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Epistemes
Guest
I hate lust.
I hate masturbation.
I hate sin.
Most of all, I think I hate myself.
I hate masturbation.
I hate sin.
Most of all, I think I hate myself.
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Shin
Guest
There is some useful information on these threads:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=336977
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=330187
A person must hate sin, but not in such a way that the person despairs at it, but in such a way that he rises up and repels it and all that has to do with it from his life, exterior and interior.
That is the especially the attachment to sin, interiorly, and all lesser goods that are the occasion of the sin for him, their attractions and attachments. It is a retraining of the interior appetites to obey and help avoid sin rather than draw into it.
And this allows one to love what is of the Lord perceived interiorly and serve Him.
‘The most important thing upon which to concentrate in order to mortify it and eradicate it entirely is our predominant passion, that is, that affection, desire, inclination, vice or bad habit which drags us down and most frequently causes us to fall into sin. Once this king of our faults has been conquered, the battle will be won.’
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
‘Charity requires us always to have compassion on human infirmity.’
St. Catherine of Siena
‘This is a good rule of conduct, to do nothing but what we can offer to the good God. Now, we cannot offer to Him slanders, calumnies, injustice, anger, blasphemy, impurity, night clubs, dancing; yet that is all that people do in the world. Speaking of dances, St. Francis of Sales used to say that “they were like mushrooms, the best were good for nothing.” Mothers are apt to say indeed, “Oh, I watch over my daughters.” They watch over their attire, but they cannot watch over their hearts. . . Ah, if they well understood this responsibility they would never have any dances. Just like those who make bad pictures and statues, or write bad books, they will have to answer for all the harm that these things will do during all the time they last.’
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=336977
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=330187
A person must hate sin, but not in such a way that the person despairs at it, but in such a way that he rises up and repels it and all that has to do with it from his life, exterior and interior.
That is the especially the attachment to sin, interiorly, and all lesser goods that are the occasion of the sin for him, their attractions and attachments. It is a retraining of the interior appetites to obey and help avoid sin rather than draw into it.
And this allows one to love what is of the Lord perceived interiorly and serve Him.
‘The most important thing upon which to concentrate in order to mortify it and eradicate it entirely is our predominant passion, that is, that affection, desire, inclination, vice or bad habit which drags us down and most frequently causes us to fall into sin. Once this king of our faults has been conquered, the battle will be won.’
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
‘Charity requires us always to have compassion on human infirmity.’
St. Catherine of Siena
‘This is a good rule of conduct, to do nothing but what we can offer to the good God. Now, we cannot offer to Him slanders, calumnies, injustice, anger, blasphemy, impurity, night clubs, dancing; yet that is all that people do in the world. Speaking of dances, St. Francis of Sales used to say that “they were like mushrooms, the best were good for nothing.” Mothers are apt to say indeed, “Oh, I watch over my daughters.” They watch over their attire, but they cannot watch over their hearts. . . Ah, if they well understood this responsibility they would never have any dances. Just like those who make bad pictures and statues, or write bad books, they will have to answer for all the harm that these things will do during all the time they last.’
St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars
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Holly3278
Guest
Awww Epistemes. We don’t want you to hate yourself! What’s wrong?
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Epistemes
Guest
Just having one of those days again.Awww Epistemes. We don’t want you to hate yourself! What’s wrong?
I’ll try not to take up so much bandwidth with what’s been expressed a million times over.
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Lief_Erikson
Guest
God loves you sooo much, Epistemes, and He will never stop.
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord has taken away your sins. The struggle against sin remains the cross we bear here on Earth, yet Christ has won the victory already. You don’t need to be afraid of the result; take heart that Christ’s Passion is sufficient to cover all sin throughout the entire world. If it is so great that it can cover over the sin of all the world, how much more can His sacrifice take away the sin of one little human?
Here’s a relevant Scripture from Romans 7:
Romans 7:14-25:
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord has taken away your sins. The struggle against sin remains the cross we bear here on Earth, yet Christ has won the victory already. You don’t need to be afraid of the result; take heart that Christ’s Passion is sufficient to cover all sin throughout the entire world. If it is so great that it can cover over the sin of all the world, how much more can His sacrifice take away the sin of one little human?
