I cant stop sinning?

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hausofferni

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I cant stop sinning? Like its impossible?? Hello everyone I am an 18 year old male (some what scrupulous), and at my age there is so much sin and temptation around me that I cannot steer away from. Since becoming more devoted to my faith, I have given up alcohol, smoking, anything else that would be considered sinful, and have decided to stay chaste until marriage, but now I’m still sinning. My main problem is my friends. They are Christian, athiest, agnostic etc, and they really don’t care about sinning like I do. All we do is gossip or talk bad about people, mock, make fun of others, and its not right. I participate in all of this until I come to my senses and realize its wrong, and I stop. How can I avoid all this sinning? In order to avoid sinning I would have to get rid of my friends, and cant do that. I confess weekly but I don’t think its right that I keep confessing the same sins over and over. I confess Saturday and stay sin free until sunday when I receive Holy Communion, but then by Wednesday I already have a list of sins that I have to confess, and I feel guilty the entire week. What’s even worse is that in my past I made an image of myself that wasn’t so good (partying,drinking, etc), and now everyone thinks I’m still into that and I’m not. I really don’t know what to do anymore, I have even considered stopping confession, holy communion as I’m ashamed, but I know that’s what the devil wants and I will not give up this easily. I wish and strive to imitate the saints, and follow God and his holy word, but at this point I don’t know what to do, I cry and ache daily because I don’t want God and Jesus to hate me. Any advice is appreciated thank you.
 
keep going to confession, the more you go, eventually, the less you will need to confess

I disagree about the friends though, if they are providing an environment for you to sin, you need to find new friends. unless you are strong enough to tell them to stop everytime they try to gossip, which you may not be at this point

often times, there are triggers for our sins and it’s best to avoid situations that will be especially tempting for us, at least for now.

you will find, that when you grow spiritually, it is easier to resist temptations. that is why, if you read the lives of the saints, many of them seem to be able to handle situations that the rest of us struggle with, without being phased

get more involved you in your parish, if you’re in university or college, find the catholic club or group.
 
You can get rid of your friends, who are leading you into sin; you just don’t want to. Until you find some like minded new friends to hang out with or start standing up to the ones you have now, nothing is going to change.
 
Praying to the Holy Spirit to give you guidance, direction, strength, fortitude & wisdom in your time of need.
 
I hear you man. I’man 18 year old guy too and yes the temptations to sin are everywhere. By the grace of God, I have been able to be sexually sin-free for about 4 months. But, the temptations are every day. Trust me, continual Confession with a regular confessor, as well as frequent prayer and reception of Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament really does help. Keep, in the words of Saint Paul, “fighting the good fight” and if the sinfulness is too much, take a step back from your friends for certain times of the day/week and re-evaluate your relationships with them to see if hey are healthy or dangerous for your spiritual life.

My prayers are with you! May God bless you and grant you strength! 🙂
 
angell1 said:
keep going to confession, the more you go, eventually, the less you will need to confess

I disagree about the friends though, if they are providing an environment for you to sin, you need to find new friends. unless you are strong enough to tell them to stop everytime they try to gossip, which you may not be at this point

often times, there are triggers for our sins and it’s best to avoid situations that will be especially tempting for us, at least for now.

you will find, that when you grow spiritually, it is easier to resist temptations. that is why, if you read the lives of the saints, many of them seem to be able to handle situations that the rest of us struggle with, without being phased

get more involved you in your parish, if you’re in university or college, find the catholic club or group.
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I agree with your suggestion, @angell. In the Act of Contrition, we promise with the help of God’s grace “to sin no more and to avoid the unnecessary occasion of sin.” In other words, we need to make the attempt to avoid situations that would cause us to sin as well as avoid the sin itself.

I’m very familiar with this pray as I pray it very often. 🙂
 
In this country we do what we generally chose to do unless you have a gun pointed at our heads. If you sin or are tempted to sin it stands to reason that you like to do, say or act in a sinful manner. If you can’t drop your friends it is because you don’t want to or have them judge you for trying to be a better person. Your just 18. You can find new friends and should. You could join some Catholic youth groups, do volunteer work or many other outlets to keep your mind from sinning. We have all heard that old saw, “The Devil made Me Do It.” It is meant to be a semi-funny excuse for what we do or chose not to do. The Devil doesn’t usually intervene in the daily lives of us ordinary run-of the-mill sinners. but he is very pleased when we sin all by ourselves. Peace.
 
Don’t worry so much. As long as you havn’t done anything serious or irreversable, I’m sure God will forgive you. If you have done anything really bad, then go to confession and promise to try harder next time.
 
When I was 18 things were a disaster. But I prayed the Our Father in the morning. After reflecting many years later – and also in response to your question – I got help from friends because I prayed for them. They might not have known, but I did. I even prayed for all humanity by imagining a larger and larger group of people as the focus of my prayers until it encompassed the whole world.
This way if you do sin, at least it will be minimal (venial) and you will be very conscious of your sorrow. Continue to feel sorrow for what you are involved in. Never give up hope. Despite what others say, sometimes the devil does work through the saying “It’s your own fault.” Such a saying is his way of making you think he doesn’t exist as the tempter.
The Devil doesn’t just want you to sin, he wants you to accept him.
You must consciously tell God you love him. That is the only way to keep awake.
 
Of course the devil wants us to sin. He is very happy when we do. 18 is very young yet, but not too young to acknowledge that most our sins are of our choosing. Also, the age of 18 is just a good age to make better and less sinless decisions. Even if the poster does not commit mortal sins, can a multitude of venial sins not make us stub our toes and miss step? Peace.
 
