We can ‘borrow’ faith in times of personal crisis

“In times of desolation, make no change,” said St. Ignatius of Loyola. Maybe he meant to say: “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Either way, the celebrated patron saint of discernment taught we must never change course in the thick of a fog.

When we are feeling worn down by life and discouraged, we need to remain true to our promises. Much like on our wedding days when we promise to be true to our spouses “in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health,” so, too, we must honour our promises to the Lord on good mornings and on snooze-button mornings.

It has been said spiritual desolation is the time of the lie. Often the more tired, hungry or sad we are, the more convincing the lie that God is far away, or prayer doesn’t really make a difference, or what’s one day off going to do...? It takes special resolve to defeat the attempts of the enemy to derail us.

In days of consolation, we need to fortify ourselves against deception. We need to be ready for the inevitable ebb of our initial zeal.

In the same way that so many people throw in the towel when things get hard in marriage, likewise many people neglect to persevere during times of spiritual dryness and emotional lethargy. The ability to do so in the thick of full-on spiritual combat separates the rookies from the veterans.

Consider that Mother Teresa performed many of her astounding acts of charity and inspired millions from within decades of personal spiritual darkness. Because of her persistence, she was able to leave a legacy of staying true to one’s promises at all costs. Just look at the fruit of her life!

Say we have decided to begin every day with a morning offering on our knees followed by some time reading Scripture. Then one particular morning we feel an aversion to prayer. At this moment, we need to persist in our initial resolution. A failure to do so will most likely lead to a deepening of spiritual desolation with us admitting defeat to the first of – no doubt – many other attacks.

How do we summon strength on days when even the bare minimum feels insurmountable?

As members of the body of Christ, this is where the mystical side of our faith kicks in. We are able to help each other in ways that far surpass the physical realm because we are intricately connected in the body of Christ. We are able to exchange spiritual goods as an act of love for our brothers and sisters in need.

We often hear it said that no man is an island and that we cannot do difficult things alone. The spiritual life is no exception. Even a bedridden, non-verbal Catholic is able to save souls and become a source of life and grace for others. Everyone is on the team; everyone plays a life-saving role. Every soul has infinite value and suffering can be transformed into the ultimate act of salvation.

When we are in pain, emotional or physical, streams of grace run in two directions. We can summon the strength to make our dryness a prayer for other souls in anguish (this constitutes a next-level act of faith). We can also ask the Lord to let us “borrow” the faith of our brothers and sisters who share in Christ’s body with us, causing an influx of grace into our souls.

Just as Christ would have it, we can have grace coming from without and grace coming from within our suffering souls. How amazing that even suffering can become a source of beauty for a Christian. Depression, cancer, addiction… none of these have the last say. Grace can flood into the darkest places. Nothing is ever lost.

Whether the suffering be mental, physical, or emotional there is no pain outside of the ability of the body of Christ to console and to offer healing and a degree of relief through prayer and sacrifice.

Even if the flesh is weak, all we need is a spirit that is willing and we can be effective agents in the booming economy of God’s grace.

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