Here’s a relevant Scripture from Romans 7:
Romans 7:14-25:
This is the battle we humans all share. But we cannot succumb to turning on ourselves. If Christ didn’t give up on us in spite of our evil ways, what right have we to do that? The more we turn our eyes on what is good and holy and beautiful, though, the more joy has the opportunity to fill us. Focus on God’s love and on what is good, rather than on your own sins. Confess your sins at Confession, to be sure, but don’t center your attention on them in day to day life. I don’t think it’s healthy. The Scripture says, in the Book of Phillippians, “whatever things are good, noble, pure and clean, focus on these things,” or something to that effect. It is a real blessing for the mind, a very uplifting practice.
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Epistemes
Guest
Indeed; but these lessons in humility always come at the expense of pride.
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Lief_Erikson
Guest
Agreed . . .
If I were you, though, I’d turn my eyes on what is good and beautiful, as the Scripture encourages us to do. I’ve been through the whole self-battering experience of clobbering myself because of my sins twice, for months or years each time, and neither period was healthy. Focusing one’s attention on what is good and lovely, though, creates joy and deeper appreciation of God.
One should continue to Confess one’s sins, but one should not center one’s day to day gaze on them. God is the worthy object of our attention, and His works.
If I were you, though, I’d turn my eyes on what is good and beautiful, as the Scripture encourages us to do. I’ve been through the whole self-battering experience of clobbering myself because of my sins twice, for months or years each time, and neither period was healthy. Focusing one’s attention on what is good and lovely, though, creates joy and deeper appreciation of God.
One should continue to Confess one’s sins, but one should not center one’s day to day gaze on them. God is the worthy object of our attention, and His works.
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Epistemes
Guest
Again, no argument there - but I think “good” and “beautiful” need some qualifiers. Sitting all day in a lonesome cube next to a guy who really wants nothing to do with me, in front of a computer, doing a job which I’m grateful to have but not especially loving (or proud of) really does fit my criteria of “good” or “beautiful”.
Though, I’m sure someone out there could find it. Really, at rock bottom, I need an attitude adjustment.
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Chinwa
Guest
“I hate sin.” Hatred for sin could be a sign of a living conscience. But such conscience, sooner or later, could be dead if the hatred is not translated in a concrete action to acquire the virtue. To overcome a particular sin one must strive for the contrary virtue. Above all we need spiritual help.
Personally, I found the Rosary very helpful. This is not mere ideology; it’s real. Constant praying of the Rosary helps one to *gather up the heart *such that one is energized to receive healing from the sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth!
Personally, I found the Rosary very helpful. This is not mere ideology; it’s real. Constant praying of the Rosary helps one to *gather up the heart *such that one is energized to receive healing from the sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth!
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withwind
Guest
Pray to God for knowing how to love yourself in God’s way; you will eventually be able to overcome loneliness, insecure, and lust.
Do you workout? jogging or walking for instance?
Do you workout? jogging or walking for instance?
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Epistemes
Guest
I am really struggling.
Today is Friday, and it’s on this day that Our Lord gave his life for us, releasing us from our sins (from my sins) - and I should be performing some penitential act expressing my thankfulness for his action and a true contrition for my sins, and I can’t; instead, I continue to sin for reasons I don’t understand, but which have their root in this contempt for myself and how horrible I think I am - and I fall from grace only to express contrition, but feeling that I am no longer in grace, I feel even worse and think about how stupid I am for damaging my relationship with God, especially when I’m only two days removed from my last confession, and I just continue to sin.
It breaks my heart, and it makes me cry because I really don’t want to sin, and I really don’t want to hate myself - and there was a period, however short, last week when I was at the Abbey of Gesthemani and I felt that the Spirit was speaking to me and that Mother Mary had taken me by the hand, and I felt such at peace, and I didn’t despair, but I praised God for initiating some sense of healing.
I’ve been home less than a week and I’m already back to my old self, the healing seems long gone, and I’ve returned to this lonesome valley.
I want so dearly to ascend beyond the purgative stage, to be friends with my God, to not sin against him like I do but I’m foolish, and I really don’t know why I’ve returned to hating myself.
