I don't feel forgiven

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marina

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I am not catholic. I am greek orthodox.
I went to a catholic priest a year and a half ago for confession.
I made an appointment with him to talk with him in his office because 1. I needed time to discuss my problem
** 2. I didn’t know how to “use” the confessional:o **
Anyway, it worked out much better this way because it did take some time and the priest was wonderful in counseling me.
Now… all this time later I feel like this “sin” has come back to haunt me and I feel like I’m not forgiven and the absolution I received has worn off.
I realize this sounds odd… but it is heavy on my heart and mind. I am even losing sleep over this.
Has anyone ever felt similar to this?
This was a mortal sin that I needed to confess.
I have not committed this sin again and I was given penance which I did.
Any help?
thank you.
marina
 
Marina dear,
God bless you.
First, let me point out that we’re supposed to go to confession at least once a year, so if your tank is low…that’s probably why.

Secondly,Please understand that your feelings are like an unnecessary part of the experience, because the sacraments work based on a spiritual reality that has nothing at all to do with the way we feel. (Provided of course that we are sincerely sorry for our sins, which I believe from your post that you are.)

So don’t doubt that your absolution “took” or that it’s “worn off”, because that just can’t happen. If , however you have fallen back into the same sin, or others, then it’s time to get to confession again and perhaps with that very same priest.

Does this help? please PM me if you need to talk and don’t want the whole planet to read it. 🙂
 
Absolution is once and for always. It is applied to all your sins, remembered and confessed or forgotten or unknown due to ignorance. What you are feeling are the results of memories of the sin – a strictly psychological phenomenon. Or it could be you are under spiritual duress. Pray against your spiritual enemies. Ask your guardian angel to defend you and help you. Also ask Saint Michael the Archangel.
 
Be comforted: God’s grace is too powerful to be manipulated by our feelings.
 
marina said:
Now… all this time later I feel like this “sin” has come back to haunt me and I feel like I’m not forgiven and the absolution I received has worn off.
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This is from one of the psalms - “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He cast our transgressions from us.” When God forgives, He chooses to forget. Satan is the accuser of the bretheren and because of God’s self-imposed forgetfulness, one of Satan’s best tricks is to remind us of past sins.

Reject it in the name of Jesus - say it out loud if you have to. Satan wants to draw you into the sin of despairing of God’s forgiveness. Don’t let him do it. You are forgiven! You are loved!

Blessings
 
Marina,

I’m glad you found a good, compassionate Priest. And I heartily second the sentiments registered by others here.
Marina, I’m glad you found a good, compassionate Priest. And I heartily second the sentiments registered by others here.

I’m a little puzzled. Did you go to a Catholic Priest because you didn’t want to air the dirty linen with your own priest and had no other Orthodox priest to go to? Or do you live too far from you Church?

When you go to confession in your own Church, don’t you find that you need to go back from time to time?
 
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marina:
This was a mortal sin that I needed to confess.
I have not committed this sin again and I was given penance which I did.

Any help?

thank you.

marina
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Jesus said in the Divine Mercy Revelations to Saint Faustina," let no soul fear to draw near me, even if their sins are as numerous as the sands of the earth, they will all dissapear in his mercy".

And Jesus also said that are sins are but a drop in the ocean compared to His Mercy.

So your sins were forgiven, and it;'s time for you to get rid of doubt.

Jesus also said what wounds Him in His Heart is the lack of confidence, so marina, be confident and know that God has forgiven your sins.

Because God is more powerful than your sins.
 
I’m a little puzzled. Did you go to a Catholic Priest because you didn’t want to air the dirty linen with your own priest and had no other Orthodox priest to go to? Or do you live too far from you Church?
Yes… I went to the Catholic priest because as soon as I would have walked into the greek church office, the whole community would have caught whiff of it… and tongues would have been wagging wildly. This is a sad comment but it’s true.
Having being baptised in the greek orthodox church, I was welcomed and my sacraments acknowledged in the catholic church.
I have read all your responses to me.
Thank you all so much.
My heart is still very heavy and I’m hoping to get some relief soon.
To clear any confusion… no… I have NOT committed this particular sin again. I have totally changed myself since going to confession. { I had actually stopped this sin months before my confession}
thank you again
love… marina
 
One of Satan’s most common tricks is to instill doubt.

God knows this, which is why the Sacraments are always something that is experienced with the senses (touch, taste, hearing, etc). A visible sign of invisble grace. The visible sign of reconcilliation is hearing the words “Your sins are absolved/forgiven.”

One day after confession I started to have a little doubt about if I was truly forgiven. Fortunately, I had just heard a wonder talk about confession which said that if you ever get a feeling of doubt about your forgiveness, that you are to rebuke that feeling by saying something to the effect of:
“I know that I am forgiven because I heard the words of forgiveness from the Priest with my own ears!” Satan tried a couple more times to instill doubt in my heart, but each time I reminded myself that I wasn’t going to listen to Satan’s lies anymore. I really did say out loud “I’m not listening to you; you’re lying!”

Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, and he passed on that authority to his apostles. If you have doubts about the authority of priests to forgive sins, perhaps you could start a new discussion where I know you will be given all the biblical and catechism references.

Please don’t ever doubt Jesus! God loves us so much more than we can ever love Him. Stop beating yourself up over something that is in the past and has been fully forgiven,and just let God love you as one of his very beloved children whom He is happy to have back into His loving arms.

If Jesus was to miraculously heal you of a physical ailment, and you could verify this healing with your own eyes, then wouldn’t it be rather silly to tell Jesus that even though you can see the healing with your own eyes, you still doubt that you are healed because you don’t feel any different on the inside?

May you find peace in your heart and know that you are loved!

PS. Sometimes we may doubt our forgiveness because we have never forgiven ourselves. Forgiving ourselves is almost harder than forgiving someone else. But God wants us to forgive everyone, including ourselves.
 
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marina:
I’m a little puzzled. Did you go to a Catholic Priest because you didn’t want to air the dirty linen with your own priest and had no other Orthodox priest to go to? Or do you live too far from you Church?
Yes… I went to the Catholic priest because as soon as I would have walked into the greek church office, the whole community would have caught whiff of it… and tongues would have been wagging wildly. This is a sad comment but it’s true.

Having being baptised in the greek orthodox church, I was welcomed and my sacraments acknowledged in the catholic church.

I have read all your responses to me.
Thank you all so much.

My heart is still very heavy and I’m hoping to get some relief soon.

To clear any confusion… no… I have NOT committed this particular sin again. I have totally changed myself since going to confession. { I had actually stopped this sin months before my confession}

thank you again

love… marina
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Marina, here’s a great big HUG through cyberspace. You clearly have a heart for Christ. God bless you and give you peace.
 
As a practical matter, the issue you are dealing with is one any number of people have had to deal with. It is best dealt with in counseling. I would suggest that you return to the priest who heard your confession; or seek out another priest if he is not available; they should be able to help you.

It is a heavy burden. God forgave you. Now go, seek the help you need.
 
I can relate to this. I had some very serious mortal sins to confess when I returned to the church a little over a year ago. Sometimes I am afraid of losing my faith again but I try to take life one day at a time and know that the Lord forgives me and wants me to continue my spiritual journey. The small prayer “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” helps me too.

With the Grace of God, I try to take my spiritual journey one day at a time and sometimes literally one minute or second at a time when the going gets really rough.
 
Hello,

Something similar happened to me. I went to confession about something that I had done. I was given absolution, but strongly advised to get counseling. Is that normal. Why can’t I just go to confession again, if it happens again? Ana
 
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Ana_Reus:
Hello,

Something similar happened to me. I went to confession about something that I had done. I was given absolution, but strongly advised to get counseling. Is that normal. Why can’t I just go to confession again, if it happens again? Ana
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if you trust the confessor enough to go to confession, you might consider his advice worth listening too…

you might also go to another priest if possible and see what his 2nd opinion is…

good luck to you, and you are in my prayers…👍
 
Hi Marina,

Even without confession, God will forgive us our grave sins if we can achieve what is called perfect contrition, that is being sorry for our sins, not merely because we can be punished but because we love God with all our heart.

But we can never be sure we have this kind of contrition, can we?

That is why God, in his mercy, has given us a SURE way to know that our sins are forgiven, confession to a priest. You started with a clean slate again, just as if you had just been baptized.

What you are experiencing are called “scruples”. This is one of the ways the devil uses to draw us away from God.

I suggest you pray to Our Lady. She will quickly free you from this. I do not know what prayers are common among Orthodox.
Here is the “Hail Mary” :
Hail, Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
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Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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Another favoraite of Catholics is this one:
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help or sought your intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;
to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
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O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy hear and answer me.
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Amen
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Verbum
 
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marina:
Yes… I went to the Catholic priest because as soon as I would have walked into the greek church office, the whole community would have caught whiff of it… and tongues would have been wagging wildly. This is a sad comment but it’s true.

Having being baptised in the greek orthodox church, I was welcomed and my sacraments acknowledged in the catholic church.
Click to expand...
Maybe you would benefit from speaking to the same priest again about your feelings. Is this possible?

I don’t doubt that you were forgiven, but since you are feelign so much anguish, it seems that a spiritual director could offer you the consolation that you need for peace of mind. I am sure that this problem is not an anomaly to him, and he probably is wiser in the words that can be chosen to console you…no offense intended to anyone who gave the advice here.
 
I know how you feel. But I was never baptized and when I was in RCIA I thought I would be able to confess all my sins but as it turns out, I wasn’t even supposed to talk about my pre-baptismal life. Guess it would be hard to cover 43 years. But I lived such a rotten life, it’s hard to believe…guess I can’t forgive myself and part of me suspects I came to the Church only after I had gotten too old for my prior lifestyle. The only thing I know to to is pray and do things for others. I take communion to shut-ins and it’s hard–very awkward to talk with people I don’t know but I figure it’s penance in a way.
 
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