Crisis of Faith? Ask Mary to Help!

Sharon Wilson shares how calling on the Blessed Mother has helped her through difficult times in her life.

I love reading about the saints. Their lives may seem to have nothing to do with living in the twenty-first century until you dig deeper.

A while back, I was reading about St. Dominic in the book The Hounds of the Lord. The time of St. Dominic is described in this way:

By the time the boy became a mature man, Pope Innocent would call the fourth Lateran Council that would last a full two and a half years, addressing not only vital theological issues such as transubstantiation and the primacy of the papacy, but a host of problems, including the continued Muslim threat, the ongoing split with the Greek Church, the immoral behaviors and the need for good preaching and better educated clergy.

Sounds a lot like our problems today—and enough to cause a crisis of faith! What I have learned in reading about the saints is that whenever there is or has been a crisis, God provides.

God, in the time of St. Dominic, raised up saints to lead us. In our personal times of crisis, God raises us up.

In the two years since my husband’s passing, I have experienced bouts of a lack of faith. Trying to see God’s goodness in the mountain of grief is very difficult. The only thing I can do is continue to persevere. And through that perseverance I have learned three things that have helped me through my crisis of faith.

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I have relied on my friends.

I have leaned on my friends in my grief. I ask for prayers when I cannot pray. I ask for their company when I am lonely. Though they may not be saints, God has used my friends and the people I encounter to answer my prayers.

I have grieved.

Accepting my own pain, naming it and allowing myself to grieve has brought me through dark times. When I have allowed myself to be vulnerable to the pain and really give it to God, I have grown through the pain. That doesn’t mean the grief goes away, but in facing it, I have learned about myself and through that, I have grown closer to God.

I have prayed.

I must admit there have been times that I do not feel like praying, times when I have been mad at God and want to give up. We all face these times, I think—sometimes to greater degrees than others. Recently, I have had such a hard time committing to prayer. I wanted to just stop trying, but instead I am taking baby steps and that is OK. I committed myself to saying just one prayer a day. I am memorizing the Hail Holy Queen. I am sure the Blessed Mother will lead me back to a more committed prayer routine.

If I were to offer a fourth step it would be to take action. Resolve to pray, resolve to stay close to the sacraments, resolve to become involved.

Click to tweet:
God, in the time of St. Dominic, raised up saints to lead us. In our personal times of crisis, God raises us up. #CatholicMom

If your faith is slipping, have coffee with a friend, go to daily Mass, and get to confession. And remember to ask Mary to help!

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and, after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

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