Why is God so hidden?

[seanom]

Hello there,
So I’m 16 and I’ve been blessed with the gift of faith. My faith is quite dark at the moment. Can anyone tell me why is God so hidden in this life. Why does He try to hide himself?? I read the bible prob every day, I frequent the sacraments and pray daily. Why is my faith so dark and weak?? God Bless everyone

 

[R_C]

Hello there,
So I’m 16 and I’ve been blessed with the gift of faith. My faith is quite dark at the moment. Can anyone tell me why is God so hidden in this life. Why does He try to hide himself?? I read the bible prob every day, I frequent the sacraments and pray daily. Why is my faith so dark and weak?? God Bless everyone

The most simple answer should be: God hides so that the soul may look for Him and long to be with Him.

God does not hide always, though - even though, in this life, we can only see Him through the veil of faith. And Christ taught us that God is actually always near, always paying attention to our prayer “as if each of us were the only son” (as St. Augustine wrote).

St. Paul seems to combine both things when he writes:

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.

In fact, as you will read in the lives of the saints, the more you grow in the spiritual life, the more your soul will advance, growing from a baby soul that receives the embrace and milk of the mom to an adult soul that longs to share in the Chalice of Suffering of the spouse and help Him carry His cross.

Of all the works and writings that address this great mystery, three are particularly dear to me: the Canticle of Canticles in the Holy Bible, and one of the poems of St. John of the Cross: the Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom (although perhaps his greatest work on this was the “Dark Night of the Soul”). Allow me to quote a few lines of the second one:

Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me in my groaning, O my Beloved?
You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.

…]

Reveal Your face,
And let the vision and Your beauty kill me,
Behold the malady
Of love is incurable
Except in Your presence and before Your face.

 

[CatholicLife]

Hello friend!
I’m 18 and I know what you are talking about due to personal experience and things my friends have been through . I recommend to become an altar server and to try and server when ever the opportunity arrives . I can say that serving at the altar has made me the Catholic I’am today. It has deepened my faith and my love towards our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

[Delaine75]

I don’t think God hides Himself, but we do have to take time out of our day to seek Him out amidst all of the other things we clutter up our lives with. I would suggest increasing your prayer time, really talk to God, pray the rosary daily and hopefully you will find this period of spiritual darkness lift. My prayers are with you.

 

[Dorothy]

The virtue of faith grows when you accept that you do not feel God’s presence, but you pray and serve Him anyway. That is how we become spiritually mature.

When God wants you to feel His Presence He will do so.

So, He is not hiding from you…all you have to do is call upon Him and He is there for you. Believe it!

 

[ThatOrthodoxGuy]

The virtue of faith grows when you accept that you do not feel God’s presence, but you pray and serve Him anyway. That is how we become spiritually mature.

When God wants you to feel His Presence He will do so.

So, He is not hiding from you…all you have to do is call upon Him and He is there for you. Believe it!

Amen