Spiritual experiences

Started by CatholicStudyAttempt, May 04, 2023, 01:32:41 PM

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CatholicStudyAttempt

 Has anyone had a spiritual experience? What was it like.

TradGranny

To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that.
Saint Teresa of Avila

Jmartyr

I remember a certain holy Cardinal said to the effect that after 40 years of being a clergyman, he never had any "spiritual experiences". I remember receiving consolations when I first started saying the rosary faithfully, but that is about it. Oh and when I went to Medjugorje, but that was the devil.
"If anyone is excommunicated it is not I, but the excommunicators." - Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
" A false church cannot have a true mission." - St. Francis De Sales
" The way is open for us to deprive councils of their authority, contradict their acts freely, and profess confidently, whatever SEEMS to be true. " - Martin Luther

CatholicStudyAttempt

Quote from: TradGranny on May 04, 2023, 04:33:29 PMYou go first.

 Cant be first at this point. I had experiences of vast joy and the feelings of a second body if you will within, which I took to be like the soul or a holy spirit or something. I didn't know exactly how to take it all, as I was an atheist at the time, and got into born again christianity a bit, reading the bible a lot, etc.
 

CatholicStudyAttempt

Quote from: Jmartyr on May 04, 2023, 04:54:21 PMOh and when I went to Medjugorje, but that was the devil.

  Sounds intriguing- what happened?

Michael Wilson

I didn't have "an experience", as in a singular event that sent me into the ozone. But I was dissatisfied with my ritual life in my early 20's; I was always a traditionalist practicing Catholic, received the sacraments regularly; but my prayer life was like a roller-coaster; a few vocal prayers, then feelings of devotion; add more beautiful vocal prayers; more devotion; then more vocal prayers; then too many prayers, fatigue, dryness, give up the prayers for a while; then start again. The I read this book on mental prayer:
"Conversations With Christ", St. Teresa's method of mental prayer.
https://www.amazon.com/Conversation-Christ-Teaching-Teresa-Personal/dp/0895551802
I started meditating on the Passion of Our Lord, every day, and this improved my prayer and spiritual life so much, and made it much more consistent.
No more "roller-coaster"; I cut back on the vocal prayers and have tried to be more faithful to conforming my personal and spiritual life more closely to Our Lord. 
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

drummerboy

I also read that book. Fantastic.
"O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth."

"Through the prayers of the Theotokos O Savior save us"

"I like grumpy old cusses.  Hope to live long enough to be one" - John Wayne

CatholicStudyAttempt

Quote from: Michael Wilson on May 04, 2023, 07:48:12 PMNo more "roller-coaster"; I cut back on the vocal prayers and have tried to be more faithful to conforming my personal and spiritual life more closely to Our Lord. 

  That might be useful for me. I think I've had ardent periods which lead to spiritual exhaustion (this might not seem obvious to some here). It's important not to burn out and go back to being as bad as before, etc.
  I do know that I have a tendency for arrogance and being cantankerous, as well as pessimism, etc.
  Maybe god did reach out to me for whatever reason and I failed at the test, but I guess he'll still accept me. Maybe I leaned too much on my own efforts and tried to progress quicker than I was ready for.

  Anyways, god bless everyone.

        If anyone has a spiritual experience like me, please keep in mind to keep praying to god for strength and not to exhaust yourself in a strenuous ardor you can't maintain. Like Paul said, it's not to the swift but those who preserver to the end that victory goes.
  Also, I felt very confused. Spiritual experiences are, well, kinda perplexing. I think the confusion also exhausted me. Maybe I should've just accepted it and not tried to understand it, IDK.
  Maybe I wasn't ready yet. It's up to god in the end.

   

Julio

I like the directions set forth by Fr. Chad Ripperger on this matter, that God does not need us for Him to implement His will. So anything that we feel is spiritual experience must be ignored because we must be prudent of the possible work of the devil. Fr. Chad further explained that this idea is from St. John of the Cross.

Miriam_M

Quote from: Jmartyr on May 04, 2023, 04:54:21 PMI remember a certain holy Cardinal said to the effect that after 40 years of being a clergyman, he never had any "spiritual experiences". I remember receiving consolations when I first started saying the rosary faithfully, but that is about it. Oh and when I went to Medjugorje, but that was the devil.

This is a really good point.  Fr. Ripperger has said in the past and recently that the devil can manipulate our emotions, particularly when it comes to consolation.  I am certainly not assuming that the OP means consolation or emotional experiences by his question, but many Catholics do think that only consolation verifies the presence of God and his favor/blessing.  This is not true.  We hinder our spiritual growth when we rely on our emotional state as a measure of spiritual growth.  If anything, God often consoles the spiritual beginner in order to encourage him or her to continue, and to assure the beginner of His love.

For example, the Gift of Tears is often granted during reversions to the faith.

At this moment in history, some of us are actually actively fighting with the Devil during prayer.  The demons are working very vigorously right now to discourage the faithful.  This has been talked about by more than one trad priest. Every morning, it's a battle to say my rosary and a miracle when I can finish it.  This never used to be true. 

