Absolute TORTURE!

[itsjustdave1988]

Also I recommend as often as you can, pray of adoration before the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, or anytime before Christ present under the Eucharistic species. By merely being in the Lord’s presence, depending upon one’s disposition, one can receive the Lord’s grace.

One prayer I recommend is the hymn Adore te Devote, by St. Thomas Aquinas (from the Daily Roman Missal, St. Joseph’s Edition):

Adore te Devote
by St. Thomas Aquinas (english translation):

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed.
I believe all the Son of God has spoken :
Than Truth’s own word there is no trucer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view,
But here lies hid at once the manhood too :
And I, in both professing my believe,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be.
Make me blieve Thee ever more and more,
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O Thou, memorial of our Lord’s own dying!
O living bread, to mortals life supplying!
Make Thou my soul henceforth on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood :
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Can purge the entire world from all its guilt.

Jesu! whom for the present veiled I see,
What I so thirst for, oh, vouchasafe to me :
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

 

[WanderAimlessly]

Paris Blues:

Guys,

IT’S TORTURE!!!:crying:

What’s torture you ask?

Not being able to take the Eucharist!!! :crying: You guys have NO CLUE how much I LONG for it!!! :crying: Worse part is, I have to wait until NEXT Easter to take it, probably!!! That’s WAY too long for me!!!

I went to my RCIA last night and I was talking to this lady about it and she agreed with it that it IS TORTURE!!! She said that her feelings are hurt! LOL!!! But the good news for her is that her family - who is also converting - are able to take it in March this year!! NO FAIR!!! LOL!!

How can I cope with this and try to calm down? I mean, going to Mass Saturday evenings is great but when I see the people going up to take the Eucharist, my feelings ARE hurt! :crying: Literally! Sometimes I even have the urge to leave during it but I have to force myself to stay. But it’s torture just watching the people get the Eucharist and you can’t yet! It’s like you’re dying of thrist and you can’t drink for a whole year! Well, that’s a stupid comparision but it’s kinda the same concept!

What can I do to cope with this and wait? I mean, is this good or bad in the long run?

Actually, I do. Although I was baptized Catholic, my family fell away soon after I was born. I never went to Mass or had any eductation. When I decided to get confirmed in college, the priest suggested that I refrain from receiving until my confirmation, That was a year and a half process.

In the long run, it will be a good thing since you will cherish it more.

As for coping, prayer and learning more about the Church are their own rewards.

PF

 

[jmm08]

joshua1:

Only a priest can give or bestow a blessing in the name of the Church. Anyone can say God bless you, but this is only asking a blessing for you. Only a priest can officially bless a person. One other note, a lay person should never ever extend their right hand and make the sign of the cross over some one because that is reserved for the Priest by the virtue of his Holy Orders. There is an official book of blessings that outline certain things that a lay person can do but it is very few.

It is my understanding that a deacon can also give a blessing.

 

[Scullinius]

WanderAimlessly:

Actually, I do. Although I was baptized Catholic, my family fell away soon after I was born. I never went to Mass or had any eductation. When I decided to get confirmed in college, the priest suggested that I refrain from receiving until my confirmation, That was a year and a half process.

In the long run, it will be a good thing since you will cherish it more.PF

Well, by that reasoning, why wait only a year and a half? Why not wait three years?

Scullinius

 

[itsjustdave1988]

Scullinius:

Well, by that reasoning, why wait only a year and a half? Why not wait three years?

Scullinius

That’s absurd.

The wait is due to obedience to those charged with the care of our souls (cf. Heb 13:17). "Obedience deserves praise because it proceeds from charity: for Gregory says (Moral. xxxv) that “obedience should be practiced, not out of servile fear, but from a sense of charity, not through fear of punishment, but through love of justice. … the virtue of obedience, whereby we contemn our own will for God’s sake, is more praiseworthy than the other moral virtues” (Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, IIb, 104, 3)

 

[jmm08]

CCC #1475 “… recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.”

Matt16_18:

This refers to the temporal punishments due to sin, not to the eternal punishments due to sin.

If the word punishments (in 1475) refers only to temporal punishment, then why didn’t the CCC specifically say so? Instead the word punishments is used (plural). Obviously CCC Chapter 2, Article 4 Section X deals with Indulgences. But 1475 talks about a contrite sinner having a prompt and efficacious recourse to be purified. What good would such purification be if it only dealt with temporal punishment? CCC #1475 also says “the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others.”

I would say that depending on CCC #1475 does not result in the same assurance (as absolution during confession). I think it is rather something a sinner such as I might hope for. There is a difference between the sure norm and a hope in God’s mercy.

Going to confession, doing penance and taking Holy Communion – these are the normal way mature Catholic Christians receive forgiveness of mortal sins. Venial sins are also forgiven.

Venial sins can be forgiven other ways too.

Venial sins are forgiven during the Penitential Rite during the Litergy of the Word.

Venial sins can be forgiven by an act of contrition.

