Mortal Sin

[Bookcat]

If it was a mortal sin - just go to confession.

You can try to seek out another Priest - but in any case - see a Priest for Confession

Parishes have confessions today scheduled.

 

[Bookcat]

Repost a post of mine>

I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!

~ Pope Francis

w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#I.%E2%80%82A_joy_ever_new,_a_joy_which_is_shared

If we should fall into mortal sin let us remember Jesus of Nazareth: The Lamb and the Good Shepherd (and let us think of such even daily…)…he came for sinners…to give them true life.

"Jesus is called the Lamb: He is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Someone might think: but how can a lamb, which is so weak, a weak little lamb, how can it take away so many sins, so much wickedness? With Love. With his meekness. Jesus never ceased being a lamb: meek, good, full of love, close to the little ones, close to the poor. He was there, among the people, healing everyone, teaching, praying. Jesus, so weak, like a lamb. However, he had the strength to take all our sins upon himself, all of them.

“But, Father, you don’t know my life: I have a sin that…, I can’t even carry it with a truck…”.

Many times, when we examine our conscience, we find some there that are truly bad! But he carries them. He came for this: to forgive, to make peace in the world, but first in the heart. Perhaps each one of us feels troubled in his heart, perhaps he experiences darkness in his heart, perhaps he feels a little sad over a fault… He has come to take away all of this, He gives us peace, he forgives everything. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away sin”: he takes away sin, it’s root and all! This is salvation Jesus brings about by his love and his meekness. And in listening to what John the Baptist says, who bears witness to Jesus as the Saviour, our confidence in Jesus should grow. Many times we trust a doctor: it is good, because the doctor is there to cure us; we trust in a person: brothers and sisters can help us. It is good to have this human trust among ourselves. But we forget about trust in the Lord: this is the key to success in life. Trust in the Lord, let us trust in the Lord! “Lord, look at my life: I’m in the dark, I have this struggle, I have this sin…”; everything we have: “Look at this: I trust in you!”. And this is a risk we must take: to trust in Him, and He never disappoints."

~Pope Francis

vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140119_omelia-parrocchia-sacro-cuore-gesu_en.html

"Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” who goes in search of lost sheep, who knows his sheep and lays down his life for them (cf. Mt 18:12-14; Lk 15:4-7; Jn 10:2-4, 11-18). He is the way, the right path that leads us to life (cf. Jn 14:6), the light that illuminates the dark valley and overcomes all our fears (cf. Jn 1:9; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46).

He is the generous host who welcomes us and rescues us from our enemies, preparing for us the table of his body and his blood (cf. Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25); Lk 22:19-20) and the definitive table of the messianic banquet in Heaven (cf. Lk 14:15ff; Rev 3:20; 19:9). He is the Royal Shepherd, king in docility and in forgiveness, enthroned on the glorious wood of the cross (cf. Jn 3:13-15; 12:32; 17:4-5)."

~Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20111005_en.html

 

[MainBrain]

I went to Confession yesterday and last week. The Priest I was worried about was not there. These two Priests were very compassionate. Sometimes I wonder how seriously they take me. One Priest almost always tell me for penance just sit in the Sanctuary and talk to God. Does that sound right? It’s almost too easy. I’m glad I went.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I went to Confession yesterday and last week. The Priest I was worried about was not there. These two Priests were very compassionate. Sometimes I wonder how seriously they take me. One Priest almost always tell me for penance just sit in the Sanctuary and talk to God. Does that sound right? It’s almost too easy. I’m glad I went.

Of course what the priest is telling you is right.

Going to Confession is of itself penance.

Your source in overcoming temptation is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Until the reason to avoid sin becomes stronger than the desire, you’ll fail.

The only way to strengthen the reason not to sin, is to experience the love of Jesus Christ which in turn will transform you to love as He does.

Jim

 

[PureChaos]

I went to Confession yesterday and last week. The Priest I was worried about was not there. These two Priests were very compassionate. Sometimes I wonder how seriously they take me. One Priest almost always tell me for penance just sit in the Sanctuary and talk to God. Does that sound right? It’s almost too easy. I’m glad I went.

The priest can give as small or big of a penance as he feels is prudent or helpful, however, the penances do not end there, you can continue to do penances for your sins as often as you want, and we are encouraged to do so, daily penances and mortification’s are necessary in order to have a good spiritual life and to practice control of ourselves, after all, we tend to be our own worst enemy when it comes to sin, because in the end, the only thing that causes us to sin is our own consent, even if things outside ourselves temp us, so anyone who is serious about advancing in the spiritual life and ridding themselves of all attachment to sin, ought to take advantage of the great benefits of self mortification,
of course prayer is greatly important as well, since without Gods grace, avoiding sin and doing good is impossible, though He will help us even if we don’t pray as much, but even more so the more we do pray.

well, i only intended to write the first couple sentences, but my mind wondered hehe.
take care.

