Can your dreams be sinful?

[jp72]

I have an unusual question. Are my dreams sinful? I have been having erotic dreams a couple nights a week for about a month. I know this is a subconscious thing and I have no control over when it happens. I usually wake up from these dreams and just try and go back to sleep. So I don’t proceed what would be sinful from the dreams. By that definition I feel it’s not a mortal sin. However, can these dreams be considered a venial sin? It is a lustful image that has popped in my head. I have recently come back to the church after many years away. So now I trying to grow in my Catholic faith and grow my love for God and Jesus Christ. Now I have had dreams like this off and on all my life but now it has made me think about them more closely. Am I making too much of this? Should I be bringing this up to my priest in confessions? I feel kind of foolish for asking but I was wondering what the forum thoughts were?

Peace JP

 

[Thecapz]

Pray before you go to sleep, and try and make sure God is the last thing you think about before you go to sleep.

 

[baltobetsy]

You cannot sin in your dreams. You are not in control when you are asleep.

Betsy

 

[Trishie]

Your dreams are an indication of what you need to work on, but to sin you must knowingly and willingly consent to something that you know to be sin. In sleep you don’t have full conscious consent.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

[1859](javascriptpenWindow(‘cr/1859.htm’) Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice.

 

[prodigalson12]

I have an unusual question. Are my dreams sinful? I have been having erotic dreams a couple nights a week for about a month. I know this is a subconscious thing and I have no control over when it happens. I usually wake up from these dreams and just try and go back to sleep. So I don’t proceed what would be sinful from the dreams. By that definition I feel it’s not a mortal sin. However, can these dreams be considered a venial sin? It is a lustful image that has popped in my head. I have recently come back to the church after many years away. So now I trying to grow in my Catholic faith and grow my love for God and Jesus Christ. Now I have had dreams like this off and on all my life but now it has made me think about them more closely. Am I making too much of this? Should I be bringing this up to my priest in confessions? I feel kind of foolish for asking but I was wondering what the forum thoughts were?

Peace JP

We are not bound to this world what so ever in our dream state, who we are, our past and future all are not exactly us, only fragments at best. You cannot be held accountable to your actions in this regard unless you delve into lucid dreaming, that would be another matter.

 

[Highwayhound]

I have an unusual question. Are my dreams sinful? I have been having erotic dreams a couple nights a week for about a month. I know this is a subconscious thing and I have no control over when it happens. I usually wake up from these dreams and just try and go back to sleep. So I don’t proceed what would be sinful from the dreams. By that definition I feel it’s not a mortal sin. However, can these dreams be considered a venial sin? It is a lustful image that has popped in my head. I have recently come back to the church after many years away. So now I trying to grow in my Catholic faith and grow my love for God and Jesus Christ. Now I have had dreams like this off and on all my life but now it has made me think about them more closely. Am I making too much of this? Should I be bringing this up to my priest in confessions? I feel kind of foolish for asking but I was wondering what the forum thoughts were?

Peace JP

I am not sure how old you are, but let me relate something from my boyhood. I had this nightmare which repeated itself maybe 1-2 times each year. In the nightmare I was running away from a dangerous creature. If I could describe it well I would as it was a scary situation. In the dream I would try to run away, but no matter how I tried to run harder I could not. I would get slower.

Over the years I got tired of this nightmare. So each night before bed I would think about changing the end result. One night the nightmare started, but it was over very soon. I saw myself and the creature, but instead of trying to run away I looked to my side, saw a car, got in and drove away. I never had the nightmare after that.

Now let me add that love and human sexuality is a great gift from God. To be attracted to the opposite sex is not a problem. However, it should not be a game or a trifle.

The poster that mentioned praying to God before going to bed I think gave you good advice. I would add that you might specifically pray for the grace to be pure of thought. I know this has helped me with similar dreams.

Finally, please never feel foolish about confession. There will come a time when you will perceive how wonderful a sacrament confession is. When this happens you will be able to sit down with a priest and openly confess your sins because you will desire the grace more than you will worry about the guilt. You will want your soul to shine so that it can be a light unto others.

God bless