My distance from God

[EphelDuath]

The more I sin, the less guilt I feel. The less disgusted I feel for disobeying the Lord. The less zealous I feel in repenting.

It’s getting pretty bad. I asked God to feel his presence and for him to help me. I’ve never felt God’s presence. I believe everything in the Catholic faith, go to Mass every Sunday, (try to) pray every day and confession at least once a week. But even then, his presence alludes me. I’ve rationally deduced that God must exist and the Catholic Church is his mode of operation, and I had faith that eventually I would feel him. I haven’t. I still feel left in the clear.

It’s disheartening that even though I ask for help to stop my sexual addictions, and I try my very best, I still fall to lust. Why doesn’t God help me?

I wonder how Mother Theresa could keep going like this. I certainly can’t. At this rate I’ll be atheist again by the end of winter. I want to repent, but I just feel so stoic and cold.

Dear God, please fill my heart. If you have any advice, hit me up. And if you think your prayers may help, then do what you will.

 

[stringbeanduck]

Perhaps doing some charitable work will help. I find that one of the ways that make me come close to God is when I’m doing something charitable. When did you start feeling that you were falling away from God? Sin can affect people in different ways. It’s the devils way of making it harder to stay close to God. Otherwise if we were all affected the same way we would be able to beat that way together. What would make you feel closer to God? Try to find the root cause of what make you fall away from Him. With determination you can beat your struggles with sin. And remember, God is like Home depot. You can do it He can help.

 

[Coreopisis]

The more I sin, the less guilt I feel. The less disgusted I feel for disobeying the Lord. The less zealous I feel in repenting.

It’s getting pretty bad. I asked God to feel his presence and for him to help me. I’ve never felt God’s presence. I believe everything in the Catholic faith, go to Mass every Sunday, (try to) pray every day and confession at least once a week. But even then, his presence alludes me. I’ve rationally deduced that God must exist and the Catholic Church is his mode of operation, and I had faith that eventually I would feel him. I haven’t. I still feel left in the clear.

It’s disheartening that even though I ask for help to stop my sexual addictions, and I try my very best, I still fall to lust. Why doesn’t God help me?

I wonder how Mother Theresa could keep going like this. I certainly can’t. At this rate I’ll be atheist again by the end of winter. I want to repent, but I just feel so stoic and cold.

Dear God, please fill my heart. If you have any advice, hit me up. And if you think your prayers may help, then do what you will.

Consider taking steps to keep yourself out of situations that could cause you to sin. Spend some time alone in contemplation away from that which causes you to lust. Get rid of any magazines, porn, or other things that might give you those thoughts.

 

[blessedstar]

All of us feel distant from God. Even the beatified Saints lamented this, no matter the sanctity the soul still knows its distance from God, so no matter what, a soul cannot possess God, that is not this side of life, as St Paul says :

** It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ (Jesus).Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, who are “perfectly mature” adopt this attitude. And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.**

No matter what a person may accredit to themselves and no matter what a person may think themselves to be or whatever it is or indeed whatever odd and proud notion enters their heads, they have not taken possession of Christ Jesus, rather He has taken possession of them and so being as we are all sinners we all must continue on the same course and not worry ourselves over ‘experience’ because ‘experience’ is not God. Whilever we look at our poverty and weakness we are humble before God as all of us are poor and broken instruments and all us are striving and persevering with ourselves daily, carrying on in that ‘upward calling’ that God has gifted to us.

God is close and ‘experience’ is no marker of God’s closeness nor the soul’s closeness to God as we can see Judas talked and walked closely with God…

As it is , you strive by pure faith and this is most commendable 'Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe’

Keep persevering and keep praying

I will keep you in the Living Prayer of my life

 

[Saint_Gemma]

The more I sin, the less guilt I feel. The less disgusted I feel for disobeying the Lord. The less zealous I feel in repenting.

It’s getting pretty bad. I asked God to feel his presence and for him to help me. I’ve never felt God’s presence. I believe everything in the Catholic faith, go to Mass every Sunday, (try to) pray every day and confession at least once a week. But even then, his presence alludes me. I’ve rationally deduced that God must exist and the Catholic Church is his mode of operation, and I had faith that eventually I would feel him. I haven’t. I still feel left in the clear.

It’s disheartening that even though I ask for help to stop my sexual addictions, and I try my very best, I still fall to lust. Why doesn’t God help me?

