Need some help. i feel like i cant be forgiven

[AspireHigher]

I think one of the prior posts mentioned that some Priests will hear your confession if you are shortly to be entering the Church. And you may not need to go through RCIA depending on your knowledge and spiritual condition…

Many parishes confirm adults on Easter Vigil (the night before Easter). Some parishes confirm additional people at Pentecost (the birthday of the New Testament Church - Acts 2).

I suggest you find a good priest with whom you are comfortable and who has time for you and see just where you are. Also, some women are more comfortable with a woman Spiritual Director. Ask the Priest about that if you feel that way.

I became Catholic Easter Vigil 2005. I went through RCIA before confirmation and I have attended RCIA again as a mentor and listener these past two years. I continue to learn.

God Bless You.

 

[Asbestos_Mango]

Ya’ know, if it’s a large parish, most priests don’t ask if you’re even Catholic or not. They just assume you are.

I think if you have these guilty feelings, you could just find out when the nearest large parish has confessions, and just go.

I had to make confession before I was chrismated. Actually, I asked my parish priest during my catecheumenate “when do I get confessional rights.”

Alternately, you could make an appointment with a priest at the parish you plan to enter, tell him you’re planning to enter the RCIA program, and ask him to hear your confession.

Confession is very healing.

 

[Amateur_Soul]

I’d recommend reading about Divine Mercy (www.thedivinemercy.org)), praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and if really ambitious, read the Diary of Saint Faustina – all of the above are about just how vast God’s Mercy is for those that ask for it.

I hit just almost all your sins in my pre-Catholic years and even more not on your list – it is tough sometimes to think God would want us back, but it is up to us to ask and turn away from those things.

And YES – confession was a HUGE factor in helping me get through tough times with the guilt once I wanted back “in”

Yes, you can call a priest at a church and set up a meeting any time or just show up to a confession session and explain your situation. Follow through with RCIA – i did this too and it is nice to be completely back in

Good luck and just do it.

 

[acadian]

can i just call? or walk in during a certian hour? like i have said, i am still very new to all of this…

When I want to get in contact with my priest, I find the easiest thing to do is to go to Mass and speak with him after. I can call and leave messages, but often the messages seem to get lost between the secretary and him. I sometimes stop by the rectory/parish office, but I have never seen him there. He is pastor of 2 churches, and a pretty busy guy. There is a priest in a nearby parish who is easily accessable by email.

My suggestion would be to find the parishes in your area and attend Mass at a few different places. Be sure to pick up a bulletin. If you are comfortable, speak to the priest briefly after Mass - ask the best way to set up an appointment with him. The times for confession are also usually listed in the bulletin. One tool for finding Masses in your area is www.masstimes.org. In some cases you can access parish websites from the links on that site.

I think the others are right. Sacramental confession is truly a gift and it will give you a peace that you can’t find anywhere else. There is something about actually HEARING the words of forgiveness. Our priest told us that God - who has our blueprints - knew what he was doing when he instituted this sacrament.

 

[ThisOne]

Dear Just,

So you believe that God forgives you, but you cannot *feel * it?

My recommendation: Continue to believe it and ask God to help you *know * and *feel * it throughout your being.

Just ask Christ to bring you to the place you need to be. Tell Him exactly how you feel, exactly what you’ve told us. Pray aloud in a private place where no one will hear you or disturb you. Or write out your prayer by hand with a pen on paper.

Keep asking with trust that He will help you.

 

[kayla]

Gods Mercy is endless and endures forever!
Know that he loves us all, despite our sins:thumbsup:

 

[contramundum7]

thats just the thing; i havent been confirmed, have not started my RCIA yet. i dont think i can do that, can i?

