I have a question about sin

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roccoangelo

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Greetings,

I have a question about sin… if someone commits a venial or a mortal sin, is it possible for them to “feel” the effects of they’re sin in some emotional, psychological, spiritual or physical way? Is it possible, for example, for someone who’s committed a mortal sin to feel how God’s sanctifying grace has been destroyed in them? What about someone who commits a venial sin? Is it possible for them to feel the way their sin has wounded them and they’re relationship with God?

Pax Vobiscum,
Rocco
 
I think the question gets a “yes” roccoangelo, but psychological and emotional explanations can run 100 pages long.

I can offer you a few simple examples…just my own limited opinion though:

First of all , when I personally sin, I find it more difficult to continue conversing / stay in communication with or pray to God; and even asking the help of our Blessed Mother, the Saints and Holy Angels , at that point, seems to limit itself to a request for a contrite heart, or something else to do with confessing the sin if it is serious. Sometimes I do feel weaker…more prone or vulnerable to another sin. In light of the fact that the sacrament of Confession / Reconciliation is one of the “healing” sacraments, I think this makes sense logically.

It is said that when we sin (either mortal or venial) it affects the entire body of Christ. Just as when we do a good work it also effects the entire body of Christ in a holy and positive way.

I’m afraid I don’t remember the Saint’s name, but I had read about a particular Saint who could smell the stench of sin on certain souls and had to actually run from them when they came too near to him.

Even more than “feel” the effects of sin, some Saints had been given the charism of reading hearts, ie *"**knowing" someone’s ***intentions and in rare cases even their sins. Saint Padre Pio was one who could read hearts. It helped immensely for the times he served as a confessor. Another who had this gift was Blessed Brother André Bessette - the founder of St. Joseph’s Oratory here in Montreal. There are many instances recounted in his biography where certain “secrets” of people who’d gone to him to seek counsel or healing were revealed.

In one instance (some of the doctors around Montreal had been laughing at the little religious “quack” who was rubbing limbs with St. Joseph’s oil [Bother André had no specific knowledge of it]) a doctor had fallen ill with some type of sickness that his own profession couldn’t help and so he went to see Brother André and was told,*, "You will be healed as soon as you stop mocking me and St. Joseph’s work here at the Oratory.

Anyway, that’s one charism I hope I never get…I have enough of a job coping with my own sins without knowing everyone else’s.*
 
Yes, I feel the separation from God. It is one of the most awful sensations that I have. When I am in that sad state, I feel that my prayers are not heard, not even when I say grace before meals.

It is a dreadful consequence.
 
rpp,
It is a dreadful consequence.
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A dreadful consequence of what? Sin? I ask because I’ve heard of saints that have gone through the same thing, though not because of they’re sins, but because it was part of the path to sainthood for them.

Pax Vobiscum,
Rocco
 
roccoangelo said:
rpp,

A dreadful consequence of what? Sin? I ask because I’ve heard of saints that have gone through the same thing, though not because of they’re sins, but because it was part of the path to sainthood for them.

Pax Vobiscum,
Rocco
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Yes, I was referring to the consequence of mortal sin. You see, it is one thing to have aridity in prayer, and feel alone from God for a time, even years. It is entirely different to know that I have offended Him by my grave sin and that is why He is absent.

I too have aridity in prayer at times. The sense I get from having committed a mortal sin is quite different.
 
rpp said:
Yes, I was referring to the consequence of mortal sin. You see, it is one thing to have aridity in prayer, and feel alone from God for a time, even years. It is entirely different to know that I have offended Him by my grave sin and that is why He is absent.

I too have aridity in prayer at times. The sense I get from having committed a mortal sin is quite different.
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I agree. It can be felt if you pay attention. The only thing worse than feeling it is NOT feeling it. If you can’t feel the distance then you may be becoming resistant. I have heard it described as “seared”, as in your soul is so “seared” from sin that you can no longer perceive your situation clearly and accurately. I think it’s a good analogy.

