Seeking Inner Peace

[JosephSharon]

Hello:

I am 17-years-old. My family is Roman Catholic, although not religious. I was baptized a Catholic and received my first communion. I went to mass regularly in Catholic middle school, but my family and I have been to mass together perhaps five times in my life - and not at all in the past ten years or so. I was not “confirmed” in the faith, which should have taken place last year.

I grew up mostly without religion. The concept of a deity simply never occurred to me. I never thought about it and felt no reason to have such a belief in my life. After having gone to public elementary school, I was sent to Catholic middle school in the 7th grade. I was immersed in Catholicism. I “jumped on board” rather quickly and became a strong adherent to the faith. My faith was strong for the next three years. However, over the past few years, my faith has diminished to the point where I would now consider myself an atheist.

I am desperately seeking “answers.” I need to attain inner peace. My primary reason for needing religion is so that I can have a belief in the afterlife - this is simply a need that I have. I find myself unable to “believe” in Christianity or a deity at all, regardless of how hard I make myself try.

I am seeking inner peace. I need to recapture my faith, either through Christianity or through Judaism - those are the only two options that i’m exploring… I surmise that if there is a “correct” religion, it is one of the two.

Please convince me that God exists. Give me any shred of anything, onto which I can latch. I need something beyond “you must have faith.” That is what everyone else had told me. That is not good enough for me.

Thank you very much.

 

[Lamafacaja]

Hi Joseph,
Welcome. The fact that you care at all is extremely encouraging. Many your age don’t really care about the existence of God. I know at your age I was pretty much that way; I didn’t care. Instead I was onto the next “fun” thing or “cool” thing to go and do. But these things turn out to be never enough. We were made for more. We were made for a life with God. We’re hard wired for that and we can never be happy, regardless of our personal circumstances–good or bad–apart from Him.

You wrote that, "After having gone to public elementary school, I was sent to Catholic middle school in the 7th grade. I was immersed in Catholicism. I “jumped on board” rather quickly and became a strong adherent to the faith. My faith was strong for the next three years. However, over the past few years, my faith has diminished to the point where I would now consider myself an atheist. "

What happened at that point? Did you switch schools again?

All I suggest say is that if you immerse yourself in Catholicism, and you will have a life of grace. Call your local priest, or email him and let him know your situation. Saturate yourself in it. Get to Confession, get to Mass, receive Holy Communion, get Confirmed, pray the Rosary, read the lives of the saints, read the Baltimore Catechism.

These things, that the Church offers us have saved my life. It’s not always an easy life, because it contradicts what the world wants to give us, but it is a very blessed life.

 

[Charmian]

Hi

There are two very good books for your age group.
Both are by Amy Welborn.
One is **Prove it! Church **and the other is Prove it! God.

They are not very high brow or complicated - just a good starting point on the questions you may feel that you can’t ask.
Also remember; it doesn’t matter where you have been, God waits for you to find him - he hasn’t been missing - you’ve been missing from him; and now you are starting to miss him.

 

[JosephSharon]

Hi Joseph,
Welcome. The fact that you care at all is extremely encouraging. Many your age don’t really care about the existence of God. I know at your age I was pretty much that way; I didn’t care. Instead I was onto the next “fun” thing or “cool” thing to go and do. But these things turn out to be never enough. We were made for more. We were made for a life with God. We’re hard wired for that and we can never be happy, regardless of our personal circumstances–good or bad–apart from Him.

You wrote that, "After having gone to public elementary school, I was sent to Catholic middle school in the 7th grade. I was immersed in Catholicism. I “jumped on board” rather quickly and became a strong adherent to the faith. My faith was strong for the next three years. However, over the past few years, my faith has diminished to the point where I would now consider myself an atheist. "

What happened at that point? Did you switch schools again?

All I suggest say is that if you immerse yourself in Catholicism, and you will have a life of grace. Call your local priest, or email him and let him know your situation. Saturate yourself in it. Get to Confession, get to Mass, receive Holy Communion, get Confirmed, pray the Rosary, read the lives of the saints, read the Baltimore Catechism.

These things, that the Church offers us have saved my life. It’s not always an easy life, because it contradicts what the world wants to give us, but it is a very blessed life.

I suppose that I began, over time, to think of Christianity more as a fairly tale as I became more and more familiarized with science… the two now seem incompatible. Rather, science and the existence of a deity seem incompatible.

 

[Lancer]

Your heart sounds more in (legitimate) doubt than absolute atheism.