 

[z_0101]

I went to Confession yesterday and last week. The Priest I was worried about was not there. These two Priests were very compassionate. Sometimes I wonder how seriously they take me. One Priest almost always tell me for penance just sit in the Sanctuary and talk to God. Does that sound right? It’s almost too easy. I’m glad I went.

I am glad things wen better for you these last two times.

As for the penance, what you were given is what it is, trust in the priest and have faith in God.

CCC1460 (link) The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent’s personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must **correspond **as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him."63

The satisfaction that we make for our sins, however, is not so much ours as though it were not done through Jesus Christ. We who can do nothing ourselves, as if just by ourselves, can do all things with the cooperation of “him who strengthens” us. Thus man has nothing of which to boast, but all our boasting is in Christ . . . in whom we make satisfaction by bringing forth “fruits that befit repentance.” These fruits have their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.64

 

[z_0101]

The priest can give as small or big of a penance as he feels is prudent or helpful,

Absolutly, and there are reasonable guidelines as stated in the CCC in my last post ( I am sure that priests have other documents and guidelines in addition to the CCC from which to base their actions in regards to this)

however, the penances do not end there, you can continue to do penances for your sins as often as you want, and we are encouraged to do so,

Least we be careful here as we do not want to encourage scrupulosity.
Some people will take your statement to an extreme believing that no matter what has happened in the confessional, their penance is not enough and will continue to berate themselves possibly to the point of mental and/or physical illness.

Once a sin has been taken to the confessional, penance and absolution received, it should be let go. If the penitent wants to make some further restitution then they should discuss that with their confessor at the time of confession and/or with their spiritual advisor.

daily penances and mortification’s are necessary in order to have a good spiritual life and to practice control of ourselves,after all, we tend to be our own worst enemy when it comes to sin,

To a reasonable degree, once again, here we need to be careful to not encourage scrupulosity!

because in the end, the only thing that causes us to sin is our own consent, even if things outside ourselves temp us,

Though while it is by our own consent, let us not delude ourselves, people can be deceived to the point of believing that what they are doing is “ok”; how well do we know this example of deceit and temptation:

[1] Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? (…)
And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. [14] And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing,(…)

Certainly, because both Adam and Eve sinned against God we have had to deal with the consequences as their descendants; however, we see here that God accepted the fact that Eve had been deceived - IMHO, it was this acceptance of deceit that mitigated the punishment; God had every right to simply remove humankind from all of creation - we broke a covenant between God and ourselves.

We are seeing in this present day how grave matters are once again being presented to the people in a pleasing and deceiving manner to the point that many are falling in to the trap, for these people we pray for Gods mercy as they truly do not know what it is that they are doing…

so anyone who is serious about advancing in the spiritual life and ridding themselves of all attachment to sin,

More to the point, anyone who is serious about advancing in their spiritual growth needs to be working with a spiritual advisor and/or their priest, reading the scriptures, frequent prayer (I recommend, amongst other devotions, The Liturgy of the Hours), frequent receipt of the Sacraments of The Holy Eucharist (aka the Mass), Reconciliation, and others as prudent/applicable and of course Adoration (one would be surprised how fast an hour in the presence of the Lord passes!).

ought to take advantage of the great benefits of self mortification,

Under the guidance of their priest and/or spiritual advisor! Some people will take this to an extreme possibly resulting in physical and/or mental harm to themselves and others!

of course prayer is greatly important as well,

next to receiving the sacraments, prayer is one of the single most important acts we can do!

since without Gods grace, avoiding sin and doing good is impossible, though He will help us even if we don’t pray as much, but even more so the more we do pray.

and one of the most important aspects of the Sacraments, to receive Gods grace and strength.

 

[PureChaos]

Absolutly, and there are reasonable guidelines as stated in the CCC in my last post ( I am sure that priests have other documents and guidelines in addition to the CCC from which to base their actions in regards to this)

Least we be careful here as we do not want to encourage scrupulosity.
Some people will take your statement to an extreme believing that no matter what has happened in the confessional, their penance is not enough and will continue to berate themselves possibly to the point of mental and/or physical illness.

Once a sin has been taken to the confessional, penance and absolution received, it should be let go. If the penitent wants to make some further restitution then they should discuss that with their confessor at the time of confession and/or with their spiritual advisor.

To a reasonable degree, once again, here we need to be careful to not encourage scrupulosity!

Though while it is by our own consent, let us not delude ourselves, people can be deceived to the point of believing that what they are doing is “ok”; how well do we know this example of deceit and temptation:
Certainly, because both Adam and Eve sinned against God we have had to deal with the consequences as their descendants; however, we see here that God accepted the fact that Eve had been deceived - IMHO, it was this acceptance of deceit that mitigated the punishment; God had every right to simply remove humankind from all of creation - we broke a covenant between God and ourselves.

