Interviews on April 10, 2024, with Roman, who is studying history, and Isaac, who is studying English composition, on the Library Lawn at California State University San Bernardino.
ROMAN
Do you consider yourself religious?
Roman: No. I believe in God. I would say it’s a complicated relationship. I hear about people always praying to Him, they say they hear Him, but I’ve never heard Him my entire time of going to Catholic school, doing this, learning that. I could tell you stuff about scripture that says He’s there, but I’ve never felt Him, I’ve never had that connection. I would say He’s real, but I’ve never had the connection where I can say He’s done something for me. People can say, “He did that for you in your life,” but it was my parents or someone who helped me, not Him.
Why do you believe in God?
Roman: I believe in God because there are things called Eucharistic miracles and they’re actually quite interesting. These miracles come out of nowhere. It’s insane. They have the Eucharist, the bread and the chalice, and no one will be there in the church and the bread will just start bleeding for no reason. They did a lot of DNA tests. The blood comes back as from a man from the Middle East and aged 30s when they do the blood tests.
Do you still consider yourself Catholic?
Roman: Kind of, but I haven’t been to church in – like I’ve done Masses at my school, but I haven’t actually gone to church in a while, like a year.
ISAAC
Do you consider yourself religious?
Isaac: Definitely, yes. I grew up in a very conservative Christian household. Obviously, I’ve had my own doubts and beliefs, but I’m on that path of trying to find a footing in that because I stray away from it a lot. But I consider myself a Christian. I go to church every Sunday.
Do you believe the Bible is true?
Isaac: Not everything. God gave us free will to think for ourselves and the Bible is written by man so I don’t think everything is true but I do think there is a lot that is true. I think the Ten Commandments are real and true and I try to follow them.
If someone asked you why you believe in God and if you think there’s evidence for the existence of God, what would you say?
Isaac: Definitely no evidence. I get frustrated about that a lot because you have to live off of blind faith. But based off of my own personal experiences, I would share those with people to say why I believe in God. I think everything in life is based off of experience.
Do you face anti-Christian bias at school here?
Isaac: It’s definitely difficult, because even in classes they’re very progressive, very liberal. Even times when I’ve spoken out in class about it, I’m the villain instantly. I had a class once, it was an English course, it was very philosophical and I love that type of conversation and discourse. They were talking about the Big Bang theory for some reason and the consensus was that it’s real and it’s true and if anybody doesn’t believe in it, they’re very ignorant. Basically, they were going down that path of the creation of existence and where it stemmed from. And I had the urge to speak out and say, “You know, that’s not proven. No matter how much science says that’s proven, it’s not. There’s no physical evidence of that.” I just said that people can have beliefs and not believe this as the truth. I said something along those lines. It sparked a debate in class, but the vibe I got, just scoffing, people thinking I’m stupid for having a belief. I think that’s pretty crazy how much the beliefs in the university system have just ingrained our minds to believe a certain way. So God gave us free will to think but then the universities are like, “No, you don’t have free will, you have to believe what we teach you.” So, yeah, it’s frustrating.
What do you think about abortion?
Isaac: That’s a struggle, too. That’s why I said I don’t believe everything in the Bible is true because I know there are things that are sensitive, like abortion. I think it’s unethical but I still think it should be legal. God gave us free will to do what we want. So I think people can choose to do whatever they want, but that doesn’t make it an ethical choice. When people debate about whether it’s evil or wrong, I don’t think it’s evil, but I do think it’s unethical. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that people should have that choice. Because if we don’t have that choice, then I feel like that’s also against God, because God gave us the choice to do what we want.
Are trans women actually women?
Isaac: That one’s difficult. Hmm. It’s difficult for me because there’s a binary obviously between male and female, but then I think gender is subjective. This is the most difficult one for me. It confuses me. I think because they were born not as a woman, biologically they’re not. But of course I’m going to respect that when they do transition, of course I’m going to call them that. But no, I don’t think they’re actually women.
Watch Roman explain why he believes in God.
I’m with Roman. God doesn’t speak or make himself known. What does God do? Anything you claim he’s done for you is actually either some other person or technology that did it. Mother Teresa didn’t experience God either. I have strong doubts about people who claim to hear from or experience God. Priests and catechists need to be more sophisticated when they speak to people about God because when they are simplistic like, “Just pray and ask God to make his will known to you,” it doesn’t help because it never happens. I question whether those people even know what they’re talking about or just parroting words that sound pious to keep their jobs and fool people into respecting them. I’m definitely with Roman. Good head on his shoulders.
You know, this is a tough one. God has not “spoken” to me as he did to the OT prophets. If He did I would consult w my pastor and a good psychologist.
He does speak to me in thru the sacraments. The Holy Spirit was at my marriage ceremony. He is at confession. And esp as I contemplate Him in the Holy Eucharist.
