Feelings after receiving communion

[rben20]

Hello Catholics,

I’ve been really shaky lately with my faith because of lots of attacks from atheist thinkers and my attraction to sin. I prepare myself for Mass by going to confession and receiving Our Lord but in the end I feel weaker as if I’m even more prone to fall to sin after receiving communion. There are other times I feel there is nothing really different about me when I receive. Aren’t I suppose to be more capable of handling sin and being strong, especially after receiving communion? I feel terrible I cannot enjoy receiving communion because I usually don’t feel any different when in the end I still fail and think it would have been better not to receive at all since the very next day I’d end up committing a mortal sin.

 

[Bookcat]

Hello Catholics,

I’ve been really shaky lately with my faith because of lots of attacks from atheist thinkers and my attraction to sin. I prepare myself for Mass by going to confession and receiving Our Lord but in the end I feel weaker as if I’m even more prone to fall to sin after receiving communion. There are other times I feel there is nothing really different about me when I receive. Aren’t I suppose to be more capable of handling sin and being strong, especially after receiving communion? I feel terrible I cannot enjoy receiving communion because I usually don’t feel any different when in the end I still fail and think it would have been better not to receive at all since the very next day I’d end up committing a mortal sin.

“feeling” here is not key. Feelings come and go…and at different points in ones spiritual life…one may have more or less either human feeling or “sensible consolations” etc…

But yes one receives grace…in the both Sacraments.

Ones temptations may vary from one day to the next…which come from the world, our fallen nature, and the Devil…

do not give up! Come to Christ in confession and begin anew! the Devil would like very much to discourage you…instead …increase your hope and trust in Jesus Christ and his grace.

 

[promethius]

Have you tried going to Eucharistic Adoration before?

I’ve been through times like you have, Rben. I would suggest Eucharistic Adoration and studying what exactly the Eucharist is, what it means, and why it ties together the Jewish faith so perfectly and offers it to us in completion of the new covenant. When you do this, you will develop a true hunger for the Eucharist…

 

[Wowbagger]

The most remarkable thing about grace, in my experience, is that its operation in your life is invisible in the present. (In fact, sometimes the great graces in your life appear to be the great crosses and temptations!) It is only in the future, looking back five or ten years later, that it seems obvious – “Oh! That was all God’s doing, so he could push me along to ending up here!” Grace, then, is approximately the opposite of feelings.

I know those atheist thinkers would call this “fairy talk” or some such, but, then, in my experience, atheist thinkers are not very good at the thinking part. Still, grace is one of those things that remain mysterious and a little foggy until after the foundations of your faith have been firmed up.

And, hey, good luck.

 

[Rom_8_35]

Dear Rben,

Even though you may not feel different or special after receiving the Holy Eucharist be assured Jesus is present and he IS nourishing your soul. Our devotion and relationship to God should never be based on our feelings. Feelings are transitory and can be misleading at times. Because we don’t feel God doesn’t mean He is not there, just as when we don’t feel the wind doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Have you ever read the lives of the saints? Most of them went through periods of spiritual darkness where they lacked any emotion toward God and felt abandoned by Him yet demonstrated heroic virtue in the face of their many trials. That virtue did not come from them but from God’s grace working silently and unobtrusively within their souls. I once heard this wonderful young priest give a homily about how many people stop going to mass or leave the church because they didn’t feel anything. He said the mass and Eucharist were not about us but about God and what he wants to share and give us. During mass, we shouldn’t concentrate on feeling God but instead prepare and open our souls to receive God and allow him to work in us as he sees fit.