When I do go to confession, the priest will say, “Oh, well, you know, you’re continuing to struggle with that, and you continue asking the Holy Spirit for his help,” and he’ll assign some simple penance because it’s the same sin week after week, he knows I’m struggling, but I always fail because I fail to rely on the grace of Christ.
I just wish I could go back to the Abbey. I wish I could get away from my life…or whatever it is about my life that is causing me this hell. I’ve cried so much recently…
Today is Friday, and it’s on this day that Our Lord gave his life for us, releasing us from our sins (from my sins) - and I should be performing some penitential act expressing my thankfulness for his action and a true contrition for my sins, and I can’t; instead, I continue to sin for reasons I don’t understand, but which have their root in this contempt for myself and how horrible I think I am - and I fall from grace only to express contrition, but feeling that I am no longer in grace, I feel even worse and think about how stupid I am for damaging my relationship with God, especially when I’m only two days removed from my last confession, and I just continue to sin.
It breaks my heart, and it makes me cry because I really don’t want to sin, and I really don’t want to hate myself - and there was a period, however short, last week when I was at the Abbey of Gesthemani and I felt that the Spirit was speaking to me and that Mother Mary had taken me by the hand, and I felt such at peace, and I didn’t despair, but I praised God for initiating some sense of healing.
I’ve been home less than a week and I’m already back to my old self, the healing seems long gone, and I’ve returned to this lonesome valley.
I want so dearly to ascend beyond the purgative stage, to be friends with my God, to not sin against him like I do but I’m foolish, and I really don’t know why I’ve returned to hating myself.
When I do go to confession, the priest will say, “Oh, well, you know, you’re continuing to struggle with that, and you continue asking the Holy Spirit for his help,” and he’ll assign some simple penance because it’s the same sin week after week, he knows I’m struggling, but I always fail because I fail to rely on the grace of Christ.
I just wish I could go back to the Abbey. I wish I could get away from my life…or whatever it is about my life that is causing me this hell. I’ve cried so much recently…
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Shin
Guest
Well, from the amount of emotional distress here it appears you commit this sin to fill a void of lack of happiness.
Now a person who does this is a slave to emotional needs. To overcome this slavery there are many key things to be done, but first of all we must not use exterior things to gain emotional fufillment and must live a healthy lifestyle.
What is unhealthy for a person whose emotions are out of control? Using exterior things for emotional fulfillment. What does this mean? Television, music, computer, these things are all used while in a passive state of mind – one places ones emotions in need of their instant gratification, and into whatever is presented to us by them without reserve. In other words, the passions are under the control and need of the exterior thing – and the demons are easily able to make slaves of people like this, because they can do the same things as the TV, music, and so forth, present emotions and temptations and urges.
So a person in such a state requires a total lifestyle change, wherein the person lives a more active life of self-determination of emotions and the quieting of the concupiscible appetite.
So I advise you to take a close look at how you live your life everyday, and do a total lifestyle change.
Bring the good parts of the way you lived at the abbey into your everyday life.
And make -sure- you do a total inventory of throwing out anything in the house that is immoral and tempting to sin. Magazines with impure images, books that describe such situations, immoral magazines like America and U.S. Catholic… Things like that… heresy does separate one from God’s grace.
Now a person who does this is a slave to emotional needs. To overcome this slavery there are many key things to be done, but first of all we must not use exterior things to gain emotional fufillment and must live a healthy lifestyle.
What is unhealthy for a person whose emotions are out of control? Using exterior things for emotional fulfillment. What does this mean? Television, music, computer, these things are all used while in a passive state of mind – one places ones emotions in need of their instant gratification, and into whatever is presented to us by them without reserve. In other words, the passions are under the control and need of the exterior thing – and the demons are easily able to make slaves of people like this, because they can do the same things as the TV, music, and so forth, present emotions and temptations and urges.
So a person in such a state requires a total lifestyle change, wherein the person lives a more active life of self-determination of emotions and the quieting of the concupiscible appetite.
So I advise you to take a close look at how you live your life everyday, and do a total lifestyle change.
Bring the good parts of the way you lived at the abbey into your everyday life.
And make -sure- you do a total inventory of throwing out anything in the house that is immoral and tempting to sin. Magazines with impure images, books that describe such situations, immoral magazines like America and U.S. Catholic… Things like that… heresy does separate one from God’s grace.
- Status