We are seeing in this present day how grave matters are once again being presented to the people in a pleasing and deceiving manner to the point that many are falling in to the trap, for these people we pray for Gods mercy as they truly do not know what it is that they are doing…

More to the point, anyone who is serious about advancing in their spiritual growth needs to be working with a spiritual advisor and/or their priest, reading the scriptures, frequent prayer (I recommend, amongst other devotions, The Liturgy of the Hours), frequent receipt of the Sacraments of The Holy Eucharist (aka the Mass), Reconciliation, and others as prudent/applicable and of course Adoration (one would be surprised how fast an hour in the presence of the Lord passes!).

Under the guidance of their priest and/or spiritual advisor! Some people will take this to an extreme possibly resulting in physical and/or mental harm to themselves and others!

next to receiving the sacraments, prayer is one of the single most important acts we can do!

and one of the most important aspects of the Sacraments, to receive Gods grace and strength.

Didn’t realize I was addressing a scrupulous person, my husband is scrupulous, I know how it is, but for most people who do not suffer from that, penances and mortifications are fine to do without consulting a priest, not to mention it’s hard finding a good spiritual director nowadays, many of them will even discourage penances and mortifications (and I’m not speaking of extreme things the saints have done like whipping yourself, there are non dangerous things we can do)
Yes a spiritual director is important and even necessary to properly grow in the spiritual life, but they are scarce, so sometimes we need to rely simply on church teachings and spiritual reading to help us along the way, and of course Gods help above all…there’s alot more to say and I could clarify and go into more minute detail on each point so as to address each type of individual, but I currently do not have the time, but my apologies if I’ve caused anyone misunderstanding or troubles.

 

[MainBrain]

Didn’t realize I was addressing a scrupulous person,

I’m not. Well maybe a little. Or maybe not.

 

[z_0101]

Didn’t realize I was addressing a scrupulous person, my husband is scrupulous, I know how it is,but for most people who do not suffer from that

People suffering from scrupulous have a rough time as you well know, and thank you MainBrain for chiming in here. PureChaos, many people that do suffer from scrupulosity do read thru these threads and it is for these people that I tried to point out the need to be careful with what (and how) we suggest courses of action. Perhaps I didn’t do so as elegantly as I had intended ( :imsorry: ) Please read thru a few threads here, there are many many many threads where individuals dealing with scrupulosity post and are trying to find their way.

: hard finding a good spiritual director nowadays,

of that I have no doubt; however, it is well worth the search.

: many of them will even discourage penances and mortifications

and most likely for good reasons… as each person’s needs are different, what course of actions is suggested to one person may not fit with the needs of another.

: (and I’m not speaking of extreme things the saints have done like whipping yourself, there are non dangerous things we can do)

Sorry, couldn’t help myself - it is difficult to imagine inflicting that much physical harm to oneself with the understanding of God that we have now… seems very Calvinist

We do not have to go back very far in time to see these extremes in modern times and even the Bishops urge caution in this practice today:

(…) Self-mortification must be moderate, monitored (link to the article)
VATICAN CITY – Reacting to a report that Pope John Paul II practiced self-mortification, including flagellation, experts in spirituality said ascetical practices are part of the Christian tradition, but should be used in moderation and under the guidance of a mature spiritual director.
“Union with the redeeming suffering of Christ comes through accepting the trials and suffering of life or, like in the case of Pope John Paul II, with the voluntary choice of physical suffering,” said Cardinal Georges Cottier, theologian of the papal household under the late pope.

“Spiritual masters insist this practice must always be prudent and never without a spiritual guide,” because “pathological abuses are always possible,” the cardinal said Feb. 4 in a written response to questions from Catholic News Service. (…)
IMHO, what many people in this world suffer today, as a part of every day life, properly offered up, is often quite enough… many of us in the USA have it so very good and we don’t truly understand suffering.

Yes a spiritual director is important and even necessary to properly grow in the spiritual life, but they are scarce,

sometimes good things, and people, are hard to find. The very act of finding a good spiritual director can in and of itself lead to a lot of spiritual growth.

so sometimes we need to rely simply on church teachings and spiritual reading to help us along the way,

we always rely upon the Magisterium to help guide us

and of course Gods help above all…there’s alot more to say and I could clarify and go into more minute detail on each point so as to address each type of individual, but I currently do not have the time, but my apologies if I’ve caused anyone misunderstanding or troubles.

I think your point is well taken without need for apology and, imho, to go into the minutia for each personality type would lead us into deep waters and far off topic - perhaps a good topic for a new thread when you have the time?