I won’t tell you to just have faith…I will recommend something “concrete”…find a Catholic Church that has Eucharistic Adoration (usually in a side/attached chapel of the main assembly/Sanctuary for Holy Mass)…go and make a visit…try for 20-30 minutes.

Once in the chapel sit and tell Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (whether you believe that he is there or not)…exactly what is on your mind and heart…give him all your needs/questions…then sit and be quiet…enjoy the quiet…and wait in peace…for him to answer/help you.

You can do this with…great expectation or…absolute pessimism and cynicism. If you are totally honest with the Lord…and have a true desire to really know if He as Lord and God…the Divine Man, really exists and loves you…let him worry about the “faith” and “proof” things. He will definitely look intently upon your face and…He will reach out and touch your heart…you will still have the option to reject him and go your own way…but if you accept him…you will change forever! Its your will…its your call!..but always remember that your life and your being and your existence…are always His…you can’t exist without him…whether you believe in Him or not!

So my charge/advice/recommendation to you…comes not from the bible or the Catholic Church…but from Nike…Just Do It!..then hang on to your “hat”!!

Pax Christi

 

[Lamafacaja]

I suppose that I began, over time, to think of Christianity more as a fairly tale as I became more and more familiarized with science… the two now seem incompatible. Rather, science and the existence of a deity seem incompatible.

Really? How so? How does science exclude God? Science can’t explain everything, can it?

When I was your age I thought Catholicism was a fairy tale too, in fact I used exactly those words. But in retrospect it was more because I was never properly educated in the faith. I always believed in God, but just wasn’t sure exactly what that meant back then. I wasn’t sure who or what God was. Of course, we can never know God completely, because He’s infinite, but we can know what He wants for us in this life, through Jesus Christ and His Church.

 

[FidesSpesCarita]

Hello:

I am 17-years-old. My family is Roman Catholic, although not religious. I was baptized a Catholic and received my first communion. I went to mass regularly in Catholic middle school, but my family and I have been to mass together perhaps five times in my life - and not at all in the past ten years or so. I was not “confirmed” in the faith, which should have taken place last year.

I grew up mostly without religion. The concept of a deity simply never occurred to me. I never thought about it and felt no reason to have such a belief in my life. After having gone to public elementary school, I was sent to Catholic middle school in the 7th grade. I was immersed in Catholicism. I “jumped on board” rather quickly and became a strong adherent to the faith. My faith was strong for the next three years. However, over the past few years, my faith has diminished to the point where I would now consider myself an atheist.

I am desperately seeking “answers.” I need to attain inner peace. My primary reason for needing religion is so that I can have a belief in the afterlife - this is simply a need that I have. I find myself unable to “believe” in Christianity or a deity at all, regardless of how hard I make myself try.

I am seeking inner peace. I need to recapture my faith, either through Christianity or through Judaism - those are the only two options that i’m exploring… I surmise that if there is a “correct” religion, it is one of the two.

Please convince me that God exists. Give me any shred of anything, onto which I can latch. I need something beyond “you must have faith.” That is what everyone else had told me. That is not good enough for me.

Thank you very much.

The first step to inner peace is to stop striving for it. Instead, do as others suggest and immerse yourself in the Catholic Church. Read everything!!! When it comes to the papal encyclicals, the CCC, or the writings of the saints you should be like (and please pardon this turn of phrase) a fat kid is with cake. I would suggest you start with St. Liguori in his work on uniformity with God’s Will.

The only thing that will bring you true peace is attempting to do God’s will. To try to do YOUR will is like a square peg trying to force itself into a round hole. God gave you a purpose, a vocation, in life and until you work toward that (in some sense and in small ways) peace will continue to evade you.

Good luck, and I will be praying for you.

FSC

 

[reggieM]

It might help to question yourself on why you do not believe. Then seek to resolve those issues. Catholic reading, Catholic teachers, Catholic associates … they can help you through discussion.

