of the departed, many, many names and I tried to focus as hard as I could to individually bless them in my heart. I felt so much love inside me I started to feel dizzy. Then I felt something really warm behind my both ears, lost my hearing for a moment, felt even more dizzy, and as I had my eyes closed it felt like I had fallen asleep for a second or two- I saw lots of gold and bright light, and I felt like I was floating. When I came back, I was sitting on the bench and people were rubbing my hands and bringing me water. I had bumped my lip to the bench, but other than that I felt fine, a little bit surreal to be honest. I wasn’t scared at all, actually I think the people around me were more worried about me than I was. I felt like I had visited another place just for a blink of an eye.

According to my doctor I’m in perfect health, so my question is this: do people really pass out during adoration because of Holy Spirit? If so, what should one do? Talk to a priest? This is pretty heavy for me as I’m not used to any kind of charismatic movements.

Thanks in advance!

 

[blueshells]

Hi guys,

newbie here So I passed out during adoration today, and actually it was the third time already since I joined the church last May. Before I blamed the hot weather, but it’s so cold now we’re wearing our overcoats inside the church!

This is what happened: we were praying for the souls of the departed, many, many names and I tried to focus as hard as I could to individually bless them in my heart. I felt so much love inside me I started to feel dizzy. Then I felt something really warm behind my both ears, lost my hearing for a moment, felt even more dizzy, and as I had my eyes closed it felt like I had fallen asleep for a second or two- I saw lots of gold and bright light, and I felt like I was floating. When I came back, I was sitting on the bench and people were rubbing my hands and bringing me water. I had bumped my lip to the bench, but other than that I felt fine, a little bit surreal to be honest. I wasn’t scared at all, actually I think the people around me were more worried about me than I was. I felt like I had visited another place just for a blink of an eye.

According to my doctor I’m in perfect health, so my question is this: do people really pass out during adoration because of Holy Spirit? If so, what should one do? Talk to a priest? This is pretty heavy for me as I’m not used to any kind of charismatic movements.

Thanks in advance!

It happens to me a lot! Were you kneeling? The blood can sometimes get trapped in your lower legs and reduce blood flow to your brain. Changing positions helps me.

 

[svid2]

Pax Christi!

It happens to me, too. When I start to feel dozy, I get up and move around. Consider caffeine.

God bless!

 

[guiltyofdoubt]

I go to adoration for an hour every other week. My assigned hour is from 10-11 pm at night. This isn’t really very late, but it is late enough that I can get very drowsy, and as the previous poster said, I also must get up and walk around.

The adoration chapel is small, dim, and very warm. It is also very quiet, as you can imagine. I am normally there alone. I am reminded of the disciples that fell asleep while with the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

[SighGuy]

Well… I don’t want to be a downer here, but I really would just be careful about that sort of thing. I am unaware of any instance anywhere of instances where the Holy Spirit made people pass out and hurt their lip.

Personally I would plan on anticipating these sorts of fits. You could seriously get hurt if you pass out and smash your head onto a hard tile floor. I get that you maybe have a positive feeling about it, and I’m sympathetic towards that, but I don’t think the feeling of euphoria that you’re getting necessarily translates into the action of the Holy Spirit. Many things are euphoric that have nothing or little to do with God.

Take for example the folks who go speaking in tongues in those charismatic churches. They’re euphoric, too, but we don’t really think they’re being moved by the Holy Spirit. They’re working themselves up into some sort of frenzy and psychological state that makes them feel that way. I would say you should treat this the same way, and if it really is some sort of gift, somehow, then God will let you know.

Talk with a priest also, just for some more perspective.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Hi guys,

newbie here So I passed out during adoration today, and actually it was the third time already since I joined the church last May. Before I blamed the hot weather, but it’s so cold now we’re wearing our overcoats inside the church!

This is what happened: we were praying for the souls of the departed, many, many names and I tried to focus as hard as I could to individually bless them in my heart. I felt so much love inside me I started to feel dizzy. Then I felt something really warm behind my both ears, lost my hearing for a moment, felt even more dizzy, and as I had my eyes closed it felt like I had fallen asleep for a second or two- I saw lots of gold and bright light, and I felt like I was floating. When I came back, I was sitting on the bench and people were rubbing my hands and bringing me water. I had bumped my lip to the bench, but other than that I felt fine, a little bit surreal to be honest. I wasn’t scared at all, actually I think the people around me were more worried about me than I was. I felt like I had visited another place just for a blink of an eye.