We will only know the why when we face our particular judgement
Thank you. That makes me feel better. When I read Mother Teresa’s private letters to her spiritual director admitting she never felt God’s presence nor heard him speak to her, that she felt like a spiritual fraud and a spiritual failure, that she was afraid of anyone finding out because they would think differently about her, I felt relieved. Mother Teresa seemed so holy; I was sure she had a close connection with God. Turns out she had no experiential connection with God at all except through Scripture and the Sacraments.
That’s probably how it is for almost all of us.
I wish priests would talk more about this. Lots of people are trying to hear or feel God directly when it doesn’t work that way.
I think youth ministry is especially prone to misleading kids about how God is experienced. Emotional highs are often mistakenly interpreted as an experience of God.
Thank you.
“Emotional highs are often mistakenly interpreted as an experience of God.” Undoubtedly true. It is my experience that Divine consolations have nothing in common with emotional highs. But we must remember that God deals with each soul as He will. If He deigns to give consolations to one, and privation of spirit to another, that is His business. In another post, I recalled powerful graces I received before age 30. But in the past 40 years, Divine consolations have been few and far between. That’s God’s providential ordering of things for myself, and I accept this abstinence. As an aside, while in the Holy Land I was able to travel to Gaza in 1983 (?) with Fr. Howard Curtis O.C.S.O.as he was saying Mass for Mother Teresa’s nuns. When we got there, a very powerful grace was communicated to me in the presence of these holy nuns. A few days later underneath a Crusader church in Abugosh (Sp?) I finished listening to Fr. John Hampsch’s Healing of Memories cassette series, and the resulting consolation was again, a powerful grace accorded me. Again, God asks us to be present to Him, but it is His prerogative to communicate His grace as He will and when He will. Every grace I have experienced has come as a surprise–unexpected–and that’s the way it should be.
“I’m with Roman. God doesn’t speak or make himself known. What does God do? Anything you claim he’s done for you is actually either some other person or technology that did it. ”
I’m sorry I must differ with you, sir/madame, in the most forceful way. In my earlier life as a Catholic when in my late 20s (I am a convert) I experienced profound graces unassociated with technology or the influence of some other person. At my entrance into the Church (March 25, 1978) I was so elevated in spirit I was two weeks bathed in blessing. It was like nothing before and was simply the effects of the sacraments. In August 1979 after Saturday night vespers I received a foretaste of heaven while staying with the Trappists in Oregon. A powerful peace and love filled my monastic cell and my own soul. It was as if I was given entrance into the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I do not say these things to glorify myself. In fact, it became clear to me later that God gave me these blessings because He knew I was weak and knew how I would suffer as a Catholic. Now 73, I recall those glorious days lest I let life’s troubles overwhelm me.
How sad to think that these young adults have never been taught how to hear the voice of God. The Church has failed them. May they find faith in the God who speaks. He is not silent.
Okay, so tell us how to hear the voice of God. In my conversations with Catholics, God is experienced as absent. Like he doesn’t say anything. Some people interpret events as God speaking to them, but they are susceptible to confirmation bias; when pressed, they admit that the supposed signs they have received are just their interpretation, nothing certain.
So tell us.
” In my conversations with Catholics, God is experienced as absent. ” If as Catholics we tend only to go through the motions, I think we can expect this. But even for ardent souls, this may be true. But this sense of absence is not for all and not all the time. Always we should let Almighty God have His way to bless as He will and when He will.
So, God gave us “free will do to whatever we want”??
A famous Eucharistic miracle in the 8th Century is the miracle of Lanciano, Italy. According to tradition a basilian monk who had doubts about the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, when he said the words of consecration at Mass, the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood.
We need a miracle in the year 2024. It needs to be scientifically testable today using all modern technology. Look, today when we have spaceflight, brain surgery, drugs that treat and cure formerly deadly disease, handheld computers that put all of human knowledge at the touch of your fingertips, not many people are going to believe mumbo jumbo from centuries ago.
Like I, for one, don’t believe the blood of St. Januarius is legit. The church won’t permit the “blood” to be tested by modern scientific methods. That undermines the church’s credibility. If they believe it’s blood, let it be tested. If they fear it’s not blood and it’s a hoax that’s been perpetuated for centuries, then of course they aren’t going to let it be tested because then they will be exposed as either fools or frauds.
