Am I obliged to Keep Promises?

[Angel7]

I can faintly recall promising to pray a Novena for my Little Cousin. I have tried to pray for him for 9 days every night, but sometimes I fall asleep or The day ends (Past 12:00)
So if I have trouble keeping thsi promise, what do I do? Should I keep trying?

 

[True_Believer_1]

I beleive that you have answered your own question - “Evil conquers when good lays dorment” Keep your promises, they are held sacred by God. Do what you say that you will!

May God Bless you and be with you!

NOT JUST STRONG…CATHOLIC STRONG!!!

 

[Bookcat]

I can faintly recall promising to pray a Novena for my Little Cousin. I have tried to pray for him for 9 days every night, but sometimes I fall asleep or The day ends (Past 12:00)
So if I have trouble keeping thsi promise, what do I do? Should I keep trying?

Pray first thing in the morning …or before you eat your lunch

and did you promise a certain ‘novena’ or just that you would make ‘a novena’ for your little cousin? If not specified…you can pray a shorter prayer each day…

tis not the number of words!

or even the perfect prayer–the Our Father and add at the end a short aspiration of “Mary, pray for…so and so” and again do it first thing or right before lunch --some time you will remember.

 

[OraLabora]

I seem to recall reading somewhere, though, that if we fall asleep in prayer the intent of the prayer is valid even though we didn’t complete it.

If I’m going to fall asleep, there can be much worse last thoughts than God, and the desire to help one of His suffering children!

 

[Mumbles140]

Then again, Ora, lest we not forget what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane ;o)

I’m merely joking, of course. There have been several nights where I have tried to pray the Rosary and let heavy eyes get the better of me. I would recommend either not waiting until right before bed (if possible), or praying a shorter prayer that you know you will be able to finish without dozing off!

 

[OraLabora]

Then again, Ora, lest we not forget what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane ;o)

I’m merely joking, of course. There have been several nights where I have tried to pray the Rosary and let heavy eyes get the better of me. I would recommend either not waiting until right before bed (if possible), or praying a shorter prayer that you know you will be able to finish without dozing off!

I usually pray Compline before going to sleep. It helps if I pray it sitting up in my small oratory in my office, than lying down in bed

The Rosary was always a toughie for me though… much trouble keeping my thoughts from straying or from falling asleep.

 

[Mumbles140]

Yes, the Rosary can be a challenge later on at night. That’s why I’ll kneel or sit extremely upright to try and not let sleepiness become a distraction

 

[Bookcat]

I can faintly recall promising to pray a Novena for my Little Cousin. I have tried to pray for him for 9 days every night, but sometimes I fall asleep or The day ends (Past 12:00)
So if I have trouble keeping thsi promise, what do I do? Should I keep trying?

PS: did you read the response i put on your other post from abit back? if not it is there…

 

[Angel7]

I have felt like my prayer life has been declining recently, I don’t pray The Holy Rosary now, before I used to. I don’t pray The Morning Offering now, before I usd to. Now It has been a struggle to Keep praying every Night, Which I have done for A long time. I have noticed a steady decline, slowly, I just kept falling.

 

[Bookcat]

I have felt like my prayer life has been declining recently, I don’t pray The Holy Rosary now, before I used to. I don’t pray The Morning Offering now, before I usd to. Now It has been a struggle to Keep praying every Night, Which I have done for A long time. I have noticed a steady decline, slowly, I just kept falling.

Do not worry…

make sure you are not setting your self a too big ‘to do list’…

we must avoid such!

be simple. be reasonable.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a2.htm

 

[OraLabora]

Do not worry…

make sure you are not setting your self a too big ‘to do list’…

we must avoid such!

be simple. be reasonable.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a2.htm

I find the Liturgy of the Hours an excellent way to establish a prayer discipline.

But it is best to start slowly; maybe just Lauds and Vespers to begin with, or Lauds and Compline.

You’ll find that as you develop a love for and familiarity with the psalms, you’ll hunger for more!

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Yes, we should always pray for someone if we say we will. It doesn’t have to be a huge, elaborate big deal however. Saying an Our Father or a Hail Mary for that person’s intention is OK.

Often, if I say I will pray for someone (say a co-worker tells me about a death in his family), then I stop and say the prayer right then. As soon as I have finished speaking to that person. Then I know that my promise has been fulfilled. Later, if that person’s intention comes to mind, I will pray again right then. A mental Hail Mary or a quick, “Jesus, please watch over so-and-so”.

Sometimes we build up big plans for our prayer life–20 decades of the rosary, all the LOTH, etc and it simply cannot be done because we are lay people living in the world with other responsibilities and commitments. It is best to start small and build up rather than start big and find that we have simply stopped praying althogether!

Start now with something small–a morning offering say. Add in an evening prayer during Lent. After Easter see if you can start saying 1 decade of the rosary at lunch. n that way you will build up and find a place that you can sustain along with your other daily duties.

