Faith Matters

It’s perfectly natural to struggle with your faith from time to time. Everybody—from the most devout believers to those who have a more casual relationship with the Church—has moments when God can seem to be absent from their lives.

This past week, I was happy to get together with some students in the Aquinas Lounge to talk about this phenomenon and the ways in which we can hold on to our faith in times of darkness. An interesting analogy was used and it’s worth repeating here.

Think of a horror movie like “Friday the 13th” in which one of the ill-fated characters goes down to the lake in the woods in the middle of the night. (An aside: if you ever find yourself in a horror movie and there is an ax-wielding madman on the loose, don’t go down to the lake. It never ends well. I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. Stay away from the lake.) The character thinks that she’s all by herself, dipping her toes in the water and enjoying the stillness of the night. Members of the audience start to tense up because they know the bad guy is creeping up behind her and drawing back his arm to attack. And at this point, it’s good to cut off the analogy, lest we suggest that God is wearing a hockey mask and sneaking up on us with bludgeoning on his mind.
Here’s the point: The fact that the young lady thinks she’s alone by the lake does not mean that she’s all by herself. She can’t hear anyone or see anyone, but her perception is erroneous. There is another person there (and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll start running).

If you’re going through a time when it seems like you are alone and you are lacking any palpable consolation from God, remember that his presence in our lives, his activity, his love, and his mercy do not depend on our feeling it. Our faith tells us that he is there and would never leave any of his beloved children to face their troubles alone. If you’re struggling with your faith and the darkness seems to be unending, trust that God will see you through to the dawn of a new day.