Spiritual Experience

My sister and I were talking about why some of our friends who went to Catholic schools no longer believe in God. I don't mean that they dropped out of the Church, but that they actually don't believe in God as we were taught it. Why do I still believe might also be a question?

I think that in many cases bad things happen in a person's life, such as sickness, loss of child, job, lack of a love life, and so on. We were taught that God is loving and has power. So why did all this mess happen? It does not compute. Must be no God or at least not one that can help me. I wonder if these people who stop believing, have never had a vital spiritual experience of God such that they believe even when mess happens.

For me God became a relationship of person to person. It is a felt presence at many times. I am out of sorts if I go more than a couple of days without checking in for some quiet time together. The experience goes beyond a reasoned belief in God. Faith that is merely reasonable will fail us when bad things happen. There must be a deeper experience of being loved in spite of all that happens in our lives. Catholic school can only appeal to reason. They can take us to mass, but there is no guarantee that we will have a sufficient spiritual experience of Presence to carry us through the rough times.