How do I know if I should Receive The Blessed Sacrament?

[Angel7]

I want to receive The Blessed Sacrament. but I don’t know what the State of my Soul is.

How do I know what the state of my soul is?
I hope I’m not in mortal sin, and I don’t KNOW (with absolute certainty) that im in mortal sin.

I used to be scrupulous, but I’m not sure if I still am, because I’ve improved. So i’m not sure if I can use the old advice and “assume I’m not in mortal sin”.

Please help!

and

May The Lord Our God Bless You All!

 

[1ke]

Angel,

This post is an **example **of scrupulosity. You should talk to your regular confessor.

Also, if you are not aware of any specific, unconfessed mortal sin you committed, then yes you can have moral assurance that you are **not **in a state of mortal sin.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I want to receive The Blessed Sacrament. but I don’t know what the State of my Soul is.

How do I know what the state of my soul is?
I hope I’m not in mortal sin, and I don’t KNOW (with absolute certainty) that im in mortal sin.

I used to be scrupulous, but I’m not sure if I still am, because I’ve improved. So i’m not sure if I can use the old advice and “assume I’m not in mortal sin”.

Please help!

and

May The Lord Our God Bless You All!

You need to examine your conscience to know the state of your soul. If there is anything you did that you feel makes you unworthy, or it even bothers you, then you may be in a state of mortal sin.

 

[BKulash_eski]

You need to examine your conscience to know the state of your soul. If there is anything you did that you feel makes you unworthy, or it even bothers you, then you may be in a state of mortal sin.

I would like to know how to do this. Something always seems to bother me. I was very harsh toward my mother recently for trying to “steer me from God” by sending me a video from someone whom preaches the word, but does not believe in the Sacraments, I included how I had been upset that she had turned from God long ago by being divorced rather that requesting a tribunal which I believe added undue strain to my marriage, but she is my mother and Honor thy mother and father correct, does this need to be confessed. Please help…

 

[Cat_Herder]

I hope I’m not in mortal sin, and I don’t KNOW (with absolute certainty) that im in mortal sin.

Unless you can honestly and truthfully swear before Almighty God that you have willfully and deliberately committed a mortal sin, you should receive Communion.

The devil loves to play on our fears to get us to excommunicate ourselves. Don’t play along.

St. Dymphna, pray for us.

 

[laszlo]

Your confessor is the competent judge about it.

If he tells you that you need confession every time before you receive the sacrament then get a second opinion, and if it is the same follow it.

If he tells you you need to confess once a month, accept it with humility.

If a priest tells you yo do not need confession at all, find a more traditional priest.

 

[Wowbagger]

I want to receive The Blessed Sacrament. but I don’t know what the State of my Soul is.

Welcome to the human race.

How do I know what the state of my soul is?

With absolute certainty? You don’t, and you never will. Nobody really does. Saints (Teresa of Avila, for example) are a lot close to that certain knowledge than I am and you are, but even they cannot be absolutely certain of their soul’s worthiness beyond a sliver of a doubt.

But they can be pretty darned confident. And so can we all, unless we have a very good reason to believe – clear knowledge – that there is a mortal sin on our soul since our last confession. To do otherwise would be to presume against God’s mercy.

And, let’s suppose, just for a moment, just for the sake of argument, that you are unknowingly in a state of mortal sin (which seems unlikely at best): to receive the Sacrament while in a state of mortal sin is sacrilege only if the receiver does so knowingly. So there is no way that you can commit a sin by receiving here, even if you are somehow in a state of mortal sin, because you don’t know it. The question should not be, “Am I absolutely positively certain that I am in the state of grace?” The question, especially for a person who has struggled with scruples, should be, “Am I absolutely certain I’m in a state of mortal sin?”

You’re safe. Go receive. Then go get your scrupulosity taken care off. Maybe you’re better than you were before, but the above poster is right: this post is an example of scruples.

 

[baltobetsy]

OP, when was your last confession? Have you been attending Mass regularly?

 

[melpote]

Hello. Thanks for your post. I am also my own worst enemy. My spiritual director told me once that I was being a “spiritual anorexic” and I should stop starving myself of Jesus. It is hard, but she is completely correct.

I would try to say some prayers that Jesus would allow you to see yourself as He sees you. I am in this process myself. He has helped me. Whenever I seek Him in this way, I can feel His warm glow inside of me. I know by this that I am OK.

Satan loves to get us thinking that we are not worthy all the time. The trick is to spot these attacks early and to put him in his place.

Hope this helps.

 

[Angel7]

OP, when was your last confession? Have you been attending Mass regularly?

Last Confession.

Ergh, can’t even get a rough date.
Last year, maybe a month or 2 before Advent.

The trouble is I think going to Confession would be a good idea. but there is this one embarrissin thing i am worried about confessing that I am not even sure is a sin but I hope it isn’t.

I mean If I did it now, i feel it would be a sin.

but maybe I lacked full knowledge then. I hope so.
and I don’t recall if I had a sinful intent.
Nor can I remember well if I was doing it with a feeling of guilt, because if I did feel guilty, then I must have known it was wrong so it would have been a sin. Right?

This is confusing I know. If you want me to clarify would I just said above I will.

 

[baltobetsy]

Last Confession.

Ergh, can’t even get a rough date.
Last year, maybe a month or 2 before Advent.

The trouble is I think going to Confession would be a good idea. but there is this one embarrissin thing i am worried about confessing that I am not even sure is a sin but I hope it isn’t.

I mean If I did it now, i feel it would be a sin.

but maybe I lacked full knowledge then. I hope so.
and I don’t recall if I had a sinful intent.
Nor can I remember well if I was doing it with a feeling of guilt, because if I did feel guilty, then I must have known it was wrong so it would have been a sin. Right?

This is confusing I know. If you want me to clarify would I just said above I will.

It would be best if you went to Confession before receiving Holy Communion, don’t you think? Those things we’re hesitant to confess are very often the things we most need to. Just do it, and suffer the embarrassment as a penance, and then receive Communion with a perfectly clear conscience.