Some basic foundations supporting the existence of God:

1. The argument from First Cause (nothingness cannot produce something).
2. Arguments from existence of Being – (where does existence come from?)
3. Ultimate meaning and purpose in life require an afterlife (you already see the truth in this)
4. The moral argument (if there is no God, then everything is permitted, Pascal’s Wager).
5. Evidence of Design, Purpose, Intentionality, Plan in the universe (Fine Tuning, Intelligent Design, Teleology)
6. The Religious Argument (Millions of believers, many more intelligent and accomplished than you are, believe in God. How do you explain it?)
7. Origin and meaning of Goodness, Truth, Beauty - why do we know these things? what could they mean in a world created by blind, unintelligent, unconscious, purposeless laws and chance events?
8. The reliability of the Gospels - (the life and words of Jesus, His apostles, the saints following them, the Church)]
9. Miracles (Fatima, Guadalupe, Lourdes)
10. Catholic mysticism (stigmatists like St. Pio and others)
11. Monasticism and Contemplative Spirituality (the Desert Fathers, Benedictines, Carthusians – what does it mean? how do you explain it?)

The point here is to consider each one and question yourself on why you reject what is proposed.

 

[Student09]

This may sound like a strange recommendation, but I think you should read St. Augustine’s Confessions. He was raised by a Catholic mother and non-Catholic father, and was not baptized as a child; as an adult, he sought the truth in various places, and finally converted to the Catholic faith. In the Confessions, he combines the story of his life with prayers and theological arguments for the existence of God and the truth of Catholicism. It ends with his theological investigations of ideas such as time and the creation of the universe.

The book may be a little hard for you to get into (it was for me) but if you get past the first few chapters, you will start to get into it. I can’t recommend it enough.

BTW, I am only a few years older than you and was raised without any religion; I’m now converting to Catholicism. The Confessions was one of the first Catholic books that I read (other than the Bible - which I also recommend, if you haven’t read it. Read the New Testament beginning with the Gospels. They are vivid and real, not at all like a fairy tale in my opinion. It’s good to keep in mind, too, if the Gospels speak to you, that they are, in a sense, the “difference” between Judaism and Christianity).

 

[Student09]

I wanted to post this, too, from the very beginning of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The last italicized part is actually an excerpt from Augustine’s Confessions:

The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:

*The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.1

28 In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being:

From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being."2

29 But this “intimate and vital bond of man to God” (GS 19 § 1) can be forgotten, overlooked, or even explicitly rejected by man.3 Such attitudes can have different causes: revolt against evil in the world; religious ignorance or indifference; the cares and riches of this world; the scandal of bad example on the part of believers; currents of thought hostile to religion; finally, that attitude of sinful man which makes him hide from God out of fear and flee his call.4

30 "Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice."5 Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, “an upright heart”, as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God.

*You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you*.

Keep seeking peace - and you will find Him.

 

[aspirant]

All I suggest say is that if you immerse yourself in Catholicism, and you will have a life of grace. Call your local priest, or email him and let him know your situation. Saturate yourself in it. Get to Confession, get to Mass, receive Holy Communion, get Confirmed, pray the Rosary, read the lives of the saints, read the Baltimore Catechism.

There are two very good books for your age group.
Both are by Amy Welborn.
One is **Prove it! Church **and the other is Prove it! God.

For books regarding the "why"s of Christian faith, I would especially recommend starting with The Best Things in Life, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, and Christianity for Modern Pagans by Peter Kreeft. I think someone who is 17 should be old enough to read these with understanding. Catholicism for Dummies wouldn’t hurt either.

I also agree with Lamafacaja’s post on this point: someone who is 17 is old enough to get into serious spiritual disciplines, and I think they would prove helpful. These should include daily prayer & meditation, Mass at least weekly, regular participation in the sacrament of reconciliation, engaging in fast and abstinence when appropriate to the liturgical calendar, doing corporal and spiritual works of mercy, etc. Reading the lives and writings of the saints and reading the scriptures regularly would also be a good practice.

The Rosary is a good recommendation for daily prayer & meditation. Others might include the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Jesus Prayer, lectio divina, etc.

I suppose that I began, over time, to think of Christianity more as a fairly tale as I became more and more familiarized with science… the two now seem incompatible. Rather, science and the existence of a deity seem incompatible.

My perspective is the opposite: the more familiar I’ve become with authentic Christian theology and science, the more convinced I am that claims regarding their “incompatibility” are based on faulty knowledge of one, the other, or both. We Catholics do not, for example, believe in a god-of-the-gaps.

 

[JosephSharon]

There are some things about Judeo-Christianity that I no longer understand or can no longer rationalize:

When are human beings given souls? At conception? What about humans who are never conceived? …or is it God’s will what human beings are conceived and born, and only those beings are given souls?