 

[Mumbles140]

I hit a stretch in college where I was not praying at night all too frequently–whether it was from going out, working on homework, or just putting it off until ‘just before bed’, which all too frequently would lead to falling asleep beforehand. I then decided I may be trying to do ‘too much’ at night. I began reading the Evening Prayers in the Angelus Latin Missal, which take the right amount of time to be able to do them nightly without making excuses. Then, on nights where I was more focused, I would say a Rosary along with it.

Also, though it is always nice to pray before bedtime to clear your mind, it is helpful to pray throughout the day when you can. This has helped me stay calm and focused through many long commutes to work, and it gives you a better outlook on your day!

 

[jmcrae]

I can faintly recall promising to pray a Novena for my Little Cousin. I have tried to pray for him for 9 days every night, but sometimes I fall asleep or The day ends (Past 12:00)
So if I have trouble keeping thsi promise, what do I do? Should I keep trying?

Yes, keep trying.

Don’t worry about the days you’ve missed - just carry on from where you left off. If you keep starting over, you will never finish.

 

[Angel7]

Yes, keep trying.

Don’t worry about the days you’ve missed - just carry on from where you left off. If you keep starting over, you will never finish.

Really? That is what your supposed to do?
I just kept starting over.
So when you make a promise there is no out of it? Does it depend on who the Promise is To? One night, when I was praying I said I would “Offer my self and my sacrifices, in repartition to The offenses commited against The Lord, In The Blessed Sacrament, The Holy Eucharist.”

So does this mean I am obliged to do whatever possible for this Cause?
Do you keep promises where you do not know what you are getting into?
Can A promise be made up in any other way?
What if you break a Promise?

 

[Bookcat]

Really? That is what your supposed to do?
I just kept starting over.
So when you make a promise there is no out of it? Does it depend on who the Promise is To? One night, when I was praying I said I would “Offer my self and my sacrifices, in repartition to The offenses commited against The Lord, In The Blessed Sacrament, The Holy Eucharist.”

So does this mean I am obliged to do whatever possible for this Cause?
Do you keep promises where you do not know what you are getting into?
Can A promise be made up in any other way?
What if you break a Promise?

Depends on what the promise was? What did you say?

By the way …i suggest not making promises…

If you promise something impossible or evil…THAT is different story.

If you promise the cousin you would pray a novena …and that is all…we that can be simply 9 days of praying the Our Father for him…so do that and worry not

Also – take this up with your confessor

 

[Mumbles140]

I have two separate thoughts in mind concerning your last questions:

First, when you promise something to God, it is making an oath to Him. There may be shortcomings in your oath, but through penance and deep prayer you can re-focus yourself on attaining this end. Often times, at least for myself, the oaths I make to God are not concrete promises (I will do THIS before THEN or else I’ll THAT), but rather pledges to work towards something, like “I will make a serious attempt to attend daily mass at least once a week.”

Secondly, though not authoritative in any means, rather something to ponder about–in The Divine Comedy, one of the earlier spheres of Heaven is for those who failed to keep their promises ‘through no fault of their own.’ Dante is proposing that when a human declares a promise to God out of their own free will, then not fulfilling that promise could have consequences. Granted, they still achieve Eternal Salvation and are filled with all the joy and love that they can sustain, but it is a theoretical segregation that is interesting to note. A promise to God is something we freely choose to do, and breaking that promise could leave a stain upon our souls.

 

[Bookcat]

I have two separate thoughts in mind concerning your last questions:

First, when you promise something to God, it is making an oath to Him. There may be shortcomings in your oath, but through penance and deep prayer you can re-focus yourself on attaining this end. Often times, at least for myself, the oaths I make to God are not concrete promises (I will do THIS before THEN or else I’ll THAT), but rather pledges to work towards something, like “I will make a serious attempt to attend daily mass at least once a week.”

Not an oath. it can be a vow – if you knowly intend to make a vow. and this being a private vow – can be changed by the one who made it to something equal or greater…or can be dispensed by ones Pastor.

but alot of prayers sound like vows…but are not…so do not scruple about this!

but a promise to God can just be a promise! one has to intend to bind oneself in a vow…to make a vow.

 

[Angel7]

So when one consecrates oneself to God, or To The Blessed Virgin Mary.
What does that mean?
Can Promises be dispensed in a way, or made up in another?

 

[Bookcat]

So when one consecrates oneself to God, or To The Blessed Virgin Mary.
What does that mean?
Can Promises be dispensed in a way, or made up in another?

We are consecrated to God by our very Baptism!

a person may further consecrate themselves via a vow which involves the virtue of religion…such as a religious or some tertiaries.

a person has to know they are binding themselves in order to make a vow…so worry not.

a devotional ‘consecration’ or entrustment …is devotional and does not necessarity mean one is bound under ‘pain of sin’ as they say…

vows may be dispensed etc. depends on the kind of vow. a private vow can be commuted by the person who made it to something equal. or may be dispensed by their pastor or bishop or the Pope …

promises can become impossible --they well become impossible …

or the person to whom they are made can release one…at any time