But I will disagree on one tiny point. God doesn’t leave us. We leave Him. He’s always there, IMO. We shut Him out when we sin.
 
I think the OP has already gotten some good answers, and I’ll just chime in with another “yes.” It’s been awhile since my last confession, and I feel like I’m wading through a swamp to get to my next one. The built-up venial sins make me feel grimy.
 
I agree with the good answers also and would add that in sinning and ‘shutting out God’, i tend to be more self focussed and narrow minded.

This can have some temporary positives and things can seem to be going well for a while, but it doesn’t last and ends up taking me in the wrong direction.

God Bless.
 
MelanieAnne said:
I agree. It can be felt if you pay attention…
But I will disagree on one tiny point. God doesn’t leave us. We leave Him. He’s always there, IMO. We shut Him out when we sin.
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I believe the above quote expresses it well. At times/periods like this it may not “feel” like God is there, but He is. I remember one priest, in a homily on the prodigal son, asking: “Why do you think that the father saw his son coming back while he was still way off in the distance?..because every day he went and he watched and he waited - wtih hopeful expectation.”

Bishop Fulton Sheen (in his book The Seven Last Words) gave us an insightful way to approach this subject. He was speaking of our dear Lord’s cry from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” First of all, he said this happened so that Christ’s abandonment would be more complete, and that he said this prayer for all of us too.

His analogy[possibly paraphrased]: “Just as when the clouds fill the sky, we know the sun is still there…even though we can’t see it or feel it, so it was for Jesus on the Cross regarding his heavenly Father.”
 
roccoangelo said:
Greetings,

I have a question about sin… if someone commits a venial or a mortal sin, is it possible for them to “feel” the effects of they’re sin in some emotional, psychological, spiritual or physical way?
Pax Vobiscum,
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Before I start in with my 2 cents, I’d like to ask, what does Pax Vobiscum mean?

I have 2 examples which come to mind.

One is when I was in my 20’s and very promiscuous. I started to notice a pattern in how I dressed. If I’d gone to confession and was trying to make an effort to sincerely change, I noticed I wouldn’t wear skimpy clothes to exercise in. I wasn’t aware of it at first, but I did start noticing a pattern as I’d fall back into promiscuity again and again, the clothes would again get skimpy, until I really took to heart what St. Paul said about those who “burn” are better off being married.

The other was before I started listening to EWTN and reading all the goodies on this site. I would watch Sex and the City, and I noticed I felt like the inside of my skin had wrinkled up like a used plastic grocery bag right after each show. So, I quit watching that show. It’s a shame because all that wit is wasted on such nullities.
 
crenfro,
I’d like to ask, what does Pax Vobiscum mean?
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Pax = Latin for “Peace”
Vobiscum = Latin for “Be with you”
So, I quit watching that show. It’s a shame because all that wit is wasted on such nullities.
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You seem to have experienced what I just recently went through, only in my case it was with video games not a t.v. series. In the end I concluded that though I found playing video games entertaining, they where also taking me away from time with God and from developing my other God given talents, so I decided to quite playing them.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Rocco
 
I’m can see some of of both of the last 2 posts in me. I think I had about 22 different softwares of video games at one point…they were taking up way too much of my time…after a while it was so evident that I was praying much less.

Some people sell them when they don’t want to use them anymore. I was a little afraid that if I did that they could become a problem for someone else…so I took out a pair of heavy duty scissors to render them “not reusable” even before pitching them in the garbage.

I had the opportunity to confess several times to a priest who seemed to be well informed on these particular things and he told me, very gently, that these things were meant to “lure” us away from God, from prayer.

What a unique thread you started roccoangelo. I’m definitely not saying we need to get into personal details but we’re opening up here…it so mirrors James 5:16, :

“Hence, declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may find healing.”

(So we need to make sure we pray for one another too now).
 
MelanieAnne said:
But I will disagree on one tiny point. God doesn’t leave us. We leave Him. He’s always there, IMO. We shut Him out when we sin.
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I did state it poorly, and, as always, I appreciate well-meaning correction. 🙂

It is indeed we who desert God when we sin, not God who leaves us.

