Lost in the world
Welcome. I am so glad you found this site which is for people in our area who have been away from the Church or our parish (Our Lady of the Visitation in Darnestown), or who just feel lost in the world. I am the Catholic pastor and shepherd who wants to connect with my sheep, and I use a broad interpretation of whom that includes. So, you don’t have to be Catholic to be on this site. Whatever your faith background or current situation, I welcome your comments and questions at gshaffer@olvp.org.
Life has certainly gotten more challenging in recent years, and we are all struggling more than before. Some people have grown in faith in the midst of suffering, loneliness, and anxiety, crying out to God more than ever. Some have taken a step back in their relationship with God because of the lack of in-person practice. Wherever we have been, it has been a funky past few years in our area and in our world.
30 years ago, I was a lost sheep. I wouldn’t have described myself that way even though I knew I was lost. You might not have thought of yourself in that way either until you found this blog. I was more in the “lost in the world” category the immediate years after my father died in 1988. Those four years astray I was still with my family and friends as well as in and out of practice of my Catholic faith. I was lost in the sense that I was in darkness. I remember clearly being on a college campus and saying to myself, “I am in darkness”.