St. Augustine wrote that an “Our Father” devoutly prayed takes away venial sins (see 12th Rose, Secret of the Rosary).

There are multiple ways that venial sins can be forgiven. God is not willing that any should perish. Yet each of these ways involves Jesus Christ.

CCC #1452 also describes that perfect contrition obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to go to sacramental confession as soon as possible.

I hope CCC #1453 attrition might also obtain forgiveness of mortal sins as long as the words “By itself however” are far from an accurate description of the actual situation. But this is not a sure norm. Just something I can hope for, since I cannot yet receive sacraments (and it may be awhile).

Aside from that, I only seek to encourage my brother Paris Blues.

Going for such a long time without Holy Communion is giving me a very big appreciation for all the other wonderful things in the Catholic Church. I go to First Fridays. I sometimes go to our Chapel for Eucharistic Adoration. I am learning to love the Rosary. And I enrolled in the Confraternity of the Rosary (which I very highly recommend).

 

[WanderAimlessly]

itsjustdave1988:

Scullinius

*Well, by that reasoning, why wait only a year and a half? Why not wait three years?

Scullinius*

That’s absurd.

The wait is due to obedience to those charged with the care of our souls (cf. Heb 13:17). "Obedience deserves praise because it proceeds from charity: for Gregory says (Moral. xxxv) that “obedience should be practiced, not out of servile fear, but from a sense of charity, not through fear of punishment, but through love of justice. … the virtue of obedience, whereby we contemn our own will for God’s sake, is more praiseworthy than the other moral virtues” (Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, IIb, 104, 3)Dave

My thoughts exactly. In fact, I am on another journey that will take me about 18 months and may lead me to training for the priesthood. This time it is easier since I am unsure of my final destination and I want to make sure it is a correct one.

Like Paris, I had an exceptionally hard time waiting to receive the Eucharist. This was especially difficult when I was told I would not be confirmed with the first group. Looking back on it, I was probably not ready after only 6 months. In addition, I switched colleges and got a more thorough instruction through the Benedictines at that college.

PF

 

[Matt16_18]

jmm08:

If the word punishments (in 1475) refers only to temporal punishment, then why didn’t the CCC specifically say so? Instead the word punishments is used (plural).

It does:CCC 1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains.

The eternal punishments due sin are remitted only by the shed blood of Jesus. We aren’t forgiven the eternal punishments of sin though the shed blood of the saints. If that were possible, then Jesus would not have needed to die on the cross, since the many of the Holy Prophets of God were martyrs. We could have received salvation through the blood of the martyrs. When we seek forgiveness for our sins though sorrow and contrition for our sins, the eternal punishment due those sin is immediately obtained through the precious blood of Jesus.

The reason why “punishments” (plural) is used in the CCC, is because sin is connected to our vices. The sin of pride might entail many ways in which we need to develop the virtue of humility; hence this sin has many “temporal punishments”.

The temporal punishments of sin remain after the forgiveness of sins is obtained. Even venial sins bring about the temporal punishment due to sin … that is why there is a purgatory for those who die without guilt for mortal sin on their soul. Purgatory is for those who die in a state of sanctifying grace, but have not yet having achieved Christian perfection. A person that still has inordinate self-love when he dies will have to be purified of that inordinate self-love before he can dwell in heaven. The temporal punishments of sin can be thought of as the consequences of inordinate self-love. The penance that we receive in the Sacrament of Confession, and the work that we do to obtain an indulgence helps us be conformed to Christ. (See CCC 1434-1439 for the many forms of penance in the Christian life.)

CCC #1452 also describes that perfect contrition obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to go to sacramental confession as soon as possible.

I hope CCC #1453 attrition might also obtain forgiveness of mortal sins as long as the words “By itself however” are far from an accurate description of the actual situation. But this is not a sure norm. Just something I can hope for, since I cannot yet receive sacraments (and it may be awhile).

Mortal sins are forgiven by contrition for the sin. God does not withhold his forgiveness for mortal sin until one confesses the mortal sin in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The forgiveness for sin is given by God as soon as one asks for forgiveness. But the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not only about obtaining forgiveness for sin, it is also about reconciling oneself with the Church. One needs to confess mortal sin to a priest to be reconciled to the church. “* Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.*” (CCC 1445).

 

[Jade]

Dear Paris,

What Exporter said is bang on: Jesus knows how you feel! He will reward you for waiting! You will be stronger for suffering!

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I feel this way as well- absolute torture- you couldn’t have said it better.

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I am in RCIA too but there is one thing that I hold on to for dear life- I unite my suffering with Christ. I said in another post- it pains my soul to see my God leave Heaven to meet with me and I want nothing more than to run to Him, but I have to refrain-

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Lean on Christ and see how much He will support us!

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Hang in there Paris!!

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[Paris_Blues]

puzzleannie:

No only a priest can give a blessing. QUOTE]

FINALLY!!!

When going to Mass Saturday night, I finally got the priest to give me a blessing!