I give up.

[Em_in_FL]

I’ll never be Christian.

Do you WANT to be a Christian? What’s holding you back?

God hates me.

Describe why you’re saying this.

I don’t even care if Jesus hears me or not.

And Mary apparently doesn’t anyway.

Are you looking for great signs in the sky to know your prayers are heard? What are you asking/telling Jesus?

No one cares.

Untrue… look at the response to your thread.

 

[mercygate]

Feel better, kid. It’s not as bad as you think.

One day in a hospital elevator, somebody said that to me. I was leaving the bediside of my dead father.

I looked him square in the eye and said in a voice that could have iced the Sahara Desert: "How could you possibly presume to know?"

 

[mercygate]

I’ll never be Christian.
God hates me.
I don’t even care if Jesus hears me or not.
And Mary apparently doesn’t anyway.

No one cares.

Valiant – your signature is pretty sophisticated. Is this condition of yours chronic?

Could be something other than your Weltanschauung? Something medical?

May God send you mercy.

 

[E.E.N.S]

It’s not God’s fault. It’s mine. I’m the failure.

It’s the same for all of us.

Persevere my friend.

 

[TOP]

Valiant,
Hi, looking back at my darkest times, that when God was closest to me, silent, studying me, testing, refining. Once you get over this hurdle, don’t be surpised to be met with another. As a christen that is how we are trained to obediance. The Saints are Gods soldiers, that is how they are trained. That is what we hope to be above all else. Sometimes we have to let go of things of this world, to except spiritual growth. I just lost my job, I have a wife and 4 kids to take care of and christmas is around the corner. We will have a humble christmas. Not knowing what to do , I went to confession with despair on my mind. The Priest told me to ask Mary to take care of us, because she is our mother. This has lead me to study of marian devotion and a possible consacreation to Jesus through Mary’s hands. There is always a door out. And it is Gods will that you choose His door. BTW , while this is going on, my wife landed a job making more money then I did. This is very humbleing. I was the one that always took care of the family, but this is Gods will at the time. At times I feel like a failure too. But there is always a reason for such things. Try to discern what the Lord wants from you. Presevere in hope and faith. God loves you, He may be just seeing how much you love Him, God Bless, Tim

 

[Epistemes]

One day in a hospital elevator, somebody said that to me. I was leaving the bediside of my dead father.

I looked him square in the eye and said in a voice that could have iced the Sahara Desert: "How could you possibly presume to know?"

No doubt. But I know Valiant and what is going on.

 

[McKevin]

I’ll never be Christian.
God hates me.
I don’t even care if Jesus hears me or not.
And Mary apparently doesn’t anyway.

No one cares.

We’ll never be Christian (Christ-like) without the grace of God.

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift (grace) of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God loves you!

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Jesus Cares

1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Here’s some words from one of my favorite songs:

Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think that we are paupers when he knows himself that we are children of the King. So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won. We know that Jesus Christ is risen and the work’s already done!

So, praise the Lord! For our God abides in praise. **Praise the Lord for the chains that seem to bind us serve only to remind us that they drop powerless behind us **when we praise Him!

Matthew 7:7,

McKevin

 

[mercygate]

No doubt. But I know Valiant and what is going on.

Ah. Makes ALL the difference. :tiphat:

 

[ValiantDomain]

I get so frustrated with myself.

I pray for God to forgive me, and I pray for God to keep me from sin, and then I go and sin. Over stupid stuff!

My new boss asks me this morning why a certain e-mail last week was later than it was this morning, and I don’t remember what I was doing last week, so I just lied and said, “I was working on answering e-mails…” Why did I lie? Why did I lie? I didn’t have to lie…but I don’t know how to take this woman, and I already feel like I’m under the microscope, and my mind went searching for some answer…something better than “I don’t know”…

And this doesn’t even count the mortal sins I’ve committed in the past week alone.

And I’m so tired of telling God, “I’m sorry,” whenever my actions speak otherwise. I’m tired of asking God to fill me with his Holy Spirit, when I only go and sin and so I have to ask again and again and again…

I’m so tired…

A week ago I felt so good about myself, my spirituality, and all, that I was even giving thought to becoming a priest…but God doesn’t need a sinner as a priest…

God doesn’t hate me. I hate me for sinning against God. And I can’t forgive myself. That’s the worst part.

