I'm Feeling Spritually Depressed/Distressed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zeldarocks
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Z

Zeldarocks

Guest
These past couple of days have not been very joyful or particularly memorable: My parents and sister ganged up on me and shook my faith in the Church and my journey into it, I fell to the sin of lust and perversion after a three-day stint of not masturbating, and I am just feeling emotionally drained and distressed for some reason --probably something to do with the above situations.

I’m in need of peace and consolation; I want to know that I’m doing the right thing by coming into the Church and not getting into error, I need some help in conquering this sin of lust and sexual perversion.

In addition, I’m faintly starting to feel as if the Rosary is not being effective, as if the Blessed Virgin Mary is not listening to me or helping me.
 
Remember this:

God doesn’t love you if you change.

God loves you, so that you can change.

Alan
 
Do dont be depressed. Go for confession an trust in Gods love. He loves you more than you can ever imagine.

A mother never forgets her child. The Blessed Virgin Loves you and she is with you. Pray with more intensity and ask her for her motherly blessings. It really works.

i’ll put you in my prayers.
 
Pray this when you feel distressed, under the assault of temptation, or under the assault of those who would stand in the way of you coming to the fullness of faith found only in the Catholic Church:

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.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

It is not a magic spell. Do not just repeat it, but think about what each word and sentence mean, and pray it slowly and imploringly. Keep in mind what Alan said and follow Manny’s advice, as well. You may be nearer or far from God at any moment, but you are never alone. Listen in the darkness and walk toward the voice belonging to the lover of your soul. Ignore those who would impede you.
 
You will be in my prayers today.

A few random ideas.
  1. when I was struggling with impurity I would pray, “Father, Take me to the foot of the Cross”. Then would meditate on the sights and sounds and smells of that day and place. God died on that cross fro may sins. Through this I received the graces and determination to overcome that sin.
  2. Try to spend some time alone, in quiet, before the tabernacle. When we are feeling drained, it is good to be able to just sit in quiet for a bit. Sometimes as little as 10 or 15 minutes can be a HUGE lift to ones spirit.
  3. Pray gently but firmly for your family. Ask God to help you remain firm and Loving, first toward Him who is your first Love, and second toward your family who you Love for the Love of God.
These periods of trial will continue. If they did not we could not grow.

Peace
James
 
A wise old priest gave me this advice, once in confession.

“Until the reason to not sin becomes stronger than the desire, you’ll continue to fail.”

The only way for the reason to not sin to get stronger is through a deeper relationship with God.

When you love God as you should, He will be the reason why you should not sin, and will be able to overcome the desire.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
A wise old priest gave me this advice, once in confession.

“Until the reason to not sin becomes stronger than the desire, you’ll continue to fail.”

The only way for the reason to not sin to get stronger is through a deeper relationship with God.

When you love God as you should, He will be the reason why you should not sin, and will be able to overcome the desire.

Jim
Click to expand...
This is excellent advice succinctly put.

The greatest defense against sin is Love not fear.
We do not sin against those we Love.
We might still sin against those we fear.

Peace
James
 
mannyefx said:
Do dont be depressed. Go for confession an trust in Gods love. He loves you more than you can ever imagine.

A mother never forgets her child. The Blessed Virgin Loves you and she is with you. Pray with more intensity and ask her for her motherly blessings. It really works.

i’ll put you in my prayers.
Click to expand...
Well, I’m not in Full Communion with Rome; I’m going through RCIA at the moment so I don’t think I can receive the sacrament of Confession just yet.
 
What do I make of the spiritual “nudges” that seem to contradict the Church and my Journey? The Bible verses popping up into my mind, etc?
 
Zeldarocks said:
What do I make of the spiritual “nudges” that seem to contradict the Church and my Journey? The Bible verses popping up into my mind, etc?
Click to expand...
Well you could bring them here and we can try to help. 😉

Peace
James
 
This has nothing to do with the spiritual “nudges” but I thought it pertinent:

My mom is once again trying to talk me out of becoming Catholic; she presented to me two specific scenarios involving ‘corruption’ in the Church:
  1. Caroline of Monaco’s annulment in which she had to purportedly pay the Sacred Rota in order to annul one of her marriages.
  2. An incident involving another of my relatives, a Jesuit priest, in which he had to purportedly relinquish a lavish dwelling to the Jesuit order that was granted him via an inheritance.
 
Zeldarocks said:
This has nothing to do with the spiritual “nudges” but I thought it pertinent:

My mom is once again trying to talk me out of becoming Catholic; she presented to me two specific scenarios involving ‘corruption’ in the Church:
  1. Caroline of Monaco’s annulment in which she had to purportedly pay the Sacred Rota in order to annul one of her marriages.
  2. An incident involving another of my relatives, a Jesuit priest, in which he had to purportedly relinquish a lavish dwelling to the Jesuit order that was granted him via an inheritance.
Click to expand...
Difficult to deal with these specifics but first I would ask her how these things effect the teaching of the Church??? That is crucial.
If a “Bible only” Preacher is caught in some scandal or ripping off his “flock” she would blame him but it would not effect the teachings that she believes in.

