Do you believe people can really change?

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Irishgal49

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Sometimes I wonder about this…I try to trust God but I keep falling into the same sin over and over. My priest says not to beat myself up and I immediately go to Confession but then this wave washes over me and I think, “What if I’m never free of this horrible habit? Can I really change? Who am I trying to kid?” I know this is the devil but I want to believe that God can really change my heart and life and free me from this.

Once in Confession I heard in my heart, “Prepare your heart to confess this sin for the last time.” I hang onto that promise every day.

I WANT to believe, Lord help thou my unbelief.

Lorrie :gopray:
 
I don’t think one can change one’s nature, which is shaped by many things including genetics, upbringing, environment, etc. One can, however, learn to control one’s behaviour. What can also happen is a spiritual conversion, that isn’t so much change as an awakening of a previously dormant part of ourselves. That spiritual conversion can make us realize that our bad habits hurt the one we love the most, God, and that can be the beginning of a process of transformation. The natural instinct stays there, but we become better and better at resisting it.
 
Yes.

Such is part of the Gospel.

Somethings (with grace) take more patience and more putting off the “old man” …etc

Jesus is the Good Shepherd…he loves you…trust him and continue to walk in the light…with your eyes fixed on him.
 
Irishgal49 said:
I WANT to believe, Lord help thou my unbelief.
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The father of the boy possessed is one of my heros 🙂

People can change. 33 years of the worst sexual addictions and confession set me free.

Remember that the Catechism lists Pennance/Reconcillation under the heading of “Sacraments of healing.” The Catechism does not list sacraments of forgiveness. Don’t get me wrong, we all need forgiveness. Forgiveness is fine as far as it goes but it doesn’t go far enough. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus doesn’t just want to forgive us. He wants to heal us. We have to go into the confessional looking for healing first. Forgiveness is secondary.

My habitual sins were always rooted in self-love. I loved Jesus but loved myself more and so was not willing to suffer through tempation for Jesus and always gave in to my own desires instead. Only when I loved Jesus more than myself was I able to suffer through. Pray for that.

-Tim-
 
It takes time for some tendencies and habits to be overcome.
People can’t change but their habits and behaviors can.
I’ve had such things happens in my life.

“Glory be to Him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to Him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.”[Ephesians 3: 20-21]
 
TimothyH said:
We have to go into the confessional looking for healing first. Forgiveness is secondary.
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Healing, then forgiveness?.. That’s beautiful. I never thought of it that way.

But yes, people most definitely can change. It usually doesn’t happen overnight though. Be persistent, keep giving it all your effort, and you will change. It may be a life-long struggle for all we know, but by the Grace of God you will change.
 
Maybe there is something else you need to change in your life in order to be free from this sin.

In one version of the Act of Contrition it says “the near occasion of sin.”

I read somewhere about structures of sin – how society creates structures which encourage or support sin.

Sometimes we need to turn off the TV, or not go to some place, or not be around certain people.
 
TimothyH said:
The father of the boy possessed is one of my heros 🙂

People can change. 33 years of the worst sexual addictions and confession set me free.

Remember that the Catechism lists Pennance/Reconcillation under the heading of “Sacraments of healing.” The Catechism does not list sacraments of forgiveness. Don’t get me wrong, we all need forgiveness. Forgiveness is fine as far as it goes but it doesn’t go far enough. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus doesn’t just want to forgive us. He wants to heal us. We have to go into the confessional looking for healing first. Forgiveness is secondary.

My habitual sins were always rooted in self-love. I loved Jesus but loved myself more and so was not willing to suffer through tempation for Jesus and always gave in to my own desires instead. Only when I loved Jesus more than myself was I able to suffer through. Pray for that.

-Tim-
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Thank you so much Tim, that was beautiful! It sure will change Confession for me.

Lorrie
 
You bet they can change! 👍

First they have to want to, then they have to work at it. I used to go to confession EVERY WEEK for the same exact sin…and this was AFTER I had decided I wanted to change.

It takes willingness, time, persistence, confession, prayer, and the grace of God. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Every time you fall, go back to confession and start over. 🙂
 
Irishgal49 said:
Sometimes I wonder about this…I try to trust God but I keep falling into the same sin over and over. My priest says not to beat myself up and I immediately go to Confession but then this wave washes over me and I think, “What if I’m never free of this horrible habit? Can I really change? Who am I trying to kid?” I know this is the devil but I want to believe that God can really change my heart and life and free me from this.

Once in Confession I heard in my heart, “Prepare your heart to confess this sin for the last time.” I hang onto that promise every day.

I WANT to believe, Lord help thou my unbelief.

Lorrie :gopray:
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St Paul led a group for years which persecuted and killed Christians but changed and became one of the greatest Apostles.
Yes people can change!
 
Remember that you’ll always have temptation in your life…it’s part of the fallen nature of man.

But also remember that people really can change and move beyond the biggies. There was one particularly bad sin that I was struggling with and after much prayer and frequenting confession I’m basically free from it. Sure, I get tempted, but I no longer feel like I want to do it anymore.

Never despair in God’s mercy and love. Like that old book says “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.” God loves you so much that he sent his only son to suffer and die that you may have a chance at everlasting life. So great was God’s mercy that he even forgave those who were torturing him: “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do.” Jesus let all of the evil of the world, all of the sin of the world, wash over him that he might “go to the belly of the beast” as they say and fling open the gates of Heaven: winning an eternal victory against the chains of Satan. No matter any of our personal failings, the war has already been won.

If I may make a suggestion, I would pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Growing in love for God can shut out concupiscent desires or anything that is opposed to God. The graces from continued Sacramental Confession, from the Eucharist, and from the Sacrifice of the Mass will prove beneficial.

Never give up! May your actions now be to your eternal benefit.
 
thistle said:
St Paul led a group for years which persecuted and killed Christians but changed and became one of the greatest Apostles.
Yes people can change!
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He had a direct encounter that literally struck him blind—I’m not sure about the rest of us. 😦
 
Yes, I do. Perhaps not in an instant but with dedication and through the Grace of God, anything is possible. As has already been mentioned, St. Paul was a fervent persecutor of Christians yet he went on to become the human author of much of the New Testament and died for his love for Christ. Simon Peter denied Christ, yet he is the rock on which Christ chose to build His Church. Saint Moses the Black was a violent robber, but he converted and was martyred for refusing to use violence to defend his monastery. There are many examples of hardened sinners who found the Grace of God and truly changed. It is entirely possible.
 
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