E
EmeraldWings
Guest
(Post 2 of 2)
as for your feelings of despair and hate for yourself, first just remind yourself that God does not want you to think or feel that way, and then remember that God does not expect you to succeed at everything, he only wants you to try, He fell many times during His passion, to show us that no matter how many times we fall, we must get back up and try again,
God knows you better than you know yourself or anyone else, He knows what you can or cannot do, and what you can’t do He doesn’t ask of you, but you should be sure of what you really can or can’t do, which is why you must educate yourself in the teachings of the church.
humility is the virtue of truth, and pride is the vice of lies, so how can you tell that this attitude is prideful? because these things you say - “I so strongly believe that I am worthless to Him, I’m convinced that God hates me, and never wants me in His family” although you may not be aware of it, those are lies, and what really makes it prideful is their source, which stems from an inordinate esteem for yourself, and a perverse striving for your own self-excellence.
the remedies for pride are a sincere knowledge of oneself, the acceptance of daily humiliations, avoidance of even the least self-complacency, humble acknowledgement of your faults, and prayerful communion with God.
you are not worthless to God, because you belong to Him, you are His creature, and He has given you gifts to make use of, no one has a talent or gift or skill which God has not given them, and God most certainly does want you in His family, otherwise He would not have died for you, or even created you…you have to understand that God loves all of us, you have alot of hope, because you want to do better, you want to be pleasing to God, you just need to learn how…because thinking of God in a way that is not true, is not pleasing to Him, you need to learn to know and love Him, which you will learn through His church.
you are not helpless, because God gives you help, and you are not worthless, because God made you priceless, the problem is you are focusing to much on yourself, you see what ugliness sin is and you feel the stain of it on your soul, but you react to it in a more selfish way, rather than seeing how it has hurt and offended God, you only imagine how God must see you, but from what you have said, you have the wrong idea…although i’m sure you think of how it has hurt Jesus also, but all the same, you are focusing way to much on yourself, and you just need to develop a more truthful outlook on these things…which i think you might find those audio sermons i listed to be most helpful in that area.
but perhaps it would be more helpful if i quoted for you a chapter from one of Saint Alphonsus’ books on humility, this is a chapter on having meekness towards yourself -
“Should we have the misfortune to commit a fault, we must exercise meekness even towards ourselves. To be angry with oneself after committing a fault is not a sign of humility, but of secret pride; it shows that we do not regard ourselves as the weak and wretched creatures we really are. St. Aloysius said: “The devil likes to fish in troubled waters, where we can distinguish nothing.” If a soul is distracted and disturbed it is very hard for it to recognize God and its duties. When, therefore, we have committed a fault, we must turn to the Lord with humility and confidence, beg Him for pardon and say with St. Catherine of Genoa: “Lord, see, here is fruit from my own garden! But pardon me, I beg Thee! I repent from my heart of having offended Thee; I will do so no more; give me the aid of Thy holy grace.” “Never,” says St. Francis de Sales, “permit anger to enter the soul under any pretext whatever; for once the violent passion has found lodgment in the heart, it is not in our power to banish it.”
Seek to control the emotions of anger at once by remaining silent, or by thinking of something else. Do as the Apostles did when they were tossed about by the stormy sea; they had instant recourse to their Divine Master; He alone can still the storms of the human heart. If in consequence of weakness, anger has entered your heart, do all in your power to regain your composure and act humbly and meekly towards him who was the occasion of your angry feelings. St. Francis tells us that it cost him much labor to overcome his two predominant passions, anger and love. To conquer his angry passion he struggled for twelve long years. With regard to love, he changed its object, detaching himself entirely from creatures and giving his whole love to God.
