| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| Feeling close to God | Janet | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 |
Question: Brother Ignatius, How do we as Catholics know we are truly loving God? I know this sounds like a vague question, but I do receive our Lord in communion as often as I can, which I know is one way to be close to Him. I suppose I am looking for some sort of "feeling" to overcome me, a sort of peace so to speak. I pray daily, read scripture and am totally in love with the beauty of the Catholic faith. My favorite time with the Lord is before bedtime and on my way to work, I always just talk to Him and tell him what is going on and ask Him to be with me. I also visit the Blessed Sacrament regularly. However, I somehow feel like I am not doing something right. Am I expecting too much..is this what they call "dryness" or spiritual desolation? I read somewhere that true love is not a "feeling" or emotion at all--rather, it is a decision. Does this also apply to our love for God? Sometimes I just do not "feel" in love with God, the fervor is not there. I just want to be holy! I also know that our Lord said if we love Him we are to obey Him. I try to be as obedient and follow His truth at all times. What are your thoughts on this? |
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| Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM
Dear Janet: You answered your own question. Love is not a "feeling." Emotions are biologically based and can come and go. That is one reason why people have such problems because they rely upon unreliable emotions. Secondly, you stated it, Jesus says in the Book of St. John that if we love him we will follow his teachings. Love is an ACTION, it is something we do. How do we know if we love God? We know we love God when we are OBEDIENT to the Church and her teachings, when we PRACTICE the Great Commandments, when we ACT upon our faith in devotion and good works, when we DECIDE to do that which love requires (see 1 Corinthians 13). You are not experiencing a dry period as much as you are indulging in the pride of wanting an emotional experience to validate your faith. Emotions are great things. The Church officially teaches that emotions are a gift from God, but she also teaches that all emotion MUST come under the guidance of reason. Fervor, on the other hand is not related to the presence or lack of presence of the emotion of love. The lack of fervor is related to pride, for example, the pride of discouragement that things are not going like we want them to go. That we are not getting our way. That we are not experiencing what we want to experience. The lack of fervor generally has to do with the affliction of the "I wants" or the "I am not good enoughs" or the "I am not holy enoughs" or I am not this or thats". Instead trust in God and love Him according the true love which is an ACTION upon fiath, a PRACTICE of faith, a DECISION of faith, and an OBEDIENCE of faith. Once you decide to act upon and to practice your Faith in obedience you will not have time to wonder about emotion. Emotion will come. But we must base our love on the foundation of transcendent love that is demonstrated not felt. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter; but then I have been accused of having no emotion. ;) Emotion is frosting on the Cake, but it is not the Cake. Some people scrap off the frosting and eat it alone, I scrap off the frosting and eat only the cake. emmm, maybe I do have an emotion problem ;) The Cake test is definitive, you know :) God Bless,
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