Are any of these actions or thoughts sins?

[coolcatholicguy]

While driving home from a baseball game, and at some other times, I sometime think badly about The Holy Spirit. I in no way intend to do this, and I try to dismiss it before I can even think about it. Sometimes it gets through though. Tonight in particular though, I almost started to agree with it. Right after I thought about it I said in my head that I believe in God and respect The Holy Spirit. Did I sin in any way here?

Also, my dad and I sometimes get into heated arguments, and a large amount of the time they are my fault. I don’t go into it thinking “I’m going to have a heated argument with my dad.” and it accidentally escalates most of the time. I love my dad, and I never want to think badly of him. I want to follow the Fifth Commandment and any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[baltobetsy]

I sure hope you follow the fifth commandment in your dealings with your father. It would be very sinful indeed to murder him. I believe you are speaking of the fourth commandment - to honor your father and mother.

You can first pray for help to respect your father and not escalate your arguments. Then perhaps you can learn to take a moment to think before you speak. If you just pause, you’ll have time to control what you say. Also, be sure to bring this up in Confession, because you receive specific graces to overcome the sins you confess.

The first thing you asked about sounds like more OCD/scrupulosity stuff. Just let the thoughts pass through your mind without stopping to argue with them at all. Another poster here is fond of comparing such thoughts to a barking dog. Ignore the barking, ignore the thoughts. They are not sinful. They are temptations at most. Don’t engage them.

Betsy

 

[Bookcat]

In general regarding thoughts that come to one …from previous posts…

Hope it helps anyone with problems with thoughts coming to them unwanted…

What should we do with* unwanted* thoughts? Those pesky temptations that can come …even though we are not seeking them etc…

(there are of course some things we should avoid that cause them…and there can be sin if it is something one should reasonably avoid…but often they come uninvited)

First…Relax. Do not worry.

Now are they mortal sins?

For a mortal sin one needs a grave matter …full knowledge AND deliberate consent!!!

for a venial sin …one has to consent …and when thoughts happen and you do not want them or hate them…they displease you…it is a sign of NO CONSENT…

A. If you do not want the thought…it the thought displeases you: it can be a sign actually that you did not give consent or do not give full consent.

B. Even if you felt a temptation for the thought – and were drawn to it —but rejected it and maybe even turned to God : again a sign not full consent.

C. But what if one has a tempting thought --say of a lustful nature and even hesitated for a moment…but then rejected it for one did not want to sin? : it can be partial consent perhaps (and thus a venial sin)-- or it may be no sin at all but rather a strong temptation that drew you but then you saw what was happening and turned away.

D. A temptation can even be very strong or the thoughts very often – but this does NOT mean one has consented! so worry not…even it they go on for a long time…

remember --for it to be mortal there must be that deliberate consent! (for example in lustful thoughts)

What to do? on the spiritual side–relax first of all and remember the above.

Next – know that the more one fears the thoughts the more likely they are to come… or said another way --the more a person seeks to avoid the thoughts the more likely he will have a problem with them. (but do not worry about this either!)

for example: for the next 10 seconds try NOT to think of an apple.

tick tock …

tick tock…

Ok what did you think of? Most likely an apple.

So it is best to ignore them and just not consent and then turn your attention to some other good thing…for instance whatever you are doing. Simply do not consent and move on. and do not worry

another point – thoughts can just happen --they are the stuff with which we think…it is up to us to consent and take them further or not. and just because they are REAL VIVID and almost “think themselves” does not mean per se that one has given ANY consent.

they can be annoying…but need cause no actual harm …

 

[ljubim]

Listen to Bookcat

I just want to add that I brought up something similar in confession recently, and the priest’s advice was that once a thought is presented, there’s a sort of delay period where it’s there but we haven’t had a chance to reject it yet. So just thinking about something isn’t sinful, a lot of the Saints had spiritual attacks on their thoughts too. The priest also said how God can allow Satan to bother our thoughts, and when we recognize this happening, while we’re in the delay period, we make a sign of cross over our hearts and say a quick prayer.

What I think is the case with me is that I’ll eat extra servings and lots of varieties of different tasty foods one after the other. In other words, my self-mortification is failing, and because I’m dependent on my poor little stomach, it’s easier for other aspects of my self to be out of control. I think this is partially the cause behind the seemingly sinful thoughts in myself. You’ve got to figure out what it is for you, figure out what you’ve been doing differently since these blasphemous thoughts have been popping up, and try and solve it. Self-mortification could always help in general, too: gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=13047443 You can often weaken the games the devil plays by being less attatched/needy of things. Remember: I decrease, God increases. Try and be dependent just on God, and everything else you used to “need” can be number two.