It was a practice of the saints during prayer and meditation to bring to mind all the annoyances and obstacles they were apt to encounter in the course of the day, and to prepare themselves in advance to endure them with meekness and humility. Thus they were enabled to put into practice the counsel of their gentle Saviour: “Learn from me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest in your souls.” (Matt. 11:29).”
well…i made it to long anyways, sorry, so that’s all for now, but if you have any questions at all i’d be happy to try and help further,
alright, i’ll keep you in my prayers, take care.
as for your feelings of despair and hate for yourself, first just remind yourself that God does not want you to think or feel that way, and then remember that God does not expect you to succeed at everything, he only wants you to try, He fell many times during His passion, to show us that no matter how many times we fall, we must get back up and try again,
God knows you better than you know yourself or anyone else, He knows what you can or cannot do, and what you can’t do He doesn’t ask of you, but you should be sure of what you really can or can’t do, which is why you must educate yourself in the teachings of the church.
humility is the virtue of truth, and pride is the vice of lies, so how can you tell that this attitude is prideful? because these things you say - “I so strongly believe that I am worthless to Him, I’m convinced that God hates me, and never wants me in His family” although you may not be aware of it, those are lies, and what really makes it prideful is their source, which stems from an inordinate esteem for yourself, and a perverse striving for your own self-excellence.
the remedies for pride are a sincere knowledge of oneself, the acceptance of daily humiliations, avoidance of even the least self-complacency, humble acknowledgement of your faults, and prayerful communion with God.
you are not worthless to God, because you belong to Him, you are His creature, and He has given you gifts to make use of, no one has a talent or gift or skill which God has not given them, and God most certainly does want you in His family, otherwise He would not have died for you, or even created you…you have to understand that God loves all of us, you have alot of hope, because you want to do better, you want to be pleasing to God, you just need to learn how…because thinking of God in a way that is not true, is not pleasing to Him, you need to learn to know and love Him, which you will learn through His church.
you are not helpless, because God gives you help, and you are not worthless, because God made you priceless, the problem is you are focusing to much on yourself, you see what ugliness sin is and you feel the stain of it on your soul, but you react to it in a more selfish way, rather than seeing how it has hurt and offended God, you only imagine how God must see you, but from what you have said, you have the wrong idea…although i’m sure you think of how it has hurt Jesus also, but all the same, you are focusing way to much on yourself, and you just need to develop a more truthful outlook on these things…which i think you might find those audio sermons i listed to be most helpful in that area.
but perhaps it would be more helpful if i quoted for you a chapter from one of Saint Alphonsus’ books on humility, this is a chapter on having meekness towards yourself -
“Should we have the misfortune to commit a fault, we must exercise meekness even towards ourselves. To be angry with oneself after committing a fault is not a sign of humility, but of secret pride; it shows that we do not regard ourselves as the weak and wretched creatures we really are. St. Aloysius said: “The devil likes to fish in troubled waters, where we can distinguish nothing.” If a soul is distracted and disturbed it is very hard for it to recognize God and its duties. When, therefore, we have committed a fault, we must turn to the Lord with humility and confidence, beg Him for pardon and say with St. Catherine of Genoa: “Lord, see, here is fruit from my own garden! But pardon me, I beg Thee! I repent from my heart of having offended Thee; I will do so no more; give me the aid of Thy holy grace.” “Never,” says St. Francis de Sales, “permit anger to enter the soul under any pretext whatever; for once the violent passion has found lodgment in the heart, it is not in our power to banish it.”
Seek to control the emotions of anger at once by remaining silent, or by thinking of something else. Do as the Apostles did when they were tossed about by the stormy sea; they had instant recourse to their Divine Master; He alone can still the storms of the human heart. If in consequence of weakness, anger has entered your heart, do all in your power to regain your composure and act humbly and meekly towards him who was the occasion of your angry feelings. St. Francis tells us that it cost him much labor to overcome his two predominant passions, anger and love. To conquer his angry passion he struggled for twelve long years. With regard to love, he changed its object, detaching himself entirely from creatures and giving his whole love to God.
It was a practice of the saints during prayer and meditation to bring to mind all the annoyances and obstacles they were apt to encounter in the course of the day, and to prepare themselves in advance to endure them with meekness and humility. Thus they were enabled to put into practice the counsel of their gentle Saviour: “Learn from me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest in your souls.” (Matt. 11:29).”
well…i made it to long anyways, sorry, so that’s all for now, but if you have any questions at all i’d be happy to try and help further,
alright, i’ll keep you in my prayers, take care.