Has this ever happened to anyone?

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Sarah_Angel

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I turned 21 almost 3 weeks ago. I have a friend who is 2 weeks younger than me and a bunch of us celebrated her birthday at a local restaurant that serves a lot of different drinks. I ordered a beer, thinking that it was the only thing that I would be drinking that night.

A bunch of people wanted to order car bombs. At first I didn’t order one, but when they came to the table they found that they had one extra. I was still pretty sober because I only had a little bit of beer, so I was available to chug the car bomb without getting wasted. However, I didn’t know how much alcohol was in it, but even though I was kind of drunk by the end of the night, I didn’t think that it was that bad (probably in the tipsy-buzzed area, but I’m not positive since I haven’t for sure gone past my limit before). I thought about it the next day and figured that since I didn’t know about the alcohol content in the car bomb and I probably wasn’t drunk enough to be in a state of mortal sin anyways, I figured that I was still in a state of grace, and I felt at peace about it.

However, on Sunday at Mass, when I walked into the communion line, I felt a very strange and powerful spiritual tug telling me not to receive communion. I ignored the tug and received anyways, but when I came back to the pew I felt immense guilt.

During the rest of the day on Sunday I felt that I was in a state of mortal sin and was trying to make plans to go to confession as soon as I could, but now I’m not really sure. Why would God suddenly tell me not to receive communion for drinking right when I got in line rather than earlier? Should I still go to confession and abstain from communion until then just in case? All responses are appreciated.
 
If you actually did overconsume alcohol and you feel genuine guilt over this, then definitely take it to the Lord in prayer right away and go to confession as soon as you can. But one of the things that I have quickly learned as a new Catholic is that the evil one can so easily convince us of our unworthiness to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Satan does not want us to be encouraged and strengthened by receiving Jesus, and will use our self-examination against us. We can become obsessed with chasing the shadows in our consciences, and neglect to let in the Light. So be careful not to be overly scrupulous. But when in doubt as to the sinfulness of an action, ask your priest for guidance.
Also, remember that is not our worthiness that prepares us to receive Communion. In our prayer just before receiving communion, we say “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” That, combined with the earlier general confession at the beginning of Mass is ample preparation for us to receive the Lord, when we have no grave sins that we have not confessed.
 
Thanks so much for your response. 🙂

I suppose I’m just confused at the moment. I don’t know whether I intended to get drunk, or whether I consumed too much alcohol, or if it was God or the evil one trying to pull me away from communion. I don’t know if guilt is mixed in with that confusion or not.

Although considering that Satan is the father of confusion and lies, that may be a good sign that I was attacked. But if anyone out there is willing to pray that my discernment of spirits improves, I would very much appreciate it.
 
Perhaps it wasn’t God. If you’re not “tugged” toward confession after a tug from Holy Communion, I’d be skeptical. Satan wants to keep us from the Sacraments, not God. Go to confession. Unlike here, you’ll get an answer with real Authority, not just an opinion.

It’s best to be educated about the faith and not trust feelings, which can be unreasonable and a playground for the evil one. IOW, If you didn’t give full consent to getting drunk, it wasn’t mortal sin.
 
It’s been a very long time since I had too much to drink, or anything at all to drink. One glass of wine just about knocks me out. I’ve never thought of getting drunk one a single occassion as a mortal sin. I think there’s probably a lot of gray area there at least for the occassional imbiber. I don’t know what a car bomb is, but it sounds kind of scary. My thoughts are that if drinking makes you feel bad, physically or emotionally, the next day, you should probably try to remember that the next time you’re tempted to drink too much again. Talk to the priest in confession, and I think you’ll feel better about it.
 
Scary thing about getting drunk … Scriptures tell us drunkers will not inherit the kingdom and to not associate with those who are called “brother” but keep getting drunk, or doing immoral acts or constantly lying…Choose your companions wisely as they can affects your spiritual well being…peace to you…may God bless and draw you closer to Him as you seek to walk in obedience to His word…
 
daeve said:
It’s been a very long time since I had too much to drink, or anything at all to drink. One glass of wine just about knocks me out. I’ve never thought of getting drunk one a single occassion as a mortal sin. I think there’s probably a lot of gray area there at least for the occassional imbiber. I don’t know what a car bomb is, but it sounds kind of scary. My thoughts are that if drinking makes you feel bad, physically or emotionally, the next day, you should probably try to remember that the next time you’re tempted to drink too much again. Talk to the priest in confession, and I think you’ll feel better about it.
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Yes, I don’t drink either…Nyquil really slams me…Some one tried to conceal alcohol in a soda given to me in my younger days and it made me really sick…
 
Hiskid1973 said:
Yes, I don’t drink either…Nyquil really slams me…Some one tried to conceal alcohol in a soda given to me in my younger days and it made me really sick…
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I grew up in an Italian household where wine was just another part of the meal. It was never forbidden to us, although it was greatly diluted with “white soda”. I rarely drink at all, but I think a little wine or a couple beers isn’t a bad thing. I’m diabetic and would rather spend my carbs on something involving chocolate, and I really hate feeling out of control. Nyquil gives me weird dreams.
 
A priest, in Confession, would be your best source to sort it out.

It matters what was in your heart and mind at the time.
  1. Is getting drunk always a “grave matter?”
  2. Did you know that getting drunk IS a grave matter, if it is?
  3. Did you go there that night to get drunk (the grave matter type) but just wanted to be able to say you got caught up in the celebration, so you can tell yourself (lie to yourself) that you really did not have intent to get drunk?
But if it was the relatively innocent youthful event you described, it doesn’t sound like it met all three necessary conditions to be a mortal sin. If not a mortal sin, it was OK to receive Holy Communion.

Your good conscience may just be telling you to be careful and seek God’s Graces to avoid future situations where worse could happen.

We all have to learn how to maintain control of ourselves. That comes expereince and constant praying for God’s daily guidance. In my view there are relative degrees of drunk. Feeling light headed or dizzy is one thing, passing out is another. The danger is what we do when we get drunk, when we loose control of our decision making ability, and we or someone else gets hurt, physically or emotionally.

Again, a priest is the best guide.
 
Hello.

Here is some info from the Catholic Catechism about mortal sin and sacrilege:

I put some info concerning mortal sin, sacrilege, and a site that has a good examination of conscience (this examination has the nihil obstat and imprimatur).

Mortal sin—>

1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.

1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

sacrilege—>

2118 God’s first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony.

2120 Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us.52

good examination of conscience—>

catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf

Hope this helps.
 
If all you had to drink was part of a beer and a single car bomb (usually 1/2 shot of Jammesson’s, 1/2 shot of Irish Cream, and the rest of a tumbler filled with Guiness), I’m pretty sure you’re in the clear, even if you weigh 95lbs. You probably weren’t intoxicated to the point of sin, and even if you were, it doesn’t sound like you gave it a whole lot of forethought. Two or three drinks does not a bender make.
 
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