From your post, it sounds as if you are undergoing spiritual warfare. The attacks you are receiving are strong but don’t become demoralized. Don’t let the doubts and deceptions planted in you overwhelm your devotion to the Eucharist. Remember the evil one is intent on you believing that you are a hopeless sinner who has been abandoned by God (or that he doesn’t exist) so that you lose faith and surrender the fight. If you stay close to the Eucharist, attend mass repeatedly, dedicate time for personal prayer, pray the rosary, go regularly to reconciliation, and entrust yourself to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary & St. Michael the Archangel you will have more ammunition in which to defend yourself against these attacks and persevere in the faith. The fight won’t be pretty but neither will you lose it with God on your side.

It is good to be aware of our faults & weaknesses so we may avoid sinning but we also have to be careful not to become too overly scrupulous because that can lead us to despair and lack of trust in God’s Mercy. To commit a mortal sin one must first be aware that the act is sinful, second the sin must be committed consciously and of free will and third the act must be of grave and serious matter. Only if all three of these elements are present can a sin be labeled mortal. If you find that you do sin say five minutes after receiving communion, look at it as an opportunity to turn more to God and rejoice in the fact that we have been given endless access to God’s Mercy through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Finally, I suggest you join a community prayer group or get a spiritual director to help you through your conflicts because we can’t fight the good battle alone. In the history of the world, no lone soldier ever won a war by himself. Wars are won with whole armies. We need others to assist us when we fall or don’t have the strength to continue. That is why I love the Catholic Answers website. There are so many people here willing to help their brethrens in need by contributing words of encouragement and offering up prayer and penance for one another. I will keep you in my prayers.

 

[smichhertz]

Like it was said before, emotions and feelings come and go. They are not an indication of what is truly happening. However, one can still have a sense of where they are spiritually in life.

I’ve been really shaky lately with my faith because of lots of attacks from atheist thinkers

Are these friends of yours? You are not going to get very far if you spend your time around people who do not support your faith. Trust me. Get involved with more Church activities and get to know some good Catholics. Then you will have true long lasting friendships that will support your faith.

Do research on the faulty logic behind the atheist arguments. Don’t just hear an attack on your faith and be like “oh, that makes sense. Well, I’ll just ignore that”. Go talk to a priest, ask a friend, look it up. Find out the answer!

and my attraction to sin. I prepare myself for Mass by going to confession and receiving Our Lord but in the end I feel weaker as if I’m even more prone to fall to sin after receiving communion. There are other times I feel there is nothing really different about me when I receive. Aren’t I suppose to be more capable of handling sin and being strong, especially after receiving communion? I feel terrible I cannot enjoy receiving communion because I usually don’t feel any different when in the end I still fail and think it would have been better not to receive at all since the very next day I’d end up committing a mortal sin.

It sounds to me like part of the problem is that you are not making good confessions. What’s your game plan for avoiding the sin in the future? For instance, if I’m in the Confessional confessing that I got drunk, but I’ve got plans to go out and party the following weekend, how sincere is my Confession? Have a plan to avoid the sin. If its a sin that is encouraged by friends, stop hanging out with those friends. Let them know that you no longer want to do whatever sin it is. Better to lose “friends” than to continually put yourself in that situation where you are sinning.

Try this for your next Confession: Walk into the church and sit before the Blessed Sacrament and prayerfully do these three things:

1. TRUE Examination of Conscience. Don’t rush, spend AT LEAST a good 10 minutes honestly examining your conscience for all your sins. Write them down if you have to. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.
2. Meditate on the effect of your sins. Think about how your are offending God. Think about how your sins hurt yourselves and others. Again, ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind so that you can be TRULY sorry for you sins. There are degrees to sorriness. The sorrier you are, the more grace you will get out of the Confession, and the less likely you are to commit that sin again.
3. Firm purpose of amendment. “I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin”. Figure out how you are going to avoid the sin in the future. Make promises to the Lord on how you are going to improve. If you struggle with pornography, then promise to get rid of the internet at your house, or sell your computer. If its a sin that is encouraged by friends, stop hanging out with those friends. Let them know that you no longer want to do whatever sin it is. Better to lose “friends” than to continually put yourself in that situation where you are sinning. Take extreme measures. God will take care of you if you put your faith in Him and cut off all attachments. Write down all the things you are going to do differently if you want. Sign it and date it, make it an official contract with God.

