Wanting to connect with God but not other people

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goodcatholic

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Is that a contradiction? To want to connect with God but not other people? Selfish? Introverted? There was a time in my life when I didn’t want to connect with either. Such is the effect of alcohol addiction.
Just God and me. Pray at home. Go to Mass once a week, avoid interaction, just focus on the Mass.
Can one justify flying solo? Living in one’s own bubble, but with the Lord
At some point, the Lord is going to say “Get a life mate!. Start taking an interest in others. I made them too you know!” 🙂
 
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In Matthew 25 Jesus was pretty clear about who were the sheep and who were the goats. The sheep had lots of interaction with other people. The great commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. That may mean moving out of our comfort zones.
 
Tell them to attend Mass in Europe and they’ll be able to avoid so many people. That was my experience.
 
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Well, it is important, to help others in some way, if only by prayer. I don’t know why I said, “if only” because that is one of the most powerful.

Keep up your prayer life and see if you can’t gradually be a bit more social. Pray about it. You are starting to be more social just on the forum here, and that’s a good thing.

Be kind, if an opporutnity comes directly into your path. LIttle things matter.

I lean a lot towards introversion, so it is an effort I myself need to make to be a bit more social. In her earlier years, Catherine of Siena liked being in her own bubble for a long time with God alone, but eventually, He pushed her out of the nest which she assented to somewhat reluctantly but her service was extraordinary in the church once she was out and about in the midst of her neighbor.
 
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Good I’m scoring points for socialising on here. That’s encouraging.
 
I’ll bet your sense of humour goes over 90% of people on here. 🙂
 
That’s disappointing news for all those people who go to Mass every day. And the prayerful ones too.
 
Now all I need to do is to start loving the other CAF members on here. …
that’s a tall order, don’t you think? 🙂
 
Isn’t this essentially what hermits and “some” monks or nuns do? Minimal contact with the world? I don’t know much/next to nothing of the desert fathers but didn’t the original ones go into the desert to be alone with God and away from “others”? There comes a point in my view that others are distractions and so possibly for those seeking a deepening of their practice the “desert” is needed.
 
Yeah the ones in Egypt. Under Saint Anthony? Now that is what I call going into the desert. I couldn’t go that far. Those people almost starve. It would be a nightmare.
 
I agree, do what you can. I’ve wasted at lot of time wishing I was a super confident extrovert who could charm everyone in my parish and eloquently explain my faith to others but it’s probably never going to happen.
 
goodcatholic said:
At some point, the Lord is going to say “Get a life mate!. Start taking an interest in others. I made them too you know!” 🙂
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I feel like you. I’m not an extrovert and would prefer alone time with God and my prayers. The thing I’ve found is that you don’t have to be a social butterfly to “love your neighbor” as Jesus commanded. Although I don’t have a ton of friends or social activities, during the day when I’m out and about just doing errands, a simple smile to a stranger is all that is needed to “love your neighbor.” Sometimes I will hold the door open for someone or let someone take my place in line. That’s all. Interest in others, but they don’t have to be your friends.

Solitary prayer is needed to transform your character. Then interactions with your neighbors will also be transformed.
 
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To use the analogy of the body of Christ, if a liver were removed and place by itself, it becomes a lump of flesh, and not part of the body. It dies. We cannot live in Christ and be apart from his body. The first step must always be this recognition. We are connected to other people if we are in Christ. So yes, it is a contradiction.

Practically though, that does not mean we cannot do that which we cannot do. For some, that takes time and some will never interact as much as others. For you, who are we to say? I can only say that this would be a good discussion to have with a priest so you can find a way to challenge yourself, but only to the extent you can, and connect with the Body of Christ, but only to the extent and manner you can.
 
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1 John 4

We love, because he first loved us. If any one says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.
 
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