The end of the current year and the beginning of the new one is always an opportunity for evaluations and reflections on what was and what could be. Although good resolutions often fade quickly as we move away from the vacations and back to our daily lives, these kinds of considerations can be the starting point for a journey of personal growth and improvement. In this context can also be understood the desire to discover how to rediscover lost, or simply abandoned, faith.
In the end, how to regain faith?
Periods of uncertainty and worry are common to all men and women. The very life we lead seems purposely made to inject doubt into what, as children, seemed to us simply true, absolute, undoubted.
It is easy to find God in everything, to feel close to Him, protected by His embrace, to recognize Him and find Him not only in the sacraments and in the Gospel, but also in our loved ones, in the love of our parents, in the small and big things of everyday life. It would be so beautiful to be able to keep this same certainty, this pure and absolute faith!
When we grow up, we lose that freshness, that spontaneity. The vicissitudes of life put us to the test, and it is not always easy to keep intact the trust in God, the feeling of belonging to Him that made us feel safe, protected. On the contrary, sometimes it is precisely the events of life that distance us from God, that make it easy to shake our faith, to the point of making it weak, inconsistent.
It is normal. Faith, by its very nature, is not something immutable, but is constantly changing. It grows and matures with us, accompanying our inner development, adapting to our changes, reacting to what bothers us or exalts us, suffering with our mistakes and vices.
Like a plant, it must be nurtured, supporting it with the right nutrient, straightening it if necessary, drawing on the experience and knowledge of great men and women who have investigated the mind and made the best of it.
Regaining faith in God
What then are the tools to rediscover faith? There is no universal recipe, each person must look within, find his or her own way, his or her own time.
The tools we propose to you are possible and effective approaches for all of us.
The recitation of the Holy Rosary
Or, more generally, prayer. Prayer is our way of talking to God, of putting ourselves in touch and drawing closer to Him. The recitation of the Holy Rosary, in particular, with its prayers and formulas, allows the believer to immerse himself in a kind of meditation that promotes alienation from the real context and complete focus on his dialogue with the Most High.
Furthermore, the Holy Rosary holds within it the promises of Mary for those who recite it and this makes it even more effective and pleasing to God. Dedicating even a few minutes a day to prayer or to the Holy Rosary is certainly an important starting point for anyone who wishes to recover or strengthen their faith.
How and why to overcome your addictions
The search for faith starts from a work of self-knowledge. We go inside ourselves, alienating ourselves from our daily routine, claiming a moment of solitude and silence. Only then can we find the necessary conditions to reflect deeply and consciously on our life.
And one of the most important realizations will certainly be the one concerning our addictions. Recognizing one's own vices is the fundamental starting point to correct behaviors and habits. Addictions are the most common and widespread evil practice that concerns and congregates most human beings. They are habits usually designed to satisfy a need or a desire, which become so ingrained in the human mind that they become, at a certain moment, indispensable.
Like any other form of bondage that distracts the soul from what is truly important, our addictions are very unpleasant to God. Working to eradicate them from our being is therefore one of the most important actions we can take on the journey to regain faith.
But how do you fight vices? First of all, we must recognize them, admit them, as for a morbid addiction. Then, we must exercise willpower to flee from occasions to perpetuate our vices and lead our hearts and minds astray.
In this process, prayer can help us again, no doubt, because it is only with God's help that we can hope to free ourselves from our own limitations. After all, the whole spiritual journey of a good Christian, from birth to death, should be to follow Christ's pattern and try to adhere to it as closely as possible.
My name is Maria. I am passionate about theology and I have been writing about the religious world for 5 years. I am curious and research everything about the religions around the world. I love researching the curiosities that guide the most varied doctrines in different countries and languages. Today, I am an editor and love to share my knowledge on the portal Prayer and Faith.