Q: I feel lost spiritually as in I don’t feel as close to God as I should be. I have been neglecting my prayer and faith life recently. What is the best way to get more active in the faith and to gain motivation? Also, I had some disagreements with some family members and other Catholics about the death penalty because I feel there are people so vile, evil, cruel and disturbed that it is justified in giving a death penalty. I also feel that the Church today isn’t taking more of a firm aggressive stance on opposing evil. I believe people should find and fight back against evil. Am I wrong for thinking like this? If so, I’d like to repent. What do you think? – J.H.
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A: It’s good that at least you feel a desire to draw closer to God. That is a grace that you want to take advantage of.
You say that you have been neglecting your prayer life. That could be a key part of the problem.
When we neglect prayer, we might start to see things in a more worldly way. We tend to be more combative with others.
The world has lots of problems, no doubt, but Christian hope is what helps to set us apart and give us a new outlook.
The first step to draw closer to God is to make time for prayer every day.
Think of prayer as food for the soul. And just as we eat three or four times a day, we should make time for pray at least three or four times a day.
Pray when you get up in the morning. Pray the Angelus (or Regina Caeli in the Easter season) around noon.
Then, dedicate five or 10 minutes to Bible reading in the evening, and do a conscience exam at bedtime. See how the day went, offer up an act of sorrow for your sins, and then resolve to do better tomorrow. Better still, add a rosary to your daily schedule.
Then, try to get to confession on a regular basis. Once a month or every two months would be good.
In short, the key is to focus on getting your spiritual life in order first, and don’t worry getting into debates about the death penalty right now.
If we want to fight the evil in the world, we need to open ourselves to God’s grace so that he can get the evil out of us first.
Our ability to truly help others will hinge more on our love than on our anger.
One other suggestion: Try to learn more about the faith. Consider signing up for Father Mike Schmitz’s “Catechism in a Year” video series. And count on my prayers.
