How do you get over guilt of a sin

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Even after confession, how do you “get over” guilt of a sin? Or you don’t because it humbles you?
 
HeWillProvide said:
Even after confession, how do you “get over” guilt of a sin? Or you don’t because it humbles you?
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While I never totally forget, I feel that the guilt lessens substantially over time. The biggest gain is immediately after confession when it feels that a weight has been lifted.
If I start feeling guilty again, I remind myself that I have been forgiven by God, so why should I not forgive myself?
 
HeWillProvide said:
Even after confession, how do you “get over” guilt of a sin? Or you don’t because it humbles you?
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Hi there HWP!..It is very true that guilt can be an expression of failing to forgive oneself and this can be the most difficult forgiveness of all. When we confess our sins no matter how terrible, God not only forgives, He completely forgets and restores us to that state as if we had never sinned in the first place. The Sacrament of Confession is wondrous and endless in Graces, so you can always mention to Father in Confession your problem with guilt over the past. The Confessional is also the place of spiritual direction, which can also take place outside the Sacrament and not necessarily by a priest then. Outside the Confessional presents more time available to deal with matters and over a few appointments if necessary. Religious Order priests are very good usually with spiritual direction and one can usually ring up and make an appointment with one.

At times, guilt over past sin returns with me and what I find helpful is to simply accept it humbly as God’s Permissive Will - a little suffering I can endure united to The Cross (“we make up in our own bodies what was lacking in the Sufferings of Christ” - St. Paul)…I find it does pass, though painful while it lasts. We can forget that a part of our Baptismal vocation is to share in the Sufferings of Christ and complete them…an astonishing thought!

Blessings and may The Lord grant you His Peace in abundance…Barb:)
 
Yes, it can help with humility, however you need to make sure you’re getting real humility that way and not supposed “worthlessness” that is merely a cover-up for pride. I know because I’ve done this!:o I hope I can learn not to do it again.:rolleyes:

Essentially, if He forgives you who are you to not forgive yourself. Then, try looking at the sin as a sociologist might. It happened. It is a part of you, when you don’t look to Him. Use it for self-knowledge. Realism can lead you to true humility (not sentimentally punishing yourself or enjoying self-pity).
 
Certainly, we feel humbled by confessing and being forgiven of our sins. But it’s important that we also forgive ourselves and move on after we make a good confession. To me, guilt is pretty much part of what brings me to the sacrament, so it does have its place.

No better feeling in the world than leaving that room knowing you have been forgiven and the chance to start again. 🙂
 
Yes, it can help with humility, however you need to make sure you’re getting real humility that way and not supposed “worthlessness” that is merely a cover-up for pride.

Thanks for answering - could you elaborate on this? How is ‘worthlessness’ a cover-up for pride?
 
True worthlessness isn’t a cover-up for pride, but the “worthlessness” that we (culturely now) are familiar with usually is just such a cover-up. We can tell the difference when, after deciding we are worthless (my favorite word I use for myself is “pond-scum”) we take a little side journey into a “pity-party” - saying “Oh, I’m so rotten!” (then, “oh, aren’t I being humble”). It reminds me of when I was little and being punished, my father would say “Oh, you suffer so!” when I’d put on a quite convincing (I thought) show of “repentance”. Quite the little actress!😊
In other words, the feeling isn’t the what is looked for (unless it gets you to go to confession 👍 ). It’s the conscience realization of our own worth compared to His Worth.👍
 
…sometimes feelings of worthlessness and putting onself down can cover a certain insidious pride…I think I can do better and cannot see that I have been unfaithful to Grace granted (the truth of matters) and cover all this with feeling sorry for myself and self pity - instead of telling myself the truth - that I have indeed been, simply, unfaithful to Grace, and in need of repenting…Humility, which is the opposite of pride - the virtue which combats it though never perfected until Heaven…could be said to be that virtue which insights the truth of matters in the spiritual realm…and sometimes no sooner am I truly humable, than I am proud, spiritually proud of it…and then I needs combat that!
St. Francis of Assisi said that pride dies 10 minutes after we do…I think St. Francis in my case was generous. We can be rather sure, aside from a great Grace, that on some level, we will be combatting pride and striving for true humility until death…and the battle is won, says St. Francis, only 10 minutes after that death.
 
When you confess your sins…your sins have been erased from your life forever. You now have a clean slate and God has given you his blessing, forgiveness, and his grace. You are fully in the grace of God.

BUT…some people feel that it is not forgotten and they feel guilty and they try to punish themselves when God has already forgiven you for you sins. So be good to yourself because God has already forgiven you.
It is really important to try to not committ that sin again.

Just let it go and put it in God’s hands. Everytime you start to feel guilty you must pray and ask God to get it out of your brain and with time you will know that it is over and forgotten.
 
At the moment of absolution, the sin is destroyed. It is as if it never existed. The Lord allows us to remember the sin through guilt, so that we may draw strength from Him against such sin in the future. The Act of Contrition is so written: “My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You, whom I should love above all things…”

We have the remnant of sin as guilt, strength for the future.

Christ’s peace.
 
PO18GUY IS TOTALLY RIGHT!

God has forgiven you and now You have to forgive yourself.

It really makes me feel good when I go to confession and I know that God will forgive me and erase my sins from me totally. This is why I go to confession as often as I can even if I just have venial sins because I want to stay in God’s grace.
 
The diary of Saint Faustina is the main source for me to have peace and trust in God’s mercy…So,if you don’t have the book, I recommend you to read it. 🙂
 
I have a real problem with this too.

Believe it or not, what’s lately been helping me the most is a new song I’ve learned. I wish I could sing it to you. It is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Here are the words (words in parentheses echo-like):

HEAL THE WOUND by Point of Grace (“How You Live” CD)

I used to wish that I could re-write history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend I never knew the me back then.

I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who I’ve been
But it’s the memory of the place you brought me from
That keeps me on my knees even though I’m free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart.
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound, but leave the scar.

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything
And I don’t take pride in what I’ve read
But I’ll build an altar with the rubble that You found me in
And every stone will sing of what You can redeem

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are (how merciful You are)
I am broken, torn apart.
Take the pieces of this heart
Heal the wound, but leave the scar (don’t let me forget)
Everything you’ve done for me (don’t let me forget)
The beauty in the suffering​

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart.
Take the pieces of this heart
(And heal the wound, but leave the scar)

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful (You are), how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound, but leave the scar.
Leave the scar.

O Jesus! Heal the wound, but leave the scar - a reminder of how merciful You are, to me.
*“Dear God, do You know the greatest grief one of Your creatures can bear? It is the thought that she can never love You enough. ” *- St. Gemma Galgani
 
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