God is allowing us to be tested.

I decline to share my spiritual experiences publicly, only because it's a temptation to pride, when I know intellectually and intuitively it is absolutely not a measure of any spiritual progress, even though -- as I said -- I do think that God provides us with intimacy in order to "seduce" us further -- IOW, to stir us with a craving for greater intimacy so that the craving becomes the pathway to commitment during times of struggle and seeming abandonment. However, if we are seeking those experiences for their own sake, they lose their effectiveness.  They are not goals but gifts, at His Will.

CatholicStudyAttempt

Quote from: Miriam_M on May 04, 2023, 11:14:29 PMThey are not goals but gifts, at His Will.

 That might be a great motto for this topic. As to the devil possibly giving false spiritual experience, or mere emotion, that's possible. So long as we don't dismiss all experiences with those explanations (not that you would).

 

diaduit

Quote from: CatholicStudyAttempt on May 04, 2023, 08:11:31 PM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on May 04, 2023, 07:48:12 PMNo more "roller-coaster"; I cut back on the vocal prayers and have tried to be more faithful to conforming my personal and spiritual life more closely to Our Lord. 

  That might be useful for me. I think I've had ardent periods which lead to spiritual exhaustion (this might not seem obvious to some here). It's important not to burn out and go back to being as bad as before, etc.
  I do know that I have a tendency for arrogance and being cantankerous, as well as pessimism, etc.
  Maybe god did reach out to me for whatever reason and I failed at the test, but I guess he'll still accept me. Maybe I leaned too much on my own efforts and tried to progress quicker than I was ready for.

  Anyways, god bless everyone.

        If anyone has a spiritual experience like me, please keep in mind to keep praying to god for strength and not to exhaust yourself in a strenuous ardor you can't maintain. Like Paul said, it's not to the swift but those who preserver to the end that victory goes.
  Also, I felt very confused. Spiritual experiences are, well, kinda perplexing. I think the confusion also exhausted me. Maybe I should've just accepted it and not tried to understand it, IDK.
  Maybe I wasn't ready yet. It's up to god in the end.

   


God is always capital G.

CatholicStudyAttempt

Quote from: diaduit on May 05, 2023, 12:54:44 AM
Quote from: CatholicStudyAttempt on May 04, 2023, 08:11:31 PM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on May 04, 2023, 07:48:12 PMNo more "roller-coaster"; I cut back on the vocal prayers and have tried to be more faithful to conforming my personal and spiritual life more closely to Our Lord. 

  That might be useful for me. I think I've had ardent periods which lead to spiritual exhaustion (this might not seem obvious to some here). It's important not to burn out and go back to being as bad as before, etc.
  I do know that I have a tendency for arrogance and being cantankerous, as well as pessimism, etc.
  Maybe god did reach out to me for whatever reason and I failed at the test, but I guess he'll still accept me. Maybe I leaned too much on my own efforts and tried to progress quicker than I was ready for.

  Anyways, god bless everyone.

        If anyone has a spiritual experience like me, please keep in mind to keep praying to god for strength and not to exhaust yourself in a strenuous ardor you can't maintain. Like Paul said, it's not to the swift but those who preserver to the end that victory goes.
  Also, I felt very confused. Spiritual experiences are, well, kinda perplexing. I think the confusion also exhausted me. Maybe I should've just accepted it and not tried to understand it, IDK.
  Maybe I wasn't ready yet. It's up to god in the end.

   


God is always capital G.

  Noted. Have you had any spiritual experiences?

Miriam_M

Quote from: CatholicStudyAttempt on May 04, 2023, 11:32:19 PM
Quote from: Miriam_M on May 04, 2023, 11:14:29 PMThey are not goals but gifts, at His Will.

 That might be a great motto for this topic. As to the devil possibly giving false spiritual experience, or mere emotion, that's possible. So long as we don't dismiss all experiences with those explanations (not that you would).

Agreed, and also a good point.
I think context helps the discernment process.  For example, an experience directly associated with the sacraments is more likely from God, particularly if we've been given that gift before and recognize the pattern.  We should not dismiss out of hand, or suspect, every consolation or experience as merely a temptation or deception, and we are less likely to do that if we maintain a faithful and vigilant prayer life along with very frequent reception of sacraments, including confession.

The main thing is to focus on God and not self, on fidelity rather than immediate reward.

And always to thank God both for consolations and for painful insight.  I have been told this in spiritual direction before, once by a priest, another time by someone who was a Brother at the time and later became a priest.

IOW, I would call "painful insight" into one's sins and faults a "spiritual experience."  Without that, we cannot receive the subsequent gift of true compunction, which is hugely important for salvation itself.

TradGranny

Quote from: CatholicStudyAttempt on May 04, 2023, 01:32:41 PMHas anyone had a spiritual experience? What was it like.


Are you fishing for the FBI?
To have courage for whatever comes in life - everything lies in that.
Saint Teresa of Avila