Disturbed at how many priests are liberal

[gmcbroom]

AC Claire, I do indeed go there. It is a great parish. But to answer your question I wasn’t teasing and I am completely serious about the topic. Now, everyone is free to either agree or disagree that is the benefit of having a free will. It’s your choice to believe it or not. If you feel I’m in error then you feel I’m in error. It’s okay and I accept it.

 

[Jacafamala]

I went to confession last saturday like i always do and confessed masturbation which i continuously struggle with. My priest responds by telling me its venial at my age(i always pull back the curtain i am 17 btw) If i didn’t know any better this could have stopped me trying quit, which disturbs me. Im thinking this is the appropriate Forum if not sorry.

You need to see if there’s a good traditional or serious orthodox priest in your area.

If there are none and he’s all you’ve got, don’t ask this priest for any advice in Confession. Just state your sins and ask for absolution. In the future if he gives you advice, I’d be respectful, I wouldn’t trust it.

 

[Jacafamala]

AC Claire, I do indeed go there. It is a great parish. But to answer your question I wasn’t teasing and I am completely serious about the topic. Now, everyone is free to either agree or disagree that is the benefit of having a free will. It’s your choice to believe it or not. If you feel I’m in error then you feel I’m in error. It’s okay and I accept it.

What matters is what the Church teaches, not how you or I feel about it. The Church teaches masturbation is very sinful.

 

[gmcbroom]

Dear Jacafamala your absolutely right. You do understand that is what I’m trying to ascertain right? Our feelings should have nothing to do with it. I’m simply trying to find the truth of if its a sin or not. Leviticus comes close by saying your unclean until evening but that could entail that sin has a time limit.I’m not certain sins have time limits. Do they? Keep in mind I’m a Catachaum here who is looking for answers to questions. Perhaps if it was a form of idolatry? Thats a sin. Perahsps I’ll refrain. Truthfully I have no idea. It doesn’t dominate my thoughts I simply do it when I like to. Like drinking. Truthfully if it is a sin I formally aplogize for offending others by discussing it. but you do understand in this day and age I had to know. Either way I’ll find out if it truly is a sin when I die. May that be many years from today.

 

[Podo2005]

I also struggle with this , and my priest said that its like learning to walk, if you fall, just get back up and try again. He said to not take it so hard when I fall, which concerns me also… Isn’t it a venial sin though? Mortal sins are serious ones like rape, murder, missing mass… right?

It still concerns me how he just pushed it aside…

Well that should motivate you to pray for the virtue of Chastity and practice it.

I think the message that your priest is trying to convey is that we shouldnt make it seem as if our sins are bigger than Christ’s sacrifice on calvary(in other words we shouldnt give up, we should just try again to be chaste). Remember what the Church teaches about contrition…i.e. that Perfect contrition consists of repenting out of Love for Christ & others not out of fear or punishment/hell(which is imperfect contrition).

That being said I also empathize with you on that point. It also frustates me when priests push aside what we(teens) confess as sin to be just trivial indulgences.(i.e. Oh even though masturbation is wrong it is normal for a teen to do as its a part of growing up so dont worry about it…)Sin may be just sin (i.e. Christ has conquered sin & death) but sin is still sin (it is going to have negative consequences & will lead you further & further away from Christ if you dont do something about it!)

I always worry that some not so clever teen will take the priests advice to mean " Oh go and sin away lad it doesnt matter what you do, you can always obtain forgiveness for it! so dont worry…"

Prayers for you my friend, I struggle with this too… it is a hard habit to break:blush:

Your friend in Christ
Zachary

 

[Podo2005]

youngsaint: it is a mortal sin - which is all the more reason to make sure you push the thoughts aside as quickly as possible when they arise.

It is a sin of grave matter… it is only a mortal sin in so far as the 3 conditions of a mortal sin are met

That being said youngsaint dont do it… any sin no matter how trivial it seems shouldnt be taken lightly

 

[ac_claire]

It is a sin of grave matter… it is only a mortal sin in so far as the 3 conditions of a mortal sin are met

That being said youngsaint dont do it… any sin no matter how trivial it seems shouldnt be taken lightly

…which is not to say that missing Mass is in any way “trivial”. It’s grave matter, and if you miss Mass without a valid reason, knowing full well what you’re doing, it’s a mortal sin.

Which means of course, if you were to die with that sin on your soul the outlook would not be good for you. (I bring this up to remind myself as much as anyone else.)

 

[Lujack]

What matters is what the Church teaches, not how you or I feel about it. The Church teaches masturbation is very sinful.

