Total faith crisis-help!

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wild_thing

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I am really, really struggling. I mean, I’ve been struggling since I reverted back to the faith six years ago (has it been that long?!) but now I am almost ready to walk out on the Church and not look back. I have recently received news that is a huge blow to my faith. I now have zero confidence in my archdiocese, my parish priests, or any of my past confessors, and I am even angry with God. I feel as if I have done everything a ‘good Catholic’ should do in my situation and absolutely nothing has helped. I do not like the victim mentality and wish to avoid it, but honestly right now I feel betrayed by everyone in the Church, and especially by God.

I am having a dreadful time praying because I have lost confidence and faith that God is even listening to me or gives a **** what happens to me. But I must have a little shard of belief somewhere since I am asking for your help. Please pray that God may send someone to help me, if that is His will; that I get through this rocky time; and probably that I have more humility in my crisis and in my personality that I obviously lack. Thanks everybody for what prayers you can spare.
 
Might we know what transpired that caused you a serious blow to your faith? What happened that made you lose trust in the Clergy in your Archdiocese?
 
I think everyone’s faith is shattered or at least tested at various points in life. The church is full of sinners, aft all.
I will pray that God strengthens your faith.
 
**Wild Thing,
I am going through one hell of a time too. I too feel like the battle is
lost, but reading your post has helped me. I am not alone and neither
are you. I will offer a Holy Hour four you today; even if I can’t pray
for myself I have Faith I can pray for you! Hang in there! help is on
the way.
♰ Dan
**
 
I have been recently watching ‘Living the Discerning Life’ on EWTN - ewtn.com/series/shows/living-the-discerning-life/index.asp

Fr. Gallagher goes over the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola of how how to deal with times of spiritual consolation and desolation. You sound like you may be going through the latter.

You may want to watch that or read some of Fr. Gallagher’s writings on the issue. Just the simple fact that the times of consolation and desolation are normal and that everyone goes through them in different degrees may help you in knowing that you aren’t alone or unique in what you are going through.

I pray that you find your way through this crisis.
 
This may feel a bit basic, but really go through psalm 23. Make it real to you and talk it to God putting in your feelings at the various places. Spend time now with God just being totally you. Yes, its okay to feel and be angry. It is natural. What you have said here, share it with God with the same feeling.
Try not to walk away from church just yet though admittedly that may seem quite hard to do is to stay put. Have a little time away then go back. Not quit but a formal holiday, without going anywhere. Don’t look around at other churches. Just spend some time without going to church anywhere and watch your relationship with God very closely. Make a deal with God and give yourself two or three weeks off but knowing you will go back to that church on that day. Talk to your priest, honestly about how you feeling at the moment and he may well be suprisingly supportive.
I did and got a good book to read challenging though it is. The easy part is just reading it. The harder part is thinking things through.
I will pray for you for many of us do go through times of struggle with our faith and find someone we can trust and talk to. I am so glad for my recent mini struggle as am reading an excellent book called The Christlike God. It doesn’t give me any answers but helps me to think things through as covers all the questions I emailed to parish priest. Its an English book. It is about faith but whether its where you are at I don’t know.
But try and put yourself into Psalm 23 and really use it. What have you got to loose? I am Anglican by the way.
 
**Again I saw that under the sun
the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong,
nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to the intelligent,
nor favor to men of skill,
but TIME and CHANCE happen to them all.

+Ecclesiastes **

And since the above is inspired, infallible SCRIPTURE, read what it says
over and over. Chew on it.
With the above in mind,
what are we to make of other scriptural claims of God’s active, providential care???
In some ways, I seem to see God helping me (esp with repenting of sexual sin, etc.)
but in other ways, I have experienced God, when I was repentant, allowing me to make errors, utterly unknowingly and unintentionally, which could have gotten other people harmed extremely gravely. And not only that, there was NO righteous solution to the problem available to me, so I had to settle for the lesser of two wrongs, confess the lesser of two wrongs in confession, and then have thousands of Catholics pray for the safety of those people. That was, literally, ALL I could do, and I am extremely surprised and disillusioned at our Lord for permitting such a situation to happen to me. It would not have cost Him one iota of energy or effort to direct my thoughts to the realization of the errors I was about to make. So why did He do this to me???
How COULD he do that to me, when I was trusting in Him and striving everyday to be prayerful and faithful???
I too, just DO NOT understand, and my ability to trust, also, is about 98.5% shattered.
I hope everyone on these forums will pray for the O.P.
I would advise the Original Poster to pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy everyday, repeatedly, for the restoration of His Faith.
Christ has promised that if you pray that Chaplet, you WILL receive His grace.
That’s why I pray it, over and over and over again, for THAT intention and others.
So, I’m trusting in his promise. If I don’t receive the Graces he promises in that Chaplet, at least I will know that it is not my fault, because I prayed that prayer over and over trusting in His promise to grant His Grace to all who pray it. And I continue to pray it. And to pray for others. And give alms. Etc.
((Please forgive the down-ness of this post, but I am extremely anxiety-stricken today,
despite having taken my medication)).
 