According to my doctor I’m in perfect health, so my question is this: do people really pass out during adoration because of Holy Spirit? If so, what should one do? Talk to a priest? This is pretty heavy for me as I’m not used to any kind of charismatic movements.

Thanks in advance!

Did you tell your Doctor about this?

Pax
Linus2nd

 

[Jerome1974]

Sighguy and Linusthe 2nd have good ideas. Telling the doctor about these specific events would be helpful on one end, and telling a priest would be as well from another. It happened to me as an altar boy once during the Eucharistic Consecration when I was a kid, the other alter server poked me when it was time to stand and brought me back. I told the deacon, who was a RN and was helping celebrate that mass, about it; he suggested low blood sugar. It never happened again, and being a typical kid, I never thought about it again. Having said that, it’s possible that God, being the Supreme Being, works in mysterious ways, but to avoid being led astray be any influence, talk to a priest.

 

[NeedsMercy]

I agree with the other posters who advise speaking to your doctor. What you’re describing is something I feel when I go hypoglycemic (I have Type 2 diabetes). Do you eat anything prior to adoration? If you don’t, you should. Go to the doc and get some bloodwork done. If this still happens, go back. I don’t mean to scare you, but passing out is not normal. It could be some form of seizure or vascular disorder. Rule out all the un-supernatural reasons first. Once you have done this, then you can consider the supernatural ones.

 

[paperwight66]

Extreme emotions can cause fainting.

I’d imagine most of us have seen footage of girls passing-out at Beatles concerts.

 

[andante]

Thank you guys so much!

I was kneeling down and it must be the reason for this, my circulation has never been too good (I get cold easily). I also found this conversation to back up that theory:

fisheaters.com/forums/index.php?topic=2008513.0;wap2

So I must change positions next time The people who were helping me were really kind but they were also part of some praying group, and started talking about how “every once in a while Holy Spirit knocks people down during adoration” and they asked me to come and pray with them because they felt I experienced God or sth. (I didn’t go as I had made other plans)

And no, I’m not disappointed- because how I understand it, everything holy is peace and serenity, one is not supposed to get hurt! What kind of shepherd would bruise their sheep to let them know he’s present!

Have a wonderful Advent everybody! Thanks again for your rational answers! :grouphug:

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

I agree with the other posters who advise speaking to your doctor. What you’re describing is something I feel when I go hypoglycemic (I have Type 2 diabetes). Do you eat anything prior to adoration? If you don’t, you should. Go to the doc and get some bloodwork done. If this still happens, go back. I don’t mean to scare you, but passing out is not normal. It could be some form of seizure or vascular disorder. Rule out all the un-supernatural reasons first. Once you have done this, then you can consider the supernatural ones.

I agree. I was going through the same thing and went to doctor after doctor who told me that I’m fine and that it’s just anxiety from exams. Less than a week later I was in emergency with a resting HR of 144 BPM, lost 30 lbs of muscle and bunch of other stuff. Doctors ran a bunch of tests and turned out I had an emergency case of hyperthyroidism.

 

[SighGuy]

Well, now I’m wondering if I said too much the one way. Sometimes bad things do happen during holy times. Jesus and Mary are the prime examples of following the will of the Father and they suffered intensely for doing so (although they were later glorified).

It’s just I was leery about superstition making an entry into your spiritual life.

May God bless you and keep you!

 

[andante]

After giving this more thought, I think there are both sides present: the main cause for the fainting was probably physical but there is a spiritual side to it too. I am not superstitious at all, that’s why charismatic movements feel so strange to me, but I do feel God and Jesus and Mary and the saints in every day and it’s a wonderful, fruitful relationship. But the feeling of love that I get during adoration is very powerful, and combined with poor circulation and an unhealthy position it is no wonder I fainted.

Yes, the suffering is a part of my spiritual life as well but it is more to do with the mind than the body. For example I have lost many close relatives and members of my immediate family in a short period of time, and for some reason it has only increased my faith.

have a good week everybody