May the peace of God be with you. And may the presence of God be your constant companion. (And that His grace will help us all avoid the occasions of sin!)
 
rpp said:
I did state it poorly, and, as always, I appreciate well-meaning correction. 🙂

It is indeed we who desert God when we sin, not God who leaves us.

May the peace of God be with you. And may the presence of God be your constant companion. (And that His grace will help us all avoid the occasions of sin!)
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Not that poorly…furthermore, it should also be pointed out that you differentiated between spiritual aridity and the desolation of sin - something every one of us needs to be aware of.

Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong (@ rpp) but I think I understood you:

Spiritual aridity is one thing - not being able to feel God’s presence,not having any “little reminders” or consolations, feeling somewhat abandoned but still believing (or at least struggling to in our weak human condition) that He is always there.

The desolation of sin, on the other hand - not being able to feel God’s presence (as “your constant companion”), not having any little reminders (except from the Accuser that “You have sinned” [and these reminders aren’t usually “little]”); feeling all communication with God and the Saints has been cut off, feeling it’s all your fault, feeling the full weight of your guilt, maybe even shame…these things under the “proper” circumstances and conditions, can be heavy enough to sink a battleship.
 
I concur.

The distinction between spiritual aridity and the desolation of sin is very important.
 
NeedImprovement said:
Not that poorly…furthermore, it should also be pointed out that you differentiated between spiritual aridity and the desolation of sin - something every one of us needs to be aware of.

Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong (@ rpp) but I think I understood you:

Spiritual aridity is one thing - not being able to feel God’s presence,not having any “little reminders” or consolations, feeling somewhat abandoned but still believing (or at least struggling to in our weak human condition) that He is always there.

The desolation of sin, on the other hand - not being able to feel God’s presence (as “your constant companion”), not having any little reminders (except from the Accuser that “You have sinned” [and these reminders aren’t usually “little]”); feeling all communication with God and the Saints has been cut off, feeling it’s all your fault, feeling the full weight of your guilt, maybe even shame…these things under the “proper” circumstances and conditions, can be heavy enough to sink a battleship.
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Yes, this was the point I was trying to make. You said it much more eloquently than I did. Thank you.
 
Part of the desolation from sin is our conscience working on us, I think. Of course, that we have erected a wall between God and ourselves also contributes to this sensation. Sadly, when our conscience is not properly formed, and we have, as someone stated earlier “seared” our conscience and dulled it, we can no longer sense the desolation of sin as deeply. It is still there and what some people may call “regret” is in reality the burned out nub of their conscience.

Spiritual aridity is a trial that God can give us at times. He can sometimes withhold those consolations from us. Like all things God puts before us, it is for our spiritual benefit. Perhaps it is to help us find discipline or some other spiritual benefit.

I recall from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that he said we should not give up any spiritual practices nor make major changes to them. That the only change we make while experiencing aridity would be increased prayer.
 
roccoangelo said:
Greetings,

I have a question about sin… if someone commits a venial or a mortal sin, is it possible for them to “feel” the effects of they’re sin in some emotional, psychological, spiritual or physical way? Is it possible, for example, for someone who’s committed a mortal sin to feel how God’s sanctifying grace has been destroyed in them? What about someone who commits a venial sin? Is it possible for them to feel the way their sin has wounded them and they’re relationship with God?

Pax Vobiscum,
Rocco
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It would depend on if they had a well formed conscience, in which case they might; or if they have even killed their conscience, in which case they probably wouldn’t.
 
NeedImprovement said:
This link gives a really nice Catholic description of conscience , it isn’t too long either… looks like about 2 pages worth…very interesting reading for anyone wanting to understand our conscience a little better:

cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=109
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Thank you very much. I briefly skimmed the article, but will read it more carefully later.

By the way, I find that site, Catholics United for the Faith, to be a very good resource. 👍
 
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