This is a bit of an odd question, but I am a bit confused. Is the only way to get forgiveness for venial sin in confession or the Mass? I try and go to Mass everyday, but I also commit venial sin everyday. Does God forgive venial sin outside of the Mass?
Second question. How do we know if we made a good enough resolution to not committ the same sins again? I feel like I hate my sin, and I feel like I want to stop it, but the next day or two after i repent, I find myself committing the same venial sin. How do I know if I am sorry enough? Heck, how do I know if I have said sorry enough? How do I know if I am truely sorry for my sins? If I were really sorry for being prideful, does that mean I will never be prideful again?
For what it’s worth, I have had a past of scrupulosity. Apart of me feels like I even know the answers to all of these questions, but I do not trust myself enough to believe it.
Holy water can wash away your venial sins, just take some holy water on your finger, make the sign of the Cross, and say “By this holy water and by Thy precious blood O Lord, wash away all my sins”
you can do it as often as you want,
and how do you know you are sorry? well, we should feel sorrow for our sins, but mainly how we know we are sorry is if we regret what we have done, if you regret your sins and don’t want to commit them then you are sorry,
how sorry you are i think depends on why you are sorry,
there are two motives for sorrow of our sins, there is what’s called a perfect contrition, and an imperfect contrition,
perfect contrition is when we are sorry for our sins because they offend and displease God, imperfect contrition is when we are sorry because we fear the loss of our soul and the pains of hell.
now of course you are going to have more sorrow when your reason for sorrow is because you have offended God, and to obtain that level of sorrow and have a perfect contrition is best achieved by prayer, you have to learn to love God more, and to do that you have to ask for the grace to do it, ask God every day to help you to know, love, and serve Him more,
if this is stressing you out then that’s also something you need to work on, you have to trust in Gods word, when He tells us “Don’t Worry” He means that, not as a comfort to us, but a command, He’s telling us to trust in Him, God is all fair, and if there is something in your life that you are unsure of, then He won’t hold that against you, and if you are struggling with a certain sin, believe it or not that is actually a good thing, that means you are fighting it and fighting the devil, and if the devil is putting up a fight with you, that means you must be making great progress, because otherwise he wouldn’t be pestering you so much,
most of the time when we change ourselves or overcome our sins, it is very gradual, God makes it that way for us so we do not become overwhelmed, and God is very patient with us, so we should also be patient with ourselves, because if God does it that way, then we should follow His example, because He knows best,
of course we should hate our sins and work hard to overcome them, which is best achieved by prayer, frequenting the sacraments, spiritual reading, spending time alone with God each day and examining your life, penances, mortification, and one big one is Eucharistic Adoration, i would go to that whenever you get the chance.
i know it’s frustrating to go and confess your sins and resolve not to commit them again, and then moments later you commit it, but one thing you should understand is that God expects that from you, He knows you better then you know yourself, and He knows very well what your weaknesses are, God knows that you’re gunna sin again, He is not offended that you said you would never sin again and then you did, He is not that naive(well, not naive at all actually), when you pray that part in the act of contrition, it is more saying “i will *try *not to commit this sin again” and that’s all that really matters, all God wants is that you keep on trying, because as long as you keep trying, God can work in you and help you, as apposed to someone with a lukewarm soul, who God can do nothing with, because they neither move one way or the other, but as long as you are moving, then God is directing you, so you have nothing to worry about.
and as for this -
“If I were really sorry for being prideful, does that mean I will never be prideful again?”
no, because overcoming our sins is a process, it’s something we can only do with Gods help, and God helps us when and how He knows best and when we are ready, it’s also something we have to learn and practice in our daily lives, we are learning creatures, that’s how God made us, and even though it’s not impossible that someone could overcome a sin instantly by the grace of God, but usually that doesn’t happen, and so we just need to be patient and just do the best we can.
i have a few book recommendations for you, they will help you to understand much more what God wants from you and how you are to approach the different means in your life for overcoming sin and serving God and knowing how to love Him above all things…
tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/750/keywords/saint+catherine/
fraternitypublications.com/catrexofcofo.html
fraternitypublications.com/divineintimacy.html
(that one’s a bit expensive, but you might beable to find it cheaper on amazon or ebay)
ok well that’s all, hope this helps you, tc.