The Church teaches masturbation is a grave matter. For a teenager, it is very likely that it is a venial sin, due to various factors that prevent it from being mortal. Since its a difficult sin to confess, I find it hard to fault a priest for not coming down with the wrath of God upon a teenager who was able to work up the courage to confess it.

 

[youngsaint]

youngsaint: it is a mortal sin - which is all the more reason to make sure you push the thoughts aside as quickly as possible when they arise.

DANG! It will never happen again!
Pray for me alright guys!

 

[revert_jen]

I’m glad someone gave me the verse to read Lev chp 15 verse 16. Now, now unclean until evening may be bad but that doesn’t mean your going to hell or even committing a mortal sin. To throw even more oil on the fire the book is concerned for the Legal Purity for priests. So unless your planning on being a priest or you already are one, you may choose to masturbate or not. If you are a priest and do it, you’ll only be unclean until evening. so there is no problem for anyone really. It’s a moral thing for the rest of us.
So the next time you choose to masturbate go ahead, just preferably behind closed doors.

We’re Catholics, not sola scriptura Protestants. We do not have to be able to quote chapter and verse from Scripture in order to be required to follow the Church’s teachings. The Church teaches that masturbation is grave matter, so it is not to be done. But I think it is likely to be an even more grave matter to be deciding which of the Church’s teachings not to follow.

That said, of course grave matter != mortal sin, as others have pointed out.

–Jen

 

[Tradycja]

It is a mortal sin. Sad to say you can’t trust the advice of most “mainstream” priests today in confession.

I would recommend getting this moral theology book, that way you can check the priest’s advice against a decent moral theology manual.

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/383/

Heck, you might want to even buy this book as a present for your liberal priest

 

[Califman831]

It is a mortal sin. Sad to say you can’t trust the advice of most “mainstream” priests today in confession.

I would recommend getting this moral theology book, that way you can check the priest’s advice against a decent moral theology manual.

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/383/

Heck, you might want to even buy this book as a present for your liberal priest

For his priest I suggest this book which speaks volumes on what is wrong with modern priests, yet was written centuries ago. If you ignore that it is directed to priests and apply it to one’s one journey the reader still gains a lot of wisdom.

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/42/keywords/priest/

 

[Tradycja]

Yay for Tan Books! :clapping:
LOL

 

[dusza]

For those who inequivocally state that masturbation is a mortal sin, which part of

“To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability”

didn’t you understand?

Do you likewise believe that the Catechism of the Catholic Church was written by liberal priests?

 

[Mimi]

Okay – this thread is going to get back on track with the original theme –

I am disturbed at how many priests are liberal, and I DO mean politically so. I won’t name names here, but suffice it to say there are more than just a few here and there (there MUST be) who promote a kind of Liberation Theology. Rather than just reiterate my experience here, check out my other posts in the Social Justice forum.

ACORN-like “community faith-based organizations” are popping up all over the US. If you’re in CA, NM, NY, or WI (and other states), you will find many. Some are under the parent group the Gamaliel Foundation, others the Industrial Areas Foundation and others connected with Faith in Public Life.

PLEASE be aware that these groups have a leftist political ideology, though they won’t come right out and say it.

I’m sorry to say that too many dioceses have given money to these groups and have not done the background check on exactly what issues they support, and also where they get money from.

Please let me know (PM or email) if you check out the info on the other threads and if it was helpful to you!

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=376418

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=372854
Not sure if this thread is relevant:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=321751

Mimi

 

[dusza]

I went to confession last saturday like i always do and confessed masturbation which i continuously struggle with. My priest responds by telling me its venial at my age(i always pull back the curtain i am 17 btw) If i didn’t know any better this could have stopped me trying quit, which disturbs me. Im thinking this is the appropriate Forum if not sorry.

I believe that your confessor’s approach is a sensible one in light of the church’s teaching on the matter. Whether you like what you heard from him or not does not change the fact that he’s under the guidance on the Holy Spirit and he told you what you needed to hear. Trust the Sacrament, because it is a gift from God, and if you have a sincere heart you’ll make progress. Most of all, remember that God is infinitely merciful to those who ask for His mercy.

My personal advice is to immerse yourself in holy books. I found St. Therese’s “Story of a Soul” and St. Faustina’s “Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul” immensely helpful. You’ll find that these great saints approach God with a trust of a child. In that sense, it is not hard to be like them.

 

[Lujack]

It is a mortal sin. Sad to say you can’t trust the advice of most “mainstream” priests today in confession.

I would recommend getting this moral theology book, that way you can check the priest’s advice against a decent moral theology manual.

tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/383/

Heck, you might want to even buy this book as a present for your liberal priest

GRAVE MATTER DOES NOT EQUAL MORTAL SIN. That’s a really basic pillar of Catholic moral philosophy; apparently priests who understand this important distinction are “liberals” now.

