Reflections from the community: 

I’m (22m) going through a lot right now. Who I thought was the love of my life (22f) broke up with me a week ago. We were together for 7 years. She was my everything. Nothing could have prepared me for the heaviness I’ve been dragging every waking moment I’m alone. I can mask it well and maybe even forget about it briefly when with others, but the second I am alone, it hurts. My chest is hollow. My knees are weak. I want to scream, cry, and collapse all at once.

The worst part is I have no one to blame but myself. I was not the man she deserved. And for those reasons, she left. For those same reasons, I wondered if God had left me too. I felt like he had gotten quiet and was no longer hearing my prayers. Had I messed up too much already? Am I just hopeless? One night, in a drunken sobbing mess, I reached out to him again. “Can you still hear me? Have I betrayed you too much? Why can’t I control myself? I’m so angry and ashamed I couldn’t blame you if you have given up on me. But if you are there, I need you. So please, Lord, if you’re there, please show me you hear me and that you know I love you. Show me that you still love me. I hurt and I need you to rest my head on” I then fell asleep because I was drunk and crying for hours beforehand.

Nothing happened the next couple days. I had an eye out for the signs I asked from God, but as time went on I grew more and more hopeless. However despite my pain, I have been trying to be better at recognizing when others need help and helping them without hesitation. From helping carry things to praying for people I see on the road. It made me feel better even for just a moment. But I would still go home and cry myself to sleep.

Today, I was sitting in the parking lot after my class at community college, just staring into the space in front of me, trying to get a grip just to drive home. Before I start the car, there is a knock at my window. A man that seemed to have emerged from thin air was standing there and asked me for only 50 cents so he could get a drink. My first thought was “What the heck is he gonna get for 50 cents these days?” I usually don’t have cash, but I have the notorious cup holder full of change. I gave him all the quarters I could and he just put them in his pocket and thanked me as if that weren’t why he was there. He immediately asked if he could pray for ME. Here he is asking for change from a stranger and asks to pray FOR ME. I immediately said absolutely. He prayed that I get through what I’m going through. And that I continue to seek God and his wisdom. How did he know I was going through anything? I told him I had to step out and give him a hug. We hugged, and he prayed for me again. We said our goodbyes, and before I knew it, he was gone.

As I was driving home in somewhat of a state of shock I realized something. When I had that drunken sobbing night of desperation asking God to show me he is listening, I was in Tennessee on a trip planned long before that day. The locals in Tennessee have thick southern accents (at least compared to the midwestern accent I’m used to hearing in Michigan). The man that came to me and prayed with me had a thick southern accent. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in Michigan, but that is not common. Once I realized this, it was obvious. God was telling me he heard my cries in Tennessee. He did not turn his face from me even in my lowest moments. I had to pull over because I was sobbing too much to drive. I continued to thank my heavenly father over and over.

Once I got a grip, I began driving and put my radio on shuffle. I have a lot of non-church-friendly music on my playlist (something to work on I know) and I immediately questioned whether it was a good idea or not until I saw the first song: Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum. Followed by about 3 more songs that felt as though God was speaking to me through. I have never been given a more profound series of events that made it so obvious that I am still loved by the Lord. I hope everyone experiences this especially when they are as doubtful (or more) as I was. I’ve been thinking about this periodically all day and crying because God is so great at timing and knowing our hearts. I think what led to this was my desire to help others even when I was in need of help myself. We are not saved by our works, but by our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross. But by helping and loving others, you show that your heart still longs to be holy.

So I know that my situation is a walk in the park compared to what others are going through, but I implore you, no matter your circumstances, look for the opportunity to help others. Not only will it provide instant relief, it could just be your path to reconnect with God.

I just heard the news about the Pope getting diagnosed with cancer, and I'm sad for him even though I'm not a Catholic who follows him or agrees with everything he has to say regarding theology or politics. But cancer is just a horrible disease that no one deserves to have. My grandpa died of lung cancer 4 years ago at the age of 68 and it was horrible to see him struggle with the disease. Lung cancer just has very horrible symptoms.

I want the Pope to get better. He's only been a Pope for over 1 year and he's still 71, so he should still have a long life to go as a Pope. I want him to live many more years. I hope his cancer can be controlled and it doesn't get any worse for him. I pray God gives him strength and health. From new reports I've seen, he seems to be staying positive despite his diagnosis.

Ty Masterson, the Republican candidate in the Kansas gubernatorial race, accused his Democratic opponent, Cindy Holscher, of being an actual witch capable of “demonic” magic, while speaking at the Praise Chapel in Wichita on Sunday.