Why is it that the Torah and the Holy Bible speak of human beings as though we are the supreme beings in the universe or somehow special? In a universe that is composed of billions of solar systems, we must assume that there are more advanced beings than us. Is it possible, perhaps, that the Torah/Holy Bible was intended only for the consumption of human beings on earth… and that He may have communicated with other advanced beings on a planet billions of lightyears away from here, as well? On that point, why would He choose to communicate only with humans, rather than with less-advanced life forms like squirrels or raccoons… because we are the only life forms on earth with the capability of understanding Him?

Assuming that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is sound, all life evolved from a single-celled organism, billions of years ago. If this is so, did this organism have a soul? At what point did life forms begin receiving souls? Did the evolutionary predecessors to human beings receive souls, as well? Do animals like squirrels or raccoons receive souls? If not, what makes human beings so special? Why do we receive souls but my dog does not?

Belief in science and in religion, simultaneously, seem incompatible to me. Assuming that souls exist, would our souls be our human consciousness… our minds? Given what I know about psychiatric medicine, human consciousness and our minds are products of the brain. When we die, our brain dies, as well, and we no longer retain any consciousness.

Who created God? Why did God create the universe and how could there have been nothing there before that point? Must we simply dismiss these questions as being beyond the realm of understanding by human beings?

Has anyone ever considered that it is possible that there are life forms in the universe that descended from the same single-celled organisms from which we’ve sprung, that have unimaginable, “god-like” powers? …such as, potentially, the power to simply will things into existing?

 

[aspirant]

When are human beings given souls? At conception?

Catholics believe the soul is united with the body from the first moment of its existence.

What about humans who are never conceived?

If they were never conceived, they never existed, and you’re not actually asking about anyone real.

Why is it that the Torah and the Holy Bible

These are not two separate things. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch or “Books of Moses.”

Why is it that the Torah and the Holy Bible speak of human beings as though we are the supreme beings in the universe or somehow special?

When we look at other earthly beings, we find that we are different. Both humans and canines have bodies, but our bodies manifest a dimension of inner life they do not share. The Bible affirms these observable differences and discusses their source.

I’ve thought of another book you might enjoy: Guide for the Perplexed by E. F. Schumacher.

In a universe that is composed of billions of solar systems, we must assume that there are more advanced beings than us.

That doesn’t actually follow. But it’s not really relevant to our own responsibilities here on earth, either.

Is it possible, perhaps, that the Torah/Holy Bible was intended only for the consumption of human beings on earth… and that He may have communicated with other advanced beings on a planet billions of lightyears away from here, as well?

Yes. If you enjoy science fiction, you might enjoy the first two books of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. This is one of the questions on which the books speculate, within a fictional context.

why would He choose to communicate only with humans, rather than with less-advanced life forms like squirrels or raccoons… because we are the only life forms on earth with the capability of understanding Him?

What makes you think God does not communicate with squirrels, inasmuch as they are capable?

Assuming that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is sound, all life evolved from a single-celled organism, billions of years ago. If this is so, did this organism have a soul?

Evolutionary biologists do not usually describe their views as Darwinian. Theories of evolution have been modified a lot since Darwin’s day.

Regarding the second question, Catholics believe that all living beings have a soul, a life principle. The Latin word for soul, anima, is the root of words like “animal” (e.g. squirrels) and “animate” (living). What kind of soul a living being has depends on what kind of being it is.

Why do we receive souls but my dog does not?

Your dog does have a soul. Not a rational one, but a real canine soul.

human consciousness and our minds are products of the brain.

Their physical expression is in some ways subject to the brain’s function. I don’t think that’s necessarilythe same thing.

Who created God?

God is his own existence. This is one of those questions that the books I recommended (e.g. Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft) would help you with.

Why did God create the universe

Only divine revelation can answer this question.

Must we simply dismiss these questions as being beyond the realm of understanding by human beings?

No. In fact, Christianity encourages us to ask questions like these.

Has anyone ever considered that it is possible that there are life forms in the universe that descended from the same single-celled organisms from which we’ve sprung

Yes.

the power to simply will things into existing?

This is a power beyond any being whose essence is distinct from its existence.

 

[Student09]

I don’t have much time, but here goes - my comments are in bold.

There are some things about Judeo-Christianity that I no longer understand or can no longer rationalize:

When are human beings given souls? At conception? What about humans who are never conceived? …or is it God’s will what human beings are conceived and born, and only those beings are given souls?

Lol - please give an example of a human being who was not conceived!

Why is it that the Torah and the Holy Bible speak of human beings as though we are the supreme beings in the universe or somehow special? In a universe that is composed of billions of solar systems, we must assume that there are more advanced beings than us.