Awwwww… do you think you may be going through a Dark Night?? Wow, that is a very special time in your life when your faith can soar… Anyone feel free to jump in and correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t this the time when Christ asks you to surrender your will to Him and His family on Earth without any “mixed motivations” of expectations in return? It’s about perpetual giving to each other, between the Saviour and the one who is being saved, and that perpetual giving brings the two hearts together. If the relationship were reduced down to an exchange of goods (physical or spiritual), then that is not a Covenant-type relationship – it is more of a contractual utilitarian one. This is your opportunity to show God that no matter what, you are willing to devote your whole life to Him!! If Christ asked you to do something for Him, would it matter how much pain you went through to give it to Him?

Regarding the Church, there is a lot of craziness going on in the world, and even though it is not perfect, it is still God’s gift to us as our home away from Home. It is literally a Noah’s Ark right now. Our world is descending into moral chaos, and we need the Catholic Church now more than ever.

God bless you… you are a good person and brave for seeking help in these dark times… you are not alone. We will be praying for you!

God bless,
Jules
 
**If Christ asked you to do something for Him, would it matter how much pain you went through to give it to Him? **

That is a wonderful and extremely idealistic question.
The martyrs of the 1st 3 centuries of the church went through torture and hell.
I ask Christ every day to give me the strength, if necessary, to die for him
and for my family.
But without earth-shaking miracles, I know that I could never be faithful
under torture. I don’t think that, I know that. That’s why I ask Christ to be
faithful to him EVEN under torture, if necessary, and I pray it never comes to that.

BUT, even though I adore Christ, I am not willing to be the cause of
pain to OTHERS out of love for Christ, I mean innocent others who, if I suffered,
would suffer horribly and lose everything or end up on the street or whatever.
If that’s a sin in itself, so be it. I then ask the Lord to give me the grace to even
be willing to that, even though THAT would be DASTARDLY.
 
We are told to have faith like that of Abraham.
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Abraham complied,
right up to the point of raising the knife above Isaac’s body, when the angel
stopped him.
But let’s not compare everybody’s tests to the test given to Abraham.
LET US REMEMBER that God had previously PROMISED Abraham that
his SEED would come through Isaac. Abraham knew that that COULD NOT HAPPEN
if Isaac were killed and left in a state of death. So Abraham had reason to believe
that God would bring Isaac back to life.

We, personally, rarely if EVER receive personal promises from God like that.
Everybody talks about how brave the Virgin Mary was, when she, out of loving charity for Elizabeth, braved 90 miles of poorly paved roads and the risk of being attacked and robbed by brigands as she made the journey from Nazareth to Elizabeth’s house in Judea. Not at all to malign the Blessed Mother’s generous and brave visit to Elizabeth,
let us remember that MARY, TOO, had been given a PERSONAL PROMISE from the ANGEL GABRIEL that she was going to give birth to, and raise, the Messiah the Son of God. So, when making this trip, Mary KNEW that she was going to be safe and survive the trip. The promise of God, made personally to her, guaranteed it.
Again, WE rarely, if EVER, receive such personal assurances from God.
And frankly, sometimes we darned well NEED THEM. I know I do.
 
Dear Wild Thing and Jaypeeto4, I have been where you both are and I am so grateful that I did come out of my Dark Night with renewed and strengthened faith. I will surely undergo many more Dark Nights however; I hope I have the clarity and the courage to come here for help and prayers. For you both:

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and, blessed is the Fruit of the womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.:gopray2:
 
Praying for you-- try at least to pray thr Our Father and the Hail Mary and if possible the Memorare. Put your troubles in Mary’s lap.
 
Thank you, Philotheatoo. God bless you.

And may the LORD give the OP lots and lots of faith, hope and charity.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
I will pray that your faith will strengthen. Sometimes our journey with our faith can take us to unpleasant places…

*Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. *
*Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. *

*Amen.
*
 
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
 
Memorare (Prayer to Our Lady)
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen
 
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