Masterson introduced the dubious portion of his pseudo-sermon by suggesting that God wanted him to run for Kansas’s top political office.

“God’s armies are out there in this,” Masterson said. “What we’re fighting right now is a spiritual battle that I’ve never seen before, in [this] state, in this politics.

“Evil is maturing with the brotherhood, and it is rising to a level that is just in your face,” Masterson continued as a pianist played a contemplative melody beside him. “Really, my race and the U.S. Senate race with Roger Marshall versus [Adam] Hamilton. Those are spiritual battles.

“Like I said, my opponent, she didn’t even hide it,” Masterson added. “She talked—they had witch—I mean, they’re doing like witchcraft spells on TikTok so she can win the governorship. I mean, they’re like … it’s like demonic stuff that they’re doing, right? Just in your face that way.”

The state senator had seemingly drawn his conclusions from a series of playful TikTok videos posted by Holscher’s 20-year-old daughter, Maddie, who had shared clips of her and her mom brushing their teeth set to a song from the Wicked soundtrack.

“Casting a spell so my mom wins Kansas Governor except she’s so done with me,” Maddie Holscher captioned one clip from April, in which she waves her arms around her mother.

Today, October 15, the Catholic Church celebrates St. Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), a Carmelite nun, mystic, spiritual writer, reformer, and Doctor of the Church.

St. Teresa dedicated her life to prayer and helping others grow closer to God. Through her writings, especially The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, she taught that prayer is not simply about saying words, but about developing a deeper friendship with Christ.

One of her most famous teachings reminds us:

“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes.”

In a world full of anxiety, distractions, and uncertainty, her words remind us to place our trust in God and persevere in prayer, even when we struggle.

A few things we can learn from St. Teresa:

- Make time for daily prayer, even when life gets busy.

- Trust God through difficulties and uncertainty.

- Seek a personal, loving relationship with Christ.

- Remember that holiness grows through perseverance and love.

St. Teresa of Ávila, pray for us!

So many people don’t believe or are deceived or confused, and God loves us so much, He’s our Father, our creator and Jesus died on the cross for all of us!

Padre was always so kind and welcoming, he heard many of my confessions and did so much for the Hispanic community in my town. I'm going to miss him so much.

Thank you Lord for Your Priests.

If anyone would like to pray for his soul I included a prayer.

Photos 1, 2: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Photos 3, 4, 5: St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church
Photos 6, 7, 8, 9: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
Photos 10, 11, 12, 13: Corpus Christi Catholic Church
Photo 14: Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church
Photos 15, 16: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

If you love Christian symbolism, add these churches to your bucket list.

Most of you reading this have not seen me before, so this is primarily directed to those who have.

I have been commenting in this subreddit for little over half a year now, and in that time I've had both positive and negative interactions with other commenters.

Sometimes the negativity was initiated by others, and at other times it was initiated by me. I acknowledge that the former is no excuse to perpetuate the negativity, regardless of the circumstance, and it is certainly not in line with turning the other cheek and treating others with love.

I know that "this is not an airport" and that one does not need to "announce their departure." I just wanted to throw together this short apology letter for those I have wronged and treated with a lack of love. I believe I need to take a break from Reddit and have God work on me, particularly in how I treat my fellow man and woman

This apology also extends to the moderator team, which I have heavily criticized in the past and made sweeping generalizations and accusations towards.

With that being said, I am sorry, and apologize for the hurt I may have caused through my disrespectful, rude and otherwise uncharitable behavior. I wish you all the best. God bless.

I recently saw someone talk about the "eye of a needle" comment that Jesus made when he said it'll be hard for the rich to make it into Heaven. Apparently the story goes that the "eye of a needle" in Matthew 19:24 was a small gate in Jerusalem's wall, and a camel could only squeeze through if it knelt and had its load taken off. So the rich just need to humble themselves and drop their baggage. I'll be honest this kinda made sense as an explanation on the surface cause when I first heard the eye of the needle comment I thought of an actual needle and couldn't get over how insanely impossible it was for a camel to fit through an actual needle's eye. But I did some digging and there's essentially no archeological evidence for this kind of gate and almost no mention of it in early sources. So I guess it's more of a recent explanation of Jesus' original statement.
Studying further though, I feel like the impossibility is the whole point because the disciples even asked “Who then can be saved?” and even Jesus follow up when he said "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." leads me to further believe that the picture Jesus was trying to paint was the fact that it was actually impossible so that's why He used an actual impossible scenario to make His point. I wonder if anyone else has heard the gate version and has some insight on this?