 

[TOP]

Valiant,
It’s a minefield out there, I know. We can’t do it without the Lords help.Trying to avoid all the snares and traps by ourselves is almost impossible and pridefull. Then we have our own shortcomings to deal with. Learn from these falls. You are being trained. We have the Church as a base, a refuge, a place to regroup and replenish. Ask for the Lords forgivness through confession and march on as a soldier in Christ. Don’t beat yourself up. That is a tactic of the enemy. God Bless, Tim

 

[writergirlmel]

We all fail. We’re human. But God does love us, despite our failures. In that, He never fails. People do care. Hang in there. You’re in my prayers.

 

[wcknight]

Valiant, only 2 people in all of history ever lived up to the perfection that we all seek. God accepts you as you are. The important thing is to focus on getting back up and never giving up. IF we focus on our sins we can never live up to the expectations that we set for ourselves.

We must focus on the perfection of Christ, and know that Christ is more powerful than any sin that we can ever commit. We must have faith that God will always forgive us no matter how many times we fail. With constant prayer and confession we can and will conquer our weaknesses. Jesus tells us that anyone who appeals to His divine mercy will not be punished. His mercy is infinite and we have to have faith that He is true to His word.

 

[jmcrae]

I get so frustrated with myself.

I pray for God to forgive me, and I pray for God to keep me from sin, and then I go and sin. Over stupid stuff!

My new boss asks me this morning why a certain e-mail last week was later than it was this morning, and I don’t remember what I was doing last week, so I just lied and said, “I was working on answering e-mails…” Why did I lie? Why did I lie? I didn’t have to lie…but I don’t know how to take this woman, and I already feel like I’m under the microscope, and my mind went searching for some answer…something better than “I don’t know”…

And this doesn’t even count the mortal sins I’ve committed in the past week alone.

Welcome to the human race - it’s called “pride” and we all have it, to some degree - “pride” is the desire to not look like an idiot in front of someone important, and to be well thought of by others. It’s completely normal.

You’re going to be fine - yes, you need to learn how to humble yourself and tell the truth, even when it might make you look dumb, but it’s a process - even Mother Teresa had to work on her pride - we’re all in this together. Don’t give up - it’s a long slow road, but you will get there, as long as you hang on and persevere.

 

[BlazingBolt]

I get so frustrated with myself.

I pray for God to forgive me, and I pray for God to keep me from sin, and then I go and sin. Over stupid stuff!

And I’m so tired of telling God, “I’m sorry,” whenever my actions speak otherwise. I’m tired of asking God to fill me with his Holy Spirit, when I only go and sin and so I have to ask again and again and again…

I’m so tired…

A week ago I felt so good about myself, my spirituality, and all, that I was even giving thought to becoming a priest…but God doesn’t need a sinner as a priest…

God doesn’t hate me. I hate me for sinning against God. And I can’t forgive myself. That’s the worst part.

I have felt like this before as I am sure many of us have. For me the main cause was struggling with mastrubation. It is horrible when you know something is wrong, and that you shouldn’t be doing it, and then seemingly no matter how hard you try you end up failing. Everytime I gave in to this temptation, afterward I would feel so ashamed, and then I would eventually swear I would never give in to it again, and then I would fail again, and it was just this horrible downward spiral where I began to hate myself for being so weak. My self esteem was being destroyed. Eventually I was able to overcome this and the key was self esteem. I realized that God never requires more of us than we can handle and after doing some research I found out that masturbation is not always a mortal sin, even if you know it is wrong. The Catechism states limitations of culpability for things such as lack of maturity or force of acquired habit. This helped me to actually belive that God still loved me even though I continued to commit this sin while knowing it was wrong. Getting this self esteem back made all the difference because what they say is true “how can you love if you don’t love yourself?”. You can’t, and if you hate yourself you will not be able to love God either. Once I learned to love myself while acknowledging I was a sinner I was better able to appreciate God’s mercy and forgiveness, my love for him grew, and he granted me the grace to finally break free from the slavery of masturbation. Hate the sin, don’t hate yourself for sinning. Only by God’s graces can we avoid sin.

 

[LittleRose]

And I’m so tired of telling God, “I’m sorry,” whenever my actions speak otherwise. I’m tired of asking God to fill me with his Holy Spirit, when I only go and sin and so I have to ask again and again and again…

You sound like a normal human being to me.

A week ago… I was even giving thought to becoming a priest…but God doesn’t need a sinner as a priest…

I have heard that Pope John Paul II himself went to confession every day! Why would he feel the need to do that if he didn’t sin? Priests are human beings too. If perfection were a requirement for religious leadership, there would be no priests at all. I’d like to be a mother someday. Does God “need” sinners to be parents either? No, but he allows us to raise children anyway. Both my parents are sinners too, but with God’s help they did a pretty darned good job of raising me anyway.