Looking for a miracle– you do not need a great, big, astonishing miracle, to know God! You do not have to even believe in any Church-approved apparitions, or miracles. Did the Blessed Mother really appear, and speak, in apparitions to St. Bernadette, the Fatima children, St. Juan Diego– and many others? I believe she did. Long ago, even when I was young, people were skeptical of science, and were very familiar with religion. They also were much more familiar with the natural world, and marveled at all the beauty, mystery, and perfect order, in God’s creation. Each thing in God’s Creation has its own perfect design, to grow and be fulfilled in. All things in Nature work together, in a perfect order and balance. God is the Creator of all things, and is always busy at work, unseen, in His Creation.There is a Divine purpose and meaning for all things. The Bible also confirms this. Catholics used to be very familiar wuth God, and with religious experiences. God is a great Mystery! People used to understand that, and know that God sometimes works healings and even miracles– big and small– and He grants millions of graces and millions of favors to millions of believers who pray, every day. Who was it next to you, saying a Rosary, attending a Novena, or lighting a Votive candle, at church, today? Did they get the favor, grace, healing, or whatever it was, that they asked for? Many do. And they might tell you all about it, if you start up a conversation. Believers are full of experiences of prayers answered, favors and graces and healings given– big and small– by God, in answers to prayers. As we live far from God, in this material world, in human bodies, God and the spiritual world is veiled from us. But we still get intuitions and have instincts that lead us beyond the dark veil, prompted by God Himself. It is all very mysterious. Although miraculous items like bleeding Communion Hosts and the Shroud of Turin and etc. have sometimes undergone lab tests by scientists–which have, at times, revealed astonishing results– (such as, a bleeding Communion Host, said by scientists to have “AB” blood type, coming from the heart of a Middle Eastern male in His early 30s– etc.– ) such things may or may not confirm your religious faith. Faith is a precious gift of God, and you must grow in your faith, day-by-day, by daily prayer, attending Mass, receiving the Sacraments, and practicing the Catholic Faith. To have a relationship with God that slowly grows over the years, is the most blessed gift you can possibly receive! 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.”
Mark 5:34 “And He said unto her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.””
God is very creative. He does not “speak” in human-created language. He has His own unique ways to communicate with us. You must slow way down, immerse yourself in prayer and quiet, be patient and persistent, and persevere in prayer. God is closer to you than even your very breath, or your very thoughts you create, in your brain. To know God, and to feel His Divine Presence, and “hear Him speak” is a grace. He is very alive in all the world, which He created, everywhere. You might be moved to tears, the first time you receive the grace to know Him and to “hear Him,” or receive direct, distinct answers in prayer, and know, with all your heart, your soul, your very being— that it really is Him. When I was very, very young, I prayed during one Lent, simply to know God. I loved His Son, Jesus, and loved His Mother, Our Lady, very deeply– through simple graces given routinely to many, at church. What caused me to love Christ and His Most Blessed Mother so much? Like millions of other Catholics, worldwide? Love is a grace– and a great Mystery. However, I felt that there was something missing– Who is God? I was scared of Him, and did not have the grace to “know” Him– except as an abstract concept in a book, thus, “God up in the sky, somewhere.” Well, so I bravely asked Christ and Our Lady, to please show me Who God is, exactly— I was scared of Him! Towards the end of that Lent, I got my answer. It was very powerful, and it changed my life! I had a beautiful dream one night, of my heart uplifted to God, and a large, beautiful gold chalice at Mass, spontaneously uplifted over my heart, continuously pouring God’s Divine Love into my heart, like the red, holy, but unearthly Divine Blood of Christ. I was suddenly totally full of God’s beautiful, extremely joyful, unearthly, holy Divine Love. I woke up, and it was very early in the morning. I was totally in love with God– to the extreme! All the world seemed full of Him, everywhere! I lived in a semi-rural area, and I got up, quickly pulled on some clothes, and silently slipped out of the house, immersed in God’s great and holy, tremendous Divine Love. The whole world, in the early dawn light, seemed filled with Him! Everything– plants, trees, birds, a beloved tree outside my bedroom window, all our beloved animals, all Creation seemed immersed in God’s Love. I was ecstatic. I went over to see my beloved horse, and was dancing with joy. I hugged him and cried. I knew that God made my big, beloved horse, too, and He loved him very much. God was alive in me, and in all His Creation– it was all His gloriously beautiful handiwork. Everything. This tremendous, beautiful religious experience lasted a little while– and then it was gone. A tremendous grace! It was Saturday– no school. I was the only one up, everyone else was still asleep. I pondered, who can I tell, about what happenned to me? Who would possibly understand it? I couldn’t make sense of it, myself. What did this mean? And does it mean– I have to be a “super-good girl” from now on– for God? Oh, I was so scared of that! That was way over my head! What does God want of me, now that He has answered my prayer, and I really do know Him? Well, it was all too hard, so I just decided that He simply answered my prayer, to show me that He is Love, and that He is very beautiful and very powerful, and He made me, and made everything in Creation– all the people, animals, birds, plants, trees, everything– and that He simply loves me, and loves all that