Distractions and impure thoughts while praying

  • Thread starter Thread starter ukdal1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
U

ukdal1

Guest
I just went to Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration last night because I needed a place to pray and have some quiet time to reflect on the Lord. But while I was praying, all that went through my mind were bad thoughts. The one that bothered me the most was the thought that the Lord wasn’t really present there in the Eucharist. I have only been going to RCIA and Mass for about a month, but I KNOW and BELIEVE that all the Church teaches about the Eucharist is true and real(and everything else for that matter 🙂 ). But I grew up a Baptist and all I ever heard was that the Lords Supper was symbolic and not real. Is this just going through my head because of my teachings growing up or is it the devil trying to get to me, or both? Please Pray for me, God bless.
 
I would say it’s a little of both. The same thing happened to me when I went to Adoration a week ago and I’m a cradle Catholic. You’re going through a weird time for your mind and your soul right now. No doubt the evil one will employ all his tactics to stop you from being Baptized. Don’t worry about it.

I read in a book by St. Louis de Monfort that when we are very spiritually awake our mind thinks that it needs to be awake too. It just goes through logical fallacies and one thing we can’t logically comprehend is the Eucharist. What you thought is normal. He knows you believe. He knows you better than yourself! Don’t worry about it. If you want I’ll say a prayer for you?
 
Could be both. But here’s the good news. You recognized the difference and you have belief in the Holy Eucharist. So relax, don’t despair or beat yourself up with those thoughts. The devil doesn’t want you in church, so why shouldn’t he tempt you when you are so near to the Lord. However, The closer you draw to Him, through reconciliation and even spiritual direction by a spiritual director, you will recognize God working in your life. You can’t erase your Protestant roots, but you can build on them. Many converts report that they have found the whole truth within the Catholic church. They only had the partial truth and now they are embracing the whole truth. Pray always…our greatest saints admit to great temptation in their lives but they overcame it with God’s help. Ask for the same. Ask our prayer partners the saints who dealt with great temptation to help you as well. God bless you in your walk with the RCIA.
 
When that happens to me , I say " Lord I believe, help my unbelief ". Also a quick prayer to St. Micheal helps. Tim
 
It could be both, and yes, Satan tries to weaken our faith. One important thing when things like this come up is not to fight back on your old. Do not try to get rid of the thoughts on your own, but to offer everything to the Lord …even your unbelief and ask God to help me.

Say a quick prayer and especially the prayer to St. Michael to protect you.

God bless!
 
Remember temptations are not sins, but how we respond to them can lead us to sin or make us stronger. Ask the Holy Spirit for courage to face them and the wisdom to know the difference
 
ukdal1 said:
I just went to Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration last night because I needed a place to pray and have some quiet time to reflect on the Lord. But while I was praying, all that went through my mind were bad thoughts. The one that bothered me the most was the thought that the Lord wasn’t really present there in the Eucharist. I have only been going to RCIA and Mass for about a month, but I KNOW and BELIEVE that all the Church teaches about the Eucharist is true and real(and everything else for that matter 🙂 ). But I grew up a Baptist and all I ever heard was that the Lords Supper was symbolic and not real. Is this just going through my head because of my teachings growing up or is it the devil trying to get to me, or both? Please Pray for me, God bless.
Click to expand...
Persisting in prayer when it is hardest to pray is the most meritorious prayer of all.

-Rob
 
You shouldnt be expressing these thoughts against the faith to other catholics. Just say im struggling with my faith, you dont need to express them and give them more power and life in your mind and soul and then they can effect others. See the example of The little flower.

Also these thoughts are just thoughts, dont be so caught up and lost in your thoughts and your mind. Just stand back from these thoughts, dont resent them .

you are not your thoughts, faith is something seperate.

Keep going to Mass and To prayer . Dont live and have the ground of your being in thoughts, have it in the truth.
 
May God’s peace, love and mercy be with you all!

We always have to remember that even Jesus, Our Good God, was tempted while He was in the desert praying.