That’s some very flawed logic.

Is it possible, perhaps, that the Torah/Holy Bible was intended only for the consumption of human beings on earth… and that He may have communicated with other advanced beings on a planet billions of lightyears away from here, as well? On that point, why would He choose to communicate only with humans, rather than with less-advanced life forms like squirrels or raccoons… because we are the only life forms on earth with the capability of understanding Him?

We are the only life-forms on earth that have spiritual, intellectual souls. Squirrels and raccoons have souls (evidenced by the fact that they are alive), but not spiritual ones.

Assuming that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is sound, all life evolved from a single-celled organism, billions of years ago. If this is so, did this organism have a soul? At what point did life forms begin receiving souls? Did the evolutionary predecessors to human beings receive souls, as well? Do animals like squirrels or raccoons receive souls? If not, what makes human beings so special? Why do we receive souls but my dog does not?

Well, we don’t HAVE to assume that Darwin’s theory is sound. It is a theory. If some theory of evolution (not necessarily Darwin’s) is correct, it could mean that human beings evolved through a long period of time, having the same sorts of souls as animals, and when God chose to, he gave human beings spiritual souls. And by the way … where would that first single-celled organism have come from? Where would the thing it came from have come from? Etc etc.

Belief in science and in religion, simultaneously, seem incompatible to me. Assuming that souls exist, would our souls be our human consciousness… our minds? Given what I know about psychiatric medicine, human consciousness and our minds are products of the brain. When we die, our brain dies, as well, and we no longer retain any consciousness.

Our brains are not our souls. How do you know that when someone dies, their soul is not still in existence separate from the body?

Who created God? Why did God create the universe and how could there have been nothing there before that point? Must we simply dismiss these questions as being beyond the realm of understanding by human beings?

Nobody created God. God created the universe out of love, because God is love. Also, there was no “before” the creation - because God had not yet created time. (This is the answer given by St. Augustine in his Confessions.) And yes, some things are beyond the realm of our understanding - they are mysteries! That doesn’t mean we can’t think about them, though - we can contemplate them in wonder.

Has anyone ever considered that it is possible that there are life forms in the universe that descended from the same single-celled organisms from which we’ve sprung, that have unimaginable, “god-like” powers? …such as, potentially, the power to simply will things into existing?

This is incredibly speculative and I wouldn’t stake the salvation of my immortal soul on such speculation. That said, you still have the problem of infinite regression. Where did those life forms come from? And the things they came from, where did that come from? Etc etc.

 

[MtnDwellar]

Having faith does not let you know that there is a God. No one can convince you that God exists. The only way to know that there is a God is to experience Him. Try it

 

[Student09]

Having faith does not let you know that there is a God.

Say what? Please explain … what is your definition of faith?

 

[JosephSharon]

…so do squirrels and raccoons and my dog go to Heaven, if they have souls?

My main interest in retrieving my lost faith is so that I can once again believe in the afterlife.

 

[Student09]

…so do squirrels and raccoons and my dog go to Heaven, if they have souls?

My main interest in retrieving my lost faith is so that I can once again believe in the afterlife.

We don’t really know that, but it is generally thought that they don’t go to Heaven and will not be resurrected.

I’m curious … why do you want to believe in the afterlife? Is it just because you’re afraid of dying? Because, Heaven is not a place where you spend eternity; it is God, with Whom you spend eternity (if you choose to). I think you will have a difficult time convincing yourself that there is an afterlife, if your search is not founded on a love for God, or at least the desire to love God. I could be wrong, though. But I don’t think I am.

 

[MtnDwellar]

I wrote: “Having faith does not let you know that there is a God. No one can convince you that God exists. The only way to know that there is a God is to experience Him. Try it.”

Say what? Please explain … what is your definition of faith?

Faith is believing something for which there is no proof.

 

[Student09]

I wrote: “Having faith does not let you know that there is a God. No one can convince you that God exists. The only way to know that there is a God is to experience Him. Try it.”

Faith is believing something for which there is no proof.

I know what you wrote … obviously, I read it. I think your definition of faith is very simplistic. Faith is a theological virtue and a gift from God. It is supernatural. It is very precious. Think of all the people in the Gospels to whom Jesus said, “Your faith has made you whole.” And “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). That doesn’t mean we are completely blind; but since we are presently incapable of seeing God in His essence, we do need faith. “We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known.” (1 Cor. 13:12).