Saints who doubted their experiences?

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I know there are plenty of saints who struggled with doubt.

Are there saints who struggled specifically with spiritual experiences, with questioning whether it was really God speaking? For example: did Noah whole-heartedly believe, the whole time he was building the ark on sunny days, that God had told him to, or did he have many days, or was he even completely plagued with, the question of whether he was crazy and had imagined it all?
 
Noah isn’t really a saint because he lived in old testament times. Also I would discourage from taking the flood story to literally.

I think every saint had doubts, it’s in our nature to doubt and that doesn’t need the be a negative thing. If we had no doubts about things we would believe every nonsense we would hear, so doubt is necessary to think critically. Obviously it can be unhealthy too when someone has too many doubts.
If you want specific saints and their thoughts on this topic check out this:

 
Kullervo said:
Noah isn’t really a saint because he lived in old testament times.
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The righteous of the Old Testament most certainly are listed in the Roman Martyrology and venerated as saints.

-Fr ACEGC
 
St. Faustina spends pages and pages and pages and pages of her Diary angsting over the subject.
 
Ok, since they are never (as far as I know) referred to as St. Abraham, St. Moses etc. I thought they are not considered saints. I thought this term was used only after the resurrection.
 
I’ve celebrated the Mass of various Old Testament saints, in the older form of the Mass. I have an icon of Aaron in my office.
 
Poet said:
Are there saints who struggled specifically with spiritual experiences, with questioning whether it was really God speaking?
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One would argue that this would be the first and most prudent assumption most if not all of them made when discerning their spiritual experience. There are many, specific ways to discern is something is (a) supernatural and (b) from God.
Kullervo said:
I would discourage from taking the flood story too literally
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For a good starter, you can go to http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04702a.htm and read the section “Historicity of the biblical Deluge account” and forward from there.
 
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Kullervo said:
Ok, since they are never (as far as I know) referred to as St. Abraham, St. Moses etc. I thought they are not considered saints. I thought this term was used only after the resurrection.
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Maybe you are thinking of the canonisation process which only began in the year 993.
Prior to that saints were chosen through public opinion.

As for the Old Testament see the response of edward_george1above.
 
midori said:
St. Faustina spends pages and pages and pages and pages of her Diary angsting over the subject.
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Many thanks. I believe I have her book around but if not, it gives me a place to start. This is exactly what I’m looking for.
 
The year 993 is the year that the city I live was first mentioned in a written document.
 
Usually this is something discerned within the Church, and at a personal level a spiritual director plays a fundamental role.

Two names come to mind who lay down major teachings in this area: St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. John of the Cross.

To start, you may want to read something like " Private Revelation: Discerning with the Church" by Dr. Miravalle, and at the personal level, “The Discernment of Spirits” by Fr. Gallagher OMV, who also authored “Discerning the Will of God”.

Here’s an interesting article.
 
Look.

If you don’t have doubts, you aren’t a saint, but insane.

It is the nature of faith that we are taking a leap. If you never question this, it isn’t faith, but something else.

hawk
 
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