As to the specific instances, in the first, annulments cost money to process etc. Those asking the Church to look into their marriages are asked to pay for the expenses. In my case it was about $300. But - if one cannot pay it does not effect the process.
Considering what lawyers get these days…That’s mighty cheap.

As to the second case…I am not familiar with the rules of the Jesuits. One would need to look into the specific vows and rules of the order to see how this might play out.
If Jesuits take vows of Poverty then the Priest would like not be permitted, by his vows, to retain the property. That being the case, he would likely consult with his superiors on how to properly dispose of it.
But like I said, this is just a guess on my part.
One other thing - as it relates to “corruption within the Church” This matter is an internal “Jesuit” issue and not a “Catholic Church” issue.

But mainly - I would just ask her how these things effect the truth of the teachings of the Church??

Peace
James
 
My thing is: If there is corruption in the Church, then what does that say of its veracity?
 
Zeldarocks said:
My thing is: If there is corruption in the Church, then what does that say of its veracity?
Click to expand...
It says that it is functioning just fine…😃

Jesus founded His perfect Church on imperfect Apostles…yet - for all of the poor performance turned in my individual members of the Church, the teachings have remained pure.

Peace
James
 
There is an old saying that goes something like - the Church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.

Besides, the matters that your mom has proposed are not incidences of corruption…🤷

Peace
James
 
I have a general question/statement: I’m scared of debating with my parents, hearing about any scandals or incidents, reading anti-catholic material or otherwise doing anything that might derail my conversion; I’m wanting to be on a full on information black-out. Now, would that be the best thing? I feel like I’m not being intellectually honest with myself if I do that, yet I cannot bring myself into anything which might shake my faith or make me question my journey, for fear of reading/hearing something which might make me miserable.

What would be the best way to go about all of this?
 
Zeldarocks said:
I have a general question/statement: I’m scared of debating with my parents, hearing about any scandals or incidents, reading anti-catholic material or otherwise doing anything that might derail my conversion; I’m wanting to be on a full on information black-out. Now, would that be the best thing? I feel like I’m not being intellectually honest with myself if I do that, yet I cannot bring myself into anything which might shake my faith or make me question my journey, for fear of reading/hearing something which might make me miserable.

What would be the best way to go about all of this?
Click to expand...
From what you write I take it you’re still living in their house. You haven’t said how old you are but that should probably be taken into account.

On one side, I see that it’s hard to focus on something you want to do when people are intentionally distracting and trying to disrupt the process. OTOH, I don’t like the “blackout” idea because to me, to me it is a problem that too many Catholics have never really looked at the church from the outside. Sure there are problems with the Church; nobody can really deny it except the people who try to assert there is no such thing as an “organizational” crime – and I don’t agree with that viewpoint.

You are basically hiring an organization to help guide you toward union with God. The organization doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be likely to provide you with what you might individually want or need to progress. So instead of looking at it like we are little ants and the Church is in charge of us, look at the Church as one of several self-described means to holiness – and see if it’s a means for you, and if so you invest in it. I do business all the time with companies who have done wrong things; it would take too much research and exclude to many potential suppliers otherwise. What I want to know is, does the Catholic Church have product/services that will be valuable to me, and that I will be able to receive as a member? If the answer’s “yes” then don’t worry about the Church’s crimes. It is something to concern ourselves with, but nothing we as member need to apologize for.

Alan
 
I also feel like I don’t want to confront anything, that I want to just make a blind leap and let the Church catch me, without having to worry about doctrine, opposition, etc. What of this?
 
Zeldarocks said:
I also feel like I don’t want to confront anything, that I want to just make a blind leap and let the Church catch me, without having to worry about doctrine, opposition, etc. What of this?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t take a “blind” leap because you don’t know where you’ll land, and there are a few rough spots IMO where you don’t want to land. 😉

As far as the opposition, that’s why I made the comment about age. If you are not of age, then you might want to wait until you are to do this battle. If you are, then don’t expect them to like it, and if you’re living in their house don’t expect it to become comfortable for you to remain there. Not saying it won’t, and it very well may. Just don’t make a decision expecting others will “come along” and agree – these things can be argued over many generations.

I understand about not wanting to confront. I hate to confront either. But as far as what I believe, I either believe something or I don’t. Contrary to what some others say, my beliefs are not a matter of my will. My thoughts are, in part, as I can try to focus them – but not my beliefs. I can’t believe something if I want to, much less do I automatically believe it just because somebody tells me it’s true. So people can say whatever they want either in support of or against something, and whether I believe it at any given time is beyond my ability to control.

Either way, if there are objections being raised by those who care about you, at least give it some respect. You have no particular “deadline” you have to make in your spiritual development so at least consider what they are saying – but in the end make up your mind for yourself – and if you’re of age do what you believe is right.

Alan
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top