He created, very much. At holy Mass, He gives to us His Divine Love, Sanctifying Grace, with many beautiful graces, in Christ, in the Holy Eucharist! I was totally awestruck. I was in love with God. My life was no longer the same. Even when this extraordinarily beautiful, awesome religious experience was gone, I still had the beautiful memory of it– and would never forget it, ever. Soon after that, oh, what a beautiful Holy Week and Easter I had, that year. Well, I finally got up the courage, and one day, I was able to tell one of our priests about my experience. He was very happy, and told me all about what happenned, the first time that He was graced, blessed, to know God, in a sudden, direct experience of God as Divine Love. Before that, all he, too, knew of God, was as an abstract concept in a book– “God up in the sky, somewhere.” This beautiful experience completely changed his life. And he decided to become a priest. That was very, very long ago, and that priest is now long gone from this world. Anyway, everyone I know, who wants to know God, and who prays and asks God to reveal Himself and His Will to them, and asks Him to guide their lives, has waited patiently– and has then been richly rewarded, far beyond their wildest dreams. On earth, in this “vale of tears,” we live a very hard life, with much suffering at times, concluding with death– as we are sadly separated from God, due to the tragic fall from grace of Adam and Eve, our First Parents. But earth is not our true home. And separation from God is not our true state of being. Christ came to give His life for our Salvation, to open wide the gates of Heaven for us, and guide our footsteps to Heaven. We are meant to be pure, and to live a very different kind of life, transformed in Christ, in union with God, forever, in Heaven. It is not easy, but Christ is there to guide our little footsteps, all the way. I have always loved the simple explanation in the Baltimore Catechism, “Why did God make you?” “God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever, in the next.”
Well, the editors, unfortunately, again removed many of my exclamation points (!) in my comment of June 17, at 5:43pm! So, it makes my comment seem dead, with no human expressions of emotion, or feeling! There is a big difference in writing something like, “What a beautiful experience! and “What a beautiful experience.” (Blah! Sounds dull, dead, devoid of humanity, lacking normal human emotions and feelings. Poor communication style! Unable to express myself properly…) Well, what a shame!
I hope that when God communicates with me, he breaks it into paragraphs for easier comprehension.
Concision would also be appreciated.
You must put yourself aside, and pray, and ask God to please help you. Our entire lives are completely dependent upon God, though many forget that. God made you, He has His Divine reasons and purpose for it, and you are His beloved child. He appointed the hour of your birth– and the moment of your death. None can possibly escape that. He gave you the gift of Free Will, to choose between good and evil, and to take hold of the destiny He has prepared for you– hopefully, to walk the pathway of Christ to Heaven, and reject sin and Hell. He gave you His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, wrapped in human flesh, to teach you, lead you and guide you, and He died for your sins on a terrible Cross, to save you, and help you get to Heaven. He has given you everything! Why don’t you pick up a copy of the Bible, and read all about it? Spend some time in prayer, in church, and be sure to attend Mass regularly. Pay close attention to the readings for the day, and to the priest’s homily. Ask the priest some questions. Go to Confession, examine your life, confess your sins, and start a new life in Christ. In the end, you will most likely be blessed with a wonderful relationship with God– like millions of other Catholic and Christian believers— which will bring you much joy, love, peace, happiness, and comfort, and the maturity, insight, peace, and strength to bear the trials of life, when they come.
If you look at the pews in most churches and extrapolate into the future, you can well predict that the church is going to be in a nosedive in about ten years. God is not providing for his church. If God calls people to the church, where are they?
Very funny, how some people will laugh at God and religion, and uphold Science as a “god” in the modern world. Yet, when the scary COVID-19 Pandemic started, thousands of people rejected top scientific researchers and advisors, refused to take the shot, and refused top scientific medical procedures and medicines to cure the virus– preferring Ivermectin (an anti-parasitic horse dewormer), or their own, doctor-rejected layman’s cures and concoctions. So much for belief in the “Almighty God, Science.” There go the “unscientific” American laymen, running after Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Chief POTUS Medical Advisor, with tons of criticisms and insults! Anyway, it has been known for centuries, that a doctor’s bedside manner– plus, prayers for the sick, by priests and other clerics– is always half the cure, for a patient.
Fauci recently admitted it was a mistake to close schools. The whole Covid shutdown wasn’t based on science. It was based on politics to defeat Trump from being reelected. The shutdown made possible mail-in voting that made it possible to stuff boxes with fake ballots in swing states.
Ivermectin has been proven to work.
Everything the government told people about Covid was wrong. Everything government approved doctors told people was wrong.
If you got the myocarditis clot shot, I feel sorry for you. You were misled and duped.
Not disputing either Ivermectin, the COVID vax, or the political vs. medical/scientific reasons for the COVID lockdowns, school closures,, etc. I was only stating one thing– that Americans are not total worshippers of Science as a “god.” That’s all. I did take the COVID vax, the one that was morally acceptable. But I got extremely sick as a result, and decided not to take the booster shot. That was my own personal decision.