ONLY after you have done these three things, get in line for the Confession. I guarantee you there will a BIG difference between this Confession and previous ones. And then STICK TO IT. And if you slip again, don’t despair, go back and confess again. And go to Confession often, don’t slack off. it’s like working out. Try and go at least once every two weeks.

I think once you improve your Confession, you will notice a difference when you receive the Eucharist. These two sacraments are very closely linked.

All the best! You are in my prayers!

 

[LeafByNiggle]

I know this is a poor analogy, but it helps me. I think of the “spiritual high” I felt when I first encountered the Lord as kind of like training wheels that God the Father let me have when I was first learning to have faith. But like any good father who is teaching his child to ride a bike, there comes a time when the training wheels come off. So when I feel that spiritual dryness, I take it as a sign that the Father trusts me enough to let me ride on without training wheels, and knowing that God trusts me that much is satisfaction in and of itself. Even Jesus felt abandonment on the cross, so much did God the Father trust Him. As others have pointed out, having a lack of those good feelings puts you in very good company.

This is not to say that those who do not experience spiritual dryness are somehow inadequate in God’s eyes. That is why I said it was a poor analogy.

 

[smichhertz]

I know this is a poor analogy, but it helps me. I think of the “spiritual high” I felt when I first encountered the Lord as kind of like training wheels that God the Father let me have when I was first learning to have faith. But like any good father who is teaching his child to ride a bike, there comes a time when the training wheels come off. So when I feel that spiritual dryness, I take it as a sign that the Father trusts me enough to let me ride on without training wheels, and knowing that God trusts me that much is satisfaction in and of itself. Even Jesus felt abandonment on the cross, so much did God the Father trust Him. As others have pointed out, having a lack of those good feelings puts you in very good company.

This is not to say that those who do not experience spiritual dryness are somehow inadequate in God’s eyes. That is why I said it was a poor analogy.

That’s not a poor analogy at all! That’s a GREAT way to look at it!

 

[rben20]

Thank you for all your replies. I feel much better about it and glad to realize my focus was off. Blessings and prayers for you all!

 

[Monica4316]

Hello Catholics,

I’ve been really shaky lately with my faith because of lots of attacks from atheist thinkers and my attraction to sin. I prepare myself for Mass by going to confession and receiving Our Lord but in the end I feel weaker as if I’m even more prone to fall to sin after receiving communion. There are other times I feel there is nothing really different about me when I receive. Aren’t I suppose to be more capable of handling sin and being strong, especially after receiving communion? I feel terrible I cannot enjoy receiving communion because I usually don’t feel any different when in the end I still fail and think it would have been better not to receive at all since the very next day I’d end up committing a mortal sin.

do you think this might have something to do with you focusing so much on the idea that you’ll still commit sins in the future? sometimes after Communion it helps to just open up to God, receive His mercy, and rely more on Him to overcome sin… rather than relying on ourselves. As long as you make an honest Confession before Communion, and have kept the fast, there’s nothing stopping you from receiving Our Lord

God bless

 

[Monica4316]

I know this is a poor analogy, but it helps me. I think of the “spiritual high” I felt when I first encountered the Lord as kind of like training wheels that God the Father let me have when I was first learning to have faith. But like any good father who is teaching his child to ride a bike, there comes a time when the training wheels come off. So when I feel that spiritual dryness, I take it as a sign that the Father trusts me enough to let me ride on without training wheels, and knowing that God trusts me that much is satisfaction in and of itself. Even Jesus felt abandonment on the cross, so much did God the Father trust Him. As others have pointed out, having a lack of those good feelings puts you in very good company.

This is not to say that those who do not experience spiritual dryness are somehow inadequate in God’s eyes. That is why I said it was a poor analogy.