Can I return?

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Blondie86Star

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I dont reall knwo where to post this but anyway. Over the past few years I’ve drifted a lot from my strong Catholic upbringing, experimenting in drugs and premarital sex. A lot of it to be honest is down to peer pressure. I’m so ashamed of my behaviour.

I want to rejoin my catholic faith fully, but how do i go about this now?
 
Tell God you love him. Go to Confession to show it and to reconcile. Welcome home.
 
I won’t wecome you back, but I will give you a congratulations. Since you never informed your bishop, you never really left. You simply lived a life of sin like most of us. We all need regular confession to properly receive the rest of the sacraments. I’d make that a priority for this advent season, and I’ll recommend that to myself too.👍

I guess I’m trying to say that you probably were never as bad off as you think you are now.🙂
 
Welcome!!! and God bless you.
This is a perfect time to go to Confession. Don’t delay it and don’t be afraid. God is God of mercy. The priest will help you go through the confession and don’t worry he has not heard any sins that he hasn’t heard before.

When you come out of the Confessional room, you will be rejoice that you are loved.
 
Blondie86Star said:
I’m so scared about going to confession
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You don’t need to be, but I understand that you are and why your are. You can start by going to a priest in your local parish and telling him just what you have said here. I am sure he will also want you to go to confession, but it might be helpful to just talk to him first. Your first encounter with the Church doesn’t have to be through the screen of a confessional. Go talk to the guy. He can help you more than we can here. If it takes some time and talk, he can give that to you.

Welcome home.
 
TMC said:
You can start by going to a priest in your local parish and telling him just what you have said here. I am sure he will also want you to go to confession, but it might be helpful to just talk to him first.
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I believe this is a great idea.

Being fear is quite normal indeed. When you go to the confession, pray to the Saints also especially St. Michael the Archangel and your Guardian Angel to protect you. You definitely pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you to give you the humility to deal with the truth and to give you faith to trust in Jesus’ mercy.

You will be fine!
 
baltobetsy said:
Have you ever done it before? Was it difficult for you?

Betsy
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Yeah, i have gone before, when i was younger for somethings not as severe as this. i’m worried about judgement and things like that
 
Blondie86Star said:
Yeah, i have gone before, when i was younger for somethings not as severe as this. i’m worried about judgement and things like that
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When you’ve been away for awhile and you have serious sins to confess, the priests are very happy to have you return. You are considered a “big fish,” and your confession generally makes the priest’s whole day worthwhile.

Don’t worry about being judged, because it is Jesus doing the judging, and He loves you more than you can imagine. And you have already judged yourself, haven’t you? You know that you’ve done things that are seriously bad, and that they are your fault. The priest in confession may confirm that for you, but mainly he is interested in giving you the forgiveness of Christ for those sins. What he won’t do is tell you that your sins are too bad to be forgiven. As long as you are truly sorry and mean to try hard not to do those sins again, you will be forgiven. And if you do fall into the same sins again, you will be forgiven every time you are truly sorry.

This is a wonderful time for you to return to your Faith. Most parishes have extra times for Confession scheduled. You can go at a regularly scheduled time, or to an Advent Penance Service that has individual Confessions, or you may make an appointment with your priest to meet at another time. Just make sure that you get the opportunity to confess your sins individually and privately to the priest. They are serious enough to require this, so be sure you do that.

There is a 99% chance that the priest you encounter will be kind and happy to reconcile you. If you are one of the very, very rare 1% of people who run across a grumpy priest, don’t take it personally. He was grumpy before you came in, I promise, and it doesn’t mean that God is angry with you or refuses to take you back. Just say a little prayer for the priest and go to someone else next time. And next time should be in a month or so - don’t let it go a long time, because the graces are incredible!

God bless you, and I’ll pray for you. I promise, you will be so light and happy afterward, you’ll wonder why you hesitated. And you’ll surely have a deeply peaceful and Merry Christmas!

Betsy
 
Welcome! Grace is at work. There is a good program for returning Catholics called Landings. Our diocese and parish have such a program, the intention of which is to support those who return to their faith. If your diocese has such a program, consider participating. To oversimplify, it is a structured series of meetings in private homes to provide prayer and spiritual support. It is not as easy to come back as some think. The link below will give more specifics.

usccb.org/evangelization/reconciliation.shtml
 
I just want to echo what everybody else has said. Make an appointment as soon as possible with a priest at the closest Catholic Church. Do you have a Bible? The translation that the Catholic Church uses is the New American Bible. You should find comfort in the story of the Prodigal Son. After wasting his inheritance he returned home. The father ran toward him while he was still a long way off. There are other reasons besides confession that you may want to see a priest. You will want to be register with a parish. As part of a parish family, you will find needed support to help you with your new resolve. If your past cathechesis was weak, you will want to take advantage of adult education programs. Take things one step at a time as you find your niche while God directs your heart.
 
Blondie86Star said:
Yeah, i have gone before, when i was younger for somethings not as severe as this. i’m worried about judgement and things like that
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Oh, dear…welcome back! Don’t be scared! Maybe you should try to join in with the RCIA class that might be going on right now in your parish, and go along with them for preparation for Reconcilation.

I have a 35 years worth of sins to confess … yep, definitely some of those you named :whistle:

Just think about it…wouldn’t it feel good to be squeaky clean and feel the grace of God?

I will pray for you!
 
Of course you can return!

Check out these resources for some encouragement and info on confession. www.cmonback.com and www.confession101.com
The cmonback site was very helpful to me about 6 years ago.

I had some big things to confess after being away for about 8 years. Some of the same things you have - no doubt.

I sought out a priest that I knew. He was so kind and gentle. He didn’t fall off of his chair or gasp in horror. :eek: Afterwards it was the BEST feeling. I just floated along for a couple of days. It was nice to be able to receive Communion again.

I go every couple of months now - not every 8 years - and I don’t get that floating feeling every time. That particular time, though, was a turning point in my life.

Go. Then celebrate!
 
When I get nervous about Confession, it always helps me to remember; Father has heard this sin confessed many, many times before. There isn’t a sin you can confess he hasn’t heard before, probably, unless you’re secretly a serial murderer of penguins.

Even then actually…
 
Blondie86Star said:
Yeah, i have gone before, when i was younger for somethings not as severe as this. i’m worried about judgement and things like that
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I am a convert and had 40 years worth of “stuff” (sin) to confess at my first one. Some of it qualified as mortal sins (I actually knew better at the time, even though was not catholic). I would echo what other people have said - I would expect that the priest would be very happy to hear your confession!!! The worst part for me was actually waiting to get into the confessional and get it done. I just about floated out of the church afterwards. (had a smile that wouldnt leave for several days.)

Be encouraged!!! Also to quote the great JPII " Be not afraid!!!":getholy:
 
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