Feelings, Emotions, and Prayer as Catharsis

Prayer can take place in a variety of settings and conditions, and address what is uppermost on our minds at any given time. Events and circumstances that occur externally can shape our emotional condition and self-expression. The same is true in terms of what is going on internally in our lives. Sometimes referred to as a conversation with God, we can express prayer on our end through whatever interior disposition is present at the time. God remains the same in every prayer encounter, but we come at it under a wide range of feelings and emotions.

Praying with Emotion

Feelings and emotions are part of being human and have the potential to help us grow in self-understanding. They can also dominate our thoughts and actions in a negative way if left unchecked. Words spoken in anger and fueled by emotion can fall dangerously close to temporary insanity.

The good news is that God understands how we are built, and “interprets” our prayers no matter how ill-conceived or delivered. Saint Paul provides a glimpse of how the Holy Spirit operates as our advocate in prayer in his letter to the Romans:

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will. (Romans 8:26-27)

Emotion and Dis-Ease

Emotional expression, as it pertains to God, can be cathartic and ultimately helpful. When emotional outbursts are directed to anyone other than God, damage can easily occur. Conversing with a spouse or loved one while fear and anger are present in a heightened way will hardly ever end well.

When our emotions turn inward, damage can manifest itself in destructive thoughts and actions. “Emotional eating” is an example of using food as a means to satisfy the hunger of an emotional “empty stomach.” Trying to process complex thoughts and feelings in the middle of a heightened state of fear, anger or sadness will almost always result in a distorted outcome.
Sins, including the Seven Deadly Sins, can be committed without emotional influence, but are usually driven by the desire within us.

Missionary Oblate Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, the author of The Holy Longing, explains desire this way:

Put more simply, there is within us a fundamental dis-ease, an unquenchable fire that renders us incapable, in this life, of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies at the center of our lives, in the marrow of our bones, and in the deep recesses of the soul. We are not easeful human beings who occasionally get restless, serene persons who once in a while are obsessed by desire. The reverse is true. We are driven persons, forever obsessed, congenitally dis-eased, living lives, as Thoreau once suggested, of quiet desperation, only occasionally experiencing peace. (Op. cit., 27)

Desire and Sin

If we are “obsessed by desire,” as Rolheiser suggests, our emotions play an integral role in the way we express ourselves to God and others. “Dis-ease” can spark an inordinate amount of Envy and Anger if left unchecked. Gluttony, Lust, and Greed can stem from desires that are not properly channeled. Sloth, perhaps the only sin not driven by desire, is one of the most misunderstood of the seven. Sloth manifests itself as a kind of spiritual apathy and laziness.

Pride, the capital sin through which all others flow, is the most insidious of all. The exaltation of self while failing to acknowledge God’s primacy, can be driven by desire or stand on its own. While sins like adultery can be easily recognized by a literal or figurative scarlet letter, pride can rear its ugly head without being seen, and oftentimes bears no outward sign of inward emotion.

Gaining control of our emotions is no easy task and can only be fully accomplished with God’s help. It has been noted that we are told to not be afraid, in some form, 365 times in Scripture. That would suggest having no fear on a daily basis. Prayer is the essential “glue” that keeps us from falling apart. Let us pray for the grace to be able to place our feelings and emotions at the foot of the cross as we journey toward Heaven.