Fellow 18 year old guy at a known to be party-school & yeah the temptation is terrible, and unfortunately recently I’ve done something very sinful. But our faith isn’t about being perfect thank God, but recognizing our sin and asking God to change us. It takes time, and that’s okay. Take it step by step. The fact that you feel the guilt and want to turn away from sin means the devil hasn’t won. Just don’t lose hope in the Lord.
 
hausofferni said:
I cant stop sinning? Like its impossible?? Hello everyone I am an 18 year old male (some what scrupulous), and at my age there is so much sin and temptation around me that I cannot steer away from. Since becoming more devoted to my faith, I have given up alcohol, smoking, anything else that would be considered sinful, and have decided to stay chaste until marriage, but now I’m still sinning. My main problem is my friends. They are Christian, athiest, agnostic etc, and they really don’t care about sinning like I do. All we do is gossip or talk bad about people, mock, make fun of others, and its not right. I participate in all of this until I come to my senses and realize its wrong, and I stop. How can I avoid all this sinning? In order to avoid sinning I would have to get rid of my friends, and cant do that. I confess weekly but I don’t think its right that I keep confessing the same sins over and over. I confess Saturday and stay sin free until sunday when I receive Holy Communion, but then by Wednesday I already have a list of sins that I have to confess, and I feel guilty the entire week. What’s even worse is that in my past I made an image of myself that wasn’t so good (partying,drinking, etc), and now everyone thinks I’m still into that and I’m not. I really don’t know what to do anymore, I have even considered stopping confession, holy communion as I’m ashamed, but I know that’s what the devil wants and I will not give up this easily. I wish and strive to imitate the saints, and follow God and his holy word, but at this point I don’t know what to do, I cry and ache daily because I don’t want God and Jesus to hate me. Any advice is appreciated thank you.
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Well at least you care. Many do not blink an eye at their sins. You cannot change your reputation overnight. I doubt your friends will change any time soon. All the temptations you are facing are common for your age. Maybe join your church’s youth group. Find activities that are fun but not sinful. Attend sporting events. Play sports. Go hiking. Do not stop confessing. Do not beat yourself up either. At least you are trying. If you find new and different hobbies you may find new friends. No friend is perfect. Become friends with people are at least decent human beings and have a healthy conscience. God bless.
 
Brother - none of us can stop sinning. We will sin until we die. That said, you are way ahead of me. Late have I loved the Lord. But once you do realize that love and know that it is He who loved you first, you will make progress. Be patient and kind to yourself. Treat yourself as the lost sheep that you are - be tender. Yes - go to confession frequently. Receive the Eucharist. Be honest about the change that is needed to escape the temptation to sin, even if it means withdrawing from friendships that uphold you in sin. You are in my prayers and prayers of the cloud of witnesses that is rejoicing over your love of Christ.
 
CRATUS said:
Well at least you care. Many do not blink an eye at their sins. You cannot change your reputation overnight. I doubt your friends will change any time soon. All the temptations you are facing are common for your age. Maybe join your church’s youth group. Find activities that are fun but not sinful. Attend sporting events. Play sports. Go hiking. Do not stop confessing. Do not beat yourself up either. At least you are trying. If you find new and different hobbies you may find new friends. No friend is perfect. Become friends with people are at least decent human beings and have a healthy conscience. God bless.
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This is good stuff. Buddy listen to my pal CRATUS. She knows all about what she’s talking about here. Solid advice this stuff. 👍

Peace.

-Trident
 
Become a leader. You don’t like the gossip and find it wrong. Speak up and tell your friends that. Be prepared to step away. Let them make their own choices about whether they will follow your example. You have to make the transition from being a follower to being the man or woman you want to be. Be prepared to lose those that will mock you as they will drift away from you. However, because of the path you choose you will meet others that have chosen the same as you.
 
hausofferni said:
I cant stop sinning? Like its impossible??
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Join the club.

The vast majority of human beings are in the same boat to some degree. Most of us won’t stop sinning and be perfected until after our deaths. We have some great advice from others in this thread,though, about how to sin less and become more holy.
 
Are there hobbies or intellectual pursuits you can harness? They can overlap with religion (like history) or not. They can develop our minds and skills on our own, but might act as a magnet to others eventually as well.
 
hausofferni said:
I cant stop sinning? Like its impossible?? Hello everyone I am an 18 year old male (some what scrupulous), and at my age there is so much sin and temptation around me that I cannot steer away from. Since becoming more devoted to my faith, I have given up alcohol, smoking, anything else that would be considered sinful, and have decided to stay chaste until marriage, but now I’m still sinning. My main problem is my friends. They are Christian, athiest, agnostic etc, and they really don’t care about sinning like I do. All we do is gossip or talk bad about people, mock, make fun of others, and its not right. I participate in all of this until I come to my senses and realize its wrong, and I stop. How can I avoid all this sinning? In order to avoid sinning I would have to get rid of my friends, and cant do that. I confess weekly but I don’t think its right that I keep confessing the same sins over and over. I confess Saturday and stay sin free until sunday when I receive Holy Communion, but then by Wednesday I already have a list of sins that I have to confess, and I feel guilty the entire week. What’s even worse is that in my past I made an image of myself that wasn’t so good (partying,drinking, etc), and now everyone thinks I’m still into that and I’m not. I really don’t know what to do anymore, I have even considered stopping confession, holy communion as I’m ashamed, but I know that’s what the devil wants and I will not give up this easily. I wish and strive to imitate the saints, and follow God and his holy word, but at this point I don’t know what to do, I cry and ache daily because I don’t want God and Jesus to hate me. Any advice is appreciated thank you.
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Your intentions are very good, but the way you’re approaching it could be improved. It’s a matter of perception. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. Perfection comes only in the next life. God wants us to be faithful. When we fall, God wants us to return to him. God will NEVER hate you.
 
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