 

[John92]

GRAVE MATTER DOES NOT EQUAL MORTAL SIN. That’s a really basic pillar of Catholic moral philosophy; apparently priests who understand this important distinction are “liberals” now.

Seriously. This is why I don’t like to call myself a traditionalist. There’s so much pride and anti-clericalism wrapped up in it.

 

[Kamalayka]

Sometimes it is good to meditate on the goal- in this case, on the body we hope to receive in the resurrection.

From Fr. John Hardon’s Pocket CCC:
Qualities of the Risen Body

Special Qualities of the Glorified Body.

Since the first century, the Church has developed this revealed doctrine about the qualities of the risen bodies of the just. These qualities have been given technical names: impassibility, brightness, agility, and subtility. Each deserves some explanation.

Impassibility means that the risen body will no longer be subject to pain, or even inconvenience of any kind. Piercing cold will not affect the glorified body, nor will the glaring intensity of heat, nor can anything like the forces of nature hurt it. Since there will be no more death, neither will there be the earthly prelude to death, which is sickness and disease.

Brightness describes that property of the glorified bodies that will make them shine like the sun. In Christ’s own words, “Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father” (Matthew 13:43). The Savior briefly manifested what this brightness is like in his transfiguration on “a high mountain.” There in the presence of Peter, James, and John, “He was transfigured. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as light” (Matthew 17:1-2).

This brightness is not common to all glorified bodies in the same degree. All the bodies after the resurrection will be impassible, but their splendor will differ for each person. As explained by St.Paul, “The sun has its brightness, and the moon a different brightness, and the stars a different brightness, and the stars differ from each other in brightness. It is the same with the resurrection from the dead” (I Corinthians 15:41-42).

Agility is that quality of the risen body that frees it from the material burden that now presses it down. It will be able to move about with the greatest of ease and with a swiftness that depends only on the will. This is what the apostle meant when he said that our bodies are now sown in weakness, but on the last day they will be raised in power.

Subtility corresponds to what St. Paul calls “a spiritual body.” Without ceasing to be material, that is extended in space and perceptible to the senses. The glorified body will be completely under the control of the spirit. It will be fully obedient to the soul.

If we look more closely at the foundation for these marvelous qualities of the risen body, we find them resulting from the soul’s face-to-face vision of God. The beatific vision means just that. It beatifies; that is, makes the human soul perfectly happy in seeing the Holy Trinity. But it also beatifies the body with the soul in the indescribable joy of directly beholding the three Persons of the infinite Deity.

One closing observation on the state of the glorified body may answer some questions that come to mind. How will our bodies after the last day compare with the bodies we had on earth? The most detailed answer in Christian tradition is given in three whole chapters of St. Augustine’s City of God. Only a few passages will be quoted here.

It is understood that no part of the body shall so perish as to produce deformity of the body….

For all bodily beauty consists in the proportion of the parts; together, with a certain agreeableness of color. Where there is no proportion the eye is offended, either because there is something wanting, or too small, or too large. Consequently, there shall be no deformity resulting from want of proportion in that state in which all that is wrong is corrected, and all that is defective supplied from the resources which the Creator provides. All that is excessive will be removed without destroying the integrity of the substance.

In the resurrection of the flesh, the body shall be of that size which it either had attained or should have attained in the flower of its youth, and shall enjoy the beauty that arises from symmetry and proportion in all its members (The City of God, III, 19-21).

**
There is great value in these reflections on the resurrection of the body. They help to sustain us as we go through life, by assuring us that our efforts are not in vain. Above all, they offer the promise of being glorified like Christ, provided we have endured like Him.** In this we are encouraged by the first Bishop of Rome: “If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, “ he says, “be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when His glory is revealed” (I Peter 4:13). The secret is to believe this and to act on what we believe.

All of this is consistent with the whole tenor of divine revelation. It is the individual person, each with his own unique body united with his own unique soul who will rise on the last day to receive the just recompense for his individual human conduct, in body and soul, during his mortal stay on earth.

 

[John92]

Seriously. This is why I don’t like to call myself a traditionalist. There’s so much pride and anti-clericalism wrapped up in it.

just to clarify, there’s also a lot of GOOD in it. But there does seem to be way way way too much bitterness in some posters, particularly, it seems, the young 'uns like me.

Excellent post Kamalayka. It definitely helps to think of the “carrot” more than the “stick” sometimes. Remember what Christ said about storing up grain in heaven That’s one that I particularly like - I might be sitting around bored and think to myself “hey I could sneak a shot of vodka!” (or something else sinful) and then say “no, I won’t, and I know that because I won’t I’m improving my chances of salvation”.