hello all,

i posted in this group about two months ago debating having an abortion due to really life circumstances and putting my goals on hold. after numerous responses & listening to God i decided to keep my baby. anytime i thought about abortion i would just cry and cry. but thinking about the future with my baby gave was scary at the time, but brought me far more peace. I just found out recently she is a girl and i will be naming her Eden. i am so excited to meet her. that being said, i see a lot of posts about abortion & i just feel guilty. i feel guilty as someone who is pro life i even considered that. am i going to go to hell, or put my relationship with God in jeopardy for even thinking that? i just feel so guilty, for ever even thinking about aborting this sweet baby girl.

sorry for the rant and TYIA

The Caananite and Amalekyte massacres are pretty much the only unresolved issues in my faith and I can't find any good solution or resolution for them, and they are pretty major issues so I'm kind of starting to doubt the infallibility in the Bible (at least the Old Testament), all of the major explanations never really made sense to me so is there a solution?

Im slolwy starting to fall out of christainity,we'll nit even fall out. I've just been not doing what a christian is supposed to do like read ny bible....not lust....i still pray but thats really the only consistent thing I do.And I notice I have a lot of problems with the religion.One of those being I dont think he made everyone beautiful.some people have a missing eye from birth,ugly jaw,ugly lips or just not good looking.And I dont like the advice we give of dont worry god loves the inner beauty which is true,but people want to find love in a physical relationship with someone else,they want someone to love them.for example im ugly and i think about all the time so much so I dont feel comfortable talking to people at times.Its mainly because of my wieght...i dont look it in the face but im around 300 pounds at 6'2 and I have it because I had to cope with being alone and learning from my mom to bottle up my emotions which has caused me to eat a lot when im stressed,mad,or just irritated so I just think to myself thier is no way god dosent know he made others uglier than some

I am feeling so lost and hopeless right now. In July I found out my husband was having an affair. That escalated to him hurting me and trying to hurt our oldest child. I believe he wanted to kill us. After leaving him and getting a protective order he proceeded to harass us still and after a short stay at a domestic violence shelter I had to pack up all four children and abandon our home and belongings and drive halfway across the country to live with my mom. 7 of us total in a tiny 3 bedroom. But we felt safe at least. Until now. Found out last week he had traveled from Florida where he is stationed to Texas just a few hours from my mom's house. I have no idea why he is there but I couldn't risk it. I loaded the kids up and we are BACK in another domestic violence shelter until I know for sure he is gone. He is supposed to be deployed in less than 2 weeks. He's under criminal investigation with the office of special trial council so I have no idea why his command would approve travel when they know I'm in the area and have a protective order. It's insane to me.

So about my faith. I have always been a lifelong believer in Jesus Christ. I have leaned on my faith to get me through my darkest moments. This all though is really testing. Watching my 16 year marriage fall apart. Nearly being killed. Watching my children's hearts break. Watching them be so terrified they can't even sleep and have dark circles under their eyes. Feeling like my life is just collapsing all around us.

Just when we finally thought we were safe BAM he shows up and any healing and progress we've made is undone. Where is God? I have done everything I can on my end to keep my children safe. Why is everyone failing us? Why isn't God stepping in? We need Him oh so badly.

I am carrying the world on my shoulders. I need rest. I feel so very alone and have been wondering if God even exists anymore and if he does wondering if he hates me.

Someone please pray for us. It's me, my 13, 10, 7 year old boys and my 8 months old daughter. We are at a DV shelter and we are all suffering and hurting and scared. Please ask God for protection and for healing for us. And please help me feel like we have not been abandoned or forsaken.

Often times I get into arguments where folks just assume Christianity is a European religion, was forced by European governments down everybody’s throat, and then go on to base so many other assumptions based on this premise. As a Middle Eastern I actually find that quite offensive. Jesus was born and raised in the Levant and it’s where he spent most of his time, with some of his childhood years spent in Egypt. The apostles also were all from the same area and Christianity really spread outwards from Judea. It’s incredibly disappointing to see how the educational system here at least in the U.S. failed to educate folks this very simple fact. I won’t even get into all the martyrs and people who got killed by multiple empires just due to them being Christians.

I got in contact with my local cathedral and the organist got back! We're gonna schedule a time and discuss further. I'm so excited to learn further!

hi guys Im very depressed if you have any time can u tell me a couple verses or twll me some stories from the bible to read I really feel like nothing is worth it

I personally loved the look of the trailer and can't wait to see the movie.

The only gripe I had with it is the year change.