Forgived of sin but not of the consequences

[Gary_Murphy]

46 years ago I got mad at a priest and left the church in a huff. Since that time I had three daughters and all 3 have grown and left the home.

On January 1st of 2016 I went back to the church and in doing so I went to confession. I firmly believe in confession and that it absolves us of our sins. That is not the problem that I suffer from at this time.

While I am free of the sins I am NOT free from the consequences of those sins. Specifically, I did not raise my 3 daughters in a Catholic environment and now that they are on their own none of them have any desire to come to church, even for a visit. As the spiritual leader of our home I failed miserably.

I suppose that what I am trying to say here is that one must be very careful because not only is sin displeasing and disappointing to God but it can have long lasting consequences that you might not think of at the time you commit the sin.

I have a broken heart over this.

 

[FrancescaMaria]

My prayers are with you. All I can say is: pray for them, be a living Christian example for them, and if they are open to it, try to explain what coming back to the Church has meant to you. Then, let the Holy Spirit do the rest, because He can work miracles. But no matter what, you will always be their father, and the love among you will always be there. And where there is love, there is God.

 

[hazcompat]

Our Fathers Plan for Salvation is not finished. Even those who go to mass daily can have children who lose faith. While you draw breath there is still hope. Remember we do not choose Him. Grace is greater than all of our troubles combined.

I like to say this prayer from The Dairy of Saint Faustina:

I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer:
“O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.” (186-187)

Glad your back.

Peace

 

[PennyinCanada]

Thank you for coming here and telling us your story. A 46 year absence and return must have quite a story behind it. I’m glad to know of it!

Often on this forum there are men and women who are in the Church who are dating people who are not interested at all in Catholicism. You may feel like you can repair the past years in some way by posting and encouraging them to find a Catholic spouse who will support and raise children Catholic. You can do much good here and maybe find some peace for the situation with your own children that cause you grief.

Welcome home. We are richer for your presence and your repentance. God be with you!

 

[EtMiserereMei]

My prayers are with you.

As are mine.

In fact, Gary, you should know that my wife and I had a daughter earlier this year whose name happens to be Francesca Maria, the same as this quoted poster. Why do I mention this?

Because you’re quite right in observing that we can’t see all of the consequences of our sin. But neither can we see all of the designs of Providence, and God’s hand appears to us in ways we least expect.

To repeat something I heard from Mother Angelica, do what you can. But in that area of life where there is a risk, give your trust to Jesus. I think no one really knows how much joy that truly gives Him.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

Thank you for sharing this with us. It must be very difficult.

Not to minimize your situation, but I have regular opportunity to speak to many lifelong Catholics and their families as they are nearing the end of their life. I can assure you with certainty (unfortunately) that the majority of the children of lifelong Catholics I speak to no longer practice the faith.

I think you witness by action (not words prompted by “renewed enthusiasm”) of living a steadfast life in Christ through the Church may have immense positive effect on your children.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[brad90956]

Our Fathers Plan for Salvation is not finished. Even those who go to mass daily can have children who lose faith.

I can attest to this personally. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. We were all born and raised Catholic. Baptized and Confirmed. We all fell away from the Church around our high school years. We would only go to Christmas and Easter Mass and never went to confession.

Our Mom goes to Mass 2-3 times a week and on the weekend. A couple years ago, I started to get interested in coming back to the Church. One day my Mom just asked me to come to Church with her. I resisted at first but eventually went with her. I did this a few times before I finally decided to go to Confession because I wanted to receive Communion.

To this day, I am the only one of her children to come back to the Church. She and I have invited them to Mass on a few occasions but they do not come.

I can see the pain and sadness in her eyes when we talk about this situation. She feels like it is her fault because she did not “stay on top” of it and feels like she is a bad mother.

This is what I told her. They are adults. Deep down they know they should be going to Church and to Confession. We’ve done all we can for them. I will still continue to invite them to Church with us but I’m not going to be “pushy” because I do not want to alienate them. All we can do is pray for them, specifically to St. Monica.

 

[Reuben_J]

46 years ago I got mad at a priest and left the church in a huff. Since that time I had three daughters and all 3 have grown and left the home.

On January 1st of 2016 I went back to the church and in doing so I went to confession. I firmly believe in confession and that it absolves us of our sins. That is not the problem that I suffer from at this time.

While I am free of the sins I am NOT free from the consequences of those sins. Specifically, I did not raise my 3 daughters in a Catholic environment and now that they are on their own none of them have any desire to come to church, even for a visit. As the spiritual leader of our home I failed miserably.

I suppose that what I am trying to say here is that one must be very careful because not only is sin displeasing and disappointing to God but it can have long lasting consequences that you might not think of at the time you commit the sin.

I have a broken heart over this.

Take heart that you have come back to the Church. Thanks God for the change of heart. If it is of comfort, you can think of the Prodigal Son - the father was so happy to have his son returning home that what had happened did not matter anymore.

I feel for you but do not be too hard on yourself. Guilt can burden you down but that is not what God wants you to be. He wants you to be free and hopes on Him that all will work for good for ‘those who loves him and called according to h his purpose’.

God bless.