Evil, impure thoughts or temptations to doubt the Truth about the holy Catholic Church’s teaching especially the Holy Eucharist are the works of the evil one trying to draw us away from God’s Love and His presence. He tries to knock on the door of our soul to see if we will give in and respond. What we need to do is immediately turn to Our Good Lord Jesus and Our Blessed Mother to help us and no matter how difficult it is to just ignore it and never give up. Praying frequently, doing daily spiritual reading and frequent reception of the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Confession definitely helps a great deal in overcoming the evil one’s influence on us.

Just remember, the more closer closer we draw to Christ, the more He will try to tempt us so that we will separate ourselves from Him. Obviously, he doesn’t have to try hard to tempt people who have already willingly consented in rejecting God’s Love and are living evil, wicked lives. Although for us, we never cease to
pray for those souls because for as long as they have that last breath of life, they may still have that change of heart, by God’s grace, ask for His pardon and mercy and be saved.

We are all on a journey to get home safely in heaven and the good thing is we are never alone. We have Our Good Lord Jesus, Our Blessed Mother, all the angels, saints, poor souls in purgatory and the entire Catholic Churches throughout the world helping and praying for us.

Welcome to the holy Catholic Church! It is truly a great blessing, grace, privilege, and also a responsibility to be a member of the one and only true Church that Jesus Christ has founded 2,000 years ago and still is continuously growing 2,000 years later. We always have the assurance of Jesus’ very own presence in His Church most especially His very own Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, truly present in the most Holy Eucharist each and every day 'till the end of times. We are praying for you and for all each and every day. God bless!

Blessed be Jesus and Mary!
 
Repentorperish, I’m not expressing thoughts I BELIEVE to all the people here. I’m asking for advice to help me with these bad thoughts the devil is putting in my mind. I’m not trying to “express them and give them more power and life in your mind and soul and then they can effect others”. You mean you’ve never asked a question here about a problem you’re having? Please dont take offense, I appreciate what you saying. I just want it made clear I am looking for help. God bless.🙂
 
RepentorPerish said:
You shouldnt be expressing these thoughts against the faith to other catholics. Just say im struggling with my faith, you dont need to express them and give them more power and life in your mind and soul and then they can effect others. See the example of The little flower.

Also these thoughts are just thoughts, dont be so caught up and lost in your thoughts and your mind. Just stand back from these thoughts, dont resent them .

you are not your thoughts, faith is something seperate.

Keep going to Mass and To prayer . Dont live and have the ground of your being in thoughts, have it in the truth.
Click to expand...
Maybe being a little harsh on this person? He came here looking for help and probably expressed them so we could understand the experience he had. 😦
 
ukdal1 said:
I just went to Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration last night because I needed a place to pray and have some quiet time to reflect on the Lord. But while I was praying, all that went through my mind were bad thoughts. The one that bothered me the most was the thought that the Lord wasn’t really present there in the Eucharist. I have only been going to RCIA and Mass for about a month, but I KNOW and BELIEVE that all the Church teaches about the Eucharist is true and real(and everything else for that matter 🙂 ). But I grew up a Baptist and all I ever heard was that the Lords Supper was symbolic and not real. Is this just going through my head because of my teachings growing up or is it the devil trying to get to me, or both? Please Pray for me, God bless.
Click to expand...
I would say a little of both. Don’t fret over this. The devil loses out to Christ and His Church every time. I also wouldn’t let distractions be a sign of the efficacy of your prayer. Sometimes the distractions themselves can be turned into prayer. Once I was in adoration and a group of grade school kids were making quite a racket right outside the chapel. I could barely hear myself think, and at the time I was really wanting to get into some deep prayer and was starting to get really angry. Then all of a sudden I remembered the passage in scripture of coming to Christ as a child. I sat back and just absorbed the laughter of those kids playing. I came out of the chapel just as renewed as those times when I’ve had perfect silence.

Christ is present in the Eucharist. That’s why the devil is trying to convince you otherwise. Go back to adoration and praise Jesus that He loves you so much that the devil is supremely jealous.

Welcome home.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top