I wonder how Mother Theresa could keep going like this. I certainly can’t. At this rate I’ll be atheist again by the end of winter. I want to repent, but I just feel so stoic and cold.

Dear God, please fill my heart. If you have any advice, hit me up. And if you think your prayers may help, then do what you will.

I will pray for you.

 

[EphelDuath]

Should I not take Communion if I’m not in a state of mortal sin, but I am unsure of whether or not I am faithful enough to take the Body of Christ without committing blasphemy?

Or should I take Communion, as it may help my struggling faith?

 

[blessedstar]

Should I not take Communion if I’m not in a state of mortal sin, but I am unsure of whether or not I am faithful enough to take the Body of Christ without committing blasphemy?

Or should I take Communion, as it may help my struggling faith?

To commit mortal sin a soul must know it is mortal sin, There are three conditions:

1Grave matter
2 Full constent to commit the mortal sin
3 Willfully commit the act.

So if you have not committed a mortal sin then you can receive Holy Communion.

You might like to go along and have a chat with your Priest, he can help you to discern if this that you are under going is a mortal sin as sometimes the habitual nature of it and the conscience and its struggle means it is not a mortal sin. So I can’t say that here and I can’t be your conscience nor can anyone else on these forums therefore it is better you go and see your Priest and ask him about it and he will be able to tell you. Don’t be embarrased Priests are humans you know and have heard it all before.

In the Living Prayer of my life

 

[Tantum_ergo]

Prayers for you and hopefully a thought that might put a different perspective on this:

Why are you caught up in ‘feeling’?
Feelings themselves are not necessarily indicators of being ‘blessed’ or not, of being ‘godly’ or not.

“Feeling” guilty, cold, frustrated, etc. really do not have much to do with your SOUL.

We all would like to have the kind of ‘happy’ feeling that we were ‘doing right’. . .but sometimes doing ‘the right thing’ does not ‘feel’ good at all. Controlling ones passions (even a ‘passion’ for good) can ‘feel’ dull, boring, even hateful. . .but that doesn’t mean that the action of controlling the passions is WRONG. Do you understand?

What if, rather than ‘feeling’ unhappy or ‘far away’ from God and focusing on HOW YOU FEEL. . .you just kept right on doing ‘the right thing’ without worrying about how you feel. Keep on saying the prayers and doing the good deeds just as though God was right there next to you hugging you and saying, “Well done”. Pray to the Holy Spirit not for ‘good feelings’ but for the NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE that you are doing the right thing, offer all your good deeds and thoughts and actions to God EVEN IF YOU DON’T “FEEL” ANY ‘REWARDING GOOD FEELINGS’.

It’s hard. But it’s ‘right’. I’ll pray for you and ask you to pray for me --and for all of us trying to love and serve God–because this is exactly what we all are facing, or will face, here in earth–the kind of ‘dryness’ when all the ‘joy’ and the ‘feelings’ melt away and we just have to toil on doing good with NO VISIBLE INDICATION OF REWARD. That is faith, that we hope and trust that God will ultimately bring us to Him, even if we never feel ‘good feelings’ on earth, provided we try to do the right thing for Him no matter what.

May God bless you.

 

[water]

It’s getting pretty bad. I asked God to feel his presence and for him to help me. I’ve never felt God’s presence.

It’s disheartening that even though I ask for help to stop my sexual addictions, and I try my very best, I still fall to lust. Why doesn’t God help me?

You are currently battling and searching 2 kinds of feelings. Each of the feeling is on opposite end of the spectrum - sexual feeling and God’s presence feeling.

The more you are leaning toward on one side of the spectrum, the further you are away from the other side.

Lust comes from pride not love. To search God’s presence is to search love.

I am not sure how exactly you want to feel God’s presence, but once you say no to lust and keep on praying for God’s grace to stay away from lust, you will find God’s presence in all those surrounding you.

I wonder how Mother Theresa could keep going like this.

Two things popped up in my mind: She never stopped praying the rosary, and she loves those around her.

Fr. Larry Richards said he called out St. Joseph for help in his daily dealing with flesh temptation.

Do the same and you will overcome your problem.

You are in my prayer, and God bless you!

 

[bpbasilphx]

I wonder how Mother Theresa could keep going like this. I certainly can’t. At this rate I’ll be atheist again by the end of winter. I want to repent, but I just feel so stoic and cold.

Remember, Mother Theresa had her own trials and testings–yet was faithful.

They simply took another form.