Catholic Company® Good Catholic™ Catholic Coffee™ Rosary.com™ Morning Offering™

Am I doing something wrong if my prayer feels “dry”?

Actually, you’re being offered the opportunity of doing something right.

Every soul experiences a feeling of dryness at various points in its prayer life.

Many of the saints experienced these periods—called “spiritual desolation”—repeatedly with great intensity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the feeling as a time when “the heart is separated from God, with no taste for thoughts, memories, and feelings, even spiritual ones.”

Sometimes, God allows a soul this period of dryness as a chance to grow in spiritual strength.

This might sound alarming, but don’t worry—God never overtaxes a soul. He only permits tests that the soul is capable of overcoming, and which will help the soul grow closer to Him through virtue.

Monks at Prayer in a Cloister by Karl Biermann

If we only experienced feelings of consolation and happiness during our prayer time, our imperfect souls would grow attached to those feelings rather than to God Himself. That means we wouldn’t really know or love Him for Who He really is.

So, dryness in prayer is often a means of spiritual growth and maturity by which we can develop unshakeable faith in God. Proving our faith takes total trust, perseverance, and love. It is difficult—it is a battle. It is “sheer faith clinging to Jesus in His agony and in His tomb,” as the Catechism expresses it.

It would be a great mistake to imagine that spiritual desolation arrests progress in virtue or enfeebles the spirit of fervor. On the contrary, it affords occasion of heroic virtue and of absolute detachment from sensible pleasure, whether natural or supernatural.
The Catholic Encyclopedia

When we push through dryness in prayer, we have to use the above-mentioned virtues consistently. And by exercising all these virtues, we strengthen them and grow in them.

Think of how Our Risen Lord asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Peter had to keep replying, “Lord, You know that I love You.”

When we feel discouraged in prayer, God is asking gently, “Do you love Me? Will you pursue Me even when it’s difficult, when I seem far away?” He wants to hear us answer again and again, like Peter, “Yes, Lord, I do love You!”

As a spiritual advisor, St. Francis de Sales helped countless souls overcome and benefit from spiritual dryness. Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey contains all his invaluable, practical, and surprisingly simple advice on how to overcome repeated spiritual dryness, how to restore unquestioning confidence in Jesus, and so much more. The invaluable wisdom in these pages will place you well on your way to true spiritual progress. Get your copy today!

You may enjoy...

Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

Roses Among Thorns: Simple Advice for Renewing Your Spiritual Journey

Buy Now
Personalized Serenity Prayer Journal

Personalized Serenity Prayer Journal

Buy Now
Adoration Prayer White Candle

Adoration Prayer White Candle

Buy Now
St. Faustina “Trust” Quote Mug

St. Faustina “Trust” Quote Mug

Buy Now

Load More