That’s the beauty of God’s grace. He finds ways for us to do good even though we are sinners, and we are weak.

I can’t forgive myself. That’s the worst part.

Who are we to argue with God when he forgives us? Keep praying for more openness to his healing power.

 

[McKevin]

Here is today’s “Word of Encouragement” e-mail. How appropriate, eh? More proof that God does care, for sure!

Don’t Give Up!---------------

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.

---

In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis’ senior demon, Screwtape, explains to a junior demon, Wormwood, why God sends us “dry times:”

He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs — to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual temptation, because we design them for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot “tempt” them to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there, He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

---

Just a Word of Encouragement
from Mark Shea & Jeff Cavins

Don’t just read Mark Shea - Listen!
Each day a fresh, new Rock Solid w/ Mark Shea radio podcast is delivered to your desktop, IPOD, or MP3 player. Download by clicking
here: podcast.catholicexchange.com/

To sign up your friends for the Words of Encouragement,
go to CatholicExchange.com/church_today/message.asp?sec_id=5

 

[vince2paul]

A week ago I felt so good about myself, my spirituality, and all, that I was even giving thought to becoming a priest…but God doesn’t need a sinner as a priest…

God doesn’t hate me. I hate me for sinning against God. And I can’t forgive myself. That’s the worst part.

Well, read Luke 5:1-11

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
9 For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him,
10 and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything 2 and followed him.​

Sometimes, I often doubt God’s forgiveness to me, but I know that I shouldn’t doubt about that. After all, God created us and He knows our weaknesses. If He wanted, He could just “kill” Adam and Eve and make another Adam and Eve that wouldn’t commit sin. But no, He still forgives them and even gives them everything.

For me, it’s not God, but it’s the people that often make me want to give up.

 

[ThisOne]

Valiant,

I think you are on the right track: Give up.

Give up thinking that God will change you against your will. Determine for once and for all that lying is not what you want to do, and tell God that. Ask for His strength when you are tempted; that is, when an event occurs (your boss asking you something in ways that normally trigger you to protect yourself), pause, say an interior prayer for help and strength right in that particular circumstance, and wait for God to give you the words that will ensure you do not sin.

Give up thinking that you can do this alone in the middle of the event itself – you need “onsite” help for those events at work and if you take your time responding, and consult God before you open your mouth or write an answer to an e-mail, you have the time for God to imbue you with grace and strength.

 

[AquinaSavio]

I get so frustrated with myself.

I pray for God to forgive me, and I pray for God to keep me from sin, and then I go and sin. Over stupid stuff!

Valiant, this is totally normal. God knows our limitations. He knows that you are trying. The road to perfection is an extremely difficult one…and nobody will make it during this life. Your offences are against God, and yet you are harder on yourself than He is. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone must learn to deal with their own failures.

God doesn’t have to keep you alive. But He does, because He loves you. Think about that every day.

A week ago I felt so good about myself, my spirituality, and all, that I was even giving thought to becoming a priest…but God doesn’t need a sinner as a priest…

If God didn’t accept sinners to be His priests, then the world would have no priests in it. John Paul II went to confession almost every day, and yet he was one of the most saintly men of the 20th century! Saint Augustine of Hippo was a pagan for 30 years before he finally converted back to Catholicism, and he became one of the greatest saints ever.

Keep going! God knows about all of your distress. And He loves you specially because He knows that you are trying your best! Just don’t stop now!

 

[ss828]

Here is today’s “Word of Encouragement” e-mail. How appropriate, eh? More proof that God does care, for sure!

Don’t Give Up!---------------

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.

---

In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis’ senior demon, Screwtape, explains to a junior demon, Wormwood, why God sends us “dry times:”

He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs — to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual temptation, because we design them for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot “tempt” them to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there, He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

---

Just a Word of Encouragement
from Mark Shea & Jeff Cavins

Don’t just read Mark Shea - Listen!
Each day a fresh, new Rock Solid w/ Mark Shea radio podcast is delivered to your desktop, IPOD, or MP3 player. Download by clicking
here: podcast.catholicexchange.com/

To sign up your friends for the Words of Encouragement,
go to CatholicExchange.com/church_today/message.asp?sec_id=5

McKevin,

That was a pretty interesting read! And so apprroprite even in mty own life. Sometimes I wonder why God is giving me all these trials- and sometimes I feel like he’s forsaken me (they are all human emotions)- but I pray despite those feelings…I never give up on Him, because I know he doesn’t give up on me.