i just read all the posts in response 2 yours, so i wouldn’t repeat anything…
I committed a sin some time ago (some would say it wasn’t a BIG one, but it actually was…) & felt the same way you do.
A brief background: I was raised Catholic, confirmed as a teen, filled with the Holy Spirit, & was in love with Jesus for some time. Then i fell away… and fell and fell until i hit “rock bottom”, spiritually, emotionally, etc… I stayed away from God because i felt i wasn’t good enough 2 come back. As another poster said, that is the devil… I prayed the rosary… that did it. I was back with the Lord. The last several years have been a little Purgatory (paying for past sins), a little Heaven (being close to Christ) and a lot of Hell… (feeling, as u do, unforgiven, every time i sin). Anyway, i sinned some time ago & began 2 feel God had abandoned me. I went to confession & the feeling disappeared. But the feeling came back later. I went 2 Mass, received Communion, then spent time in the Church afterwards, meditating, being gut-level honest with God. The bad feelings went away & i felt incredibly close to God again… The bad feelings have not returned! All this has served to remind me that Jesus (through the Church) forgives ALL sins - and even washes away the stain left by them… I truly believe that when i was feeling unforgiven, a lot of it had 2 do with where i was, physically. While in the Church, i felt OK (forgiven). While on a nature walk, i felt close to God… Anywhere else, i fell back into that “condemned” feeling. Satan works through people… I believe being around the wrong people can contribute 2 those bad feelings of not being forgiven… Another thing i have had 2 do is just tell myself: “Self, i forgive you. I know you are only human and doing the best u can…” I know it may sound weird, but hey - sin is “weird”… Maybe sometimes we have 2 fight fire w/fire… God bless…

 

[Chrystal]

Hi everyone, and please pardon my little interruption.
I would like to thank all of you on here for answering justawhisper’s question the way you did. I know that your advice has nothing really to do with me, but this is just such great advice. I have and often still do feel the exact same way. Sometimes I fall into despair over my past sins, and I’m kinda struggling with it right now in my life. I hope to get past this.

Justawhisper, thanks for asking your question on here, because by you asking, it has allowed for all of the kind people on here to offer advice that I feel I can apply to my life as well.
Peace be with all of you!

 

[KCT]

Being forgiven has nothing to do with your feelings. God is more powerful than your feelings. Reading a book so YOU can overcome YOUR worries may not make a difference. It’s not about you .

It’s about God and what He can do.

You might want to find a trusted priest and discuss this with him. He can tell you if you’re being scrupulous or not.

—KCT

 

[PauloFreire2]

Luther felt so guilty he ended up inventing his own religion to feel exonerated. CHILL OUT. Consider this – it was God’s plan for you to change and become the better person you are today. Chill. It was all part of God’s plan.

 

[contramundum7]

i know there may be several other posts like this, or have been in the past, but i need some peace of mind.

i have been struggling for several years with my delima. i feel as though i am doomed, and/or damned to hell. i have asked for forgiveness of my sins, but i dont feel like i can be forgiven. mainly, because when i did these things (denied God, spoke against him, lying stealing, premarital sex (which would include cheating on my boyfriend), drugs, to name a few), i knew they were wrong but decided to do them anyways. i feel so ashamed of my past. but i have changed. i am married now, and i cant even take 20 cents from someone. i despise lying. you get the idea. i try to live my life better, try to make better decisions. but i feel like no matter what i do or how much i pray, God is just simply not going to forgive me. my mother (who is non-denominational) fears that my feeling this way may be a form of rejecting God, because i am rejecting his word. [this is another layer of guilt on top of all that!] and i know, who i am that makes me so special that i cannot be forgiven, but thats just how i feel. i also suffer from hypo-mania, and have anxiety issues. i worry myself to death. i think i need to go speak to a priest. i have not gone through the RCIA classes yet, i have not been confirmed. i will be doing this hopefully in august, when it starts up again. maybe someone could refer a specific book or prayer that might help me overcome my worries. some days are better than others, i feel God throughout the whole day and it is a pleasing feeling, like he is right there, or he sent someone there to be with me. and others i feel like he’s so far, and/or i just have these demons on my back. its hard to explain. like i said, any thoughts or words of wisdom would be greatly appriciated.

i was feeling unforgiven/separated from God earlier today (the feeling comes & goes sometimes). I said the short prayer that’s on the rosary: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of your mercy" & the bad, despair-like feeling went away - immediately!! Saying the prayers of the rosary, even “out of the context of the rosary”, & even while out in public (under my breath…) is very powerful. Those prayers lift us out of the earthly realm and into the heavenly one… and it is immediate… Hope this helps. God bless.
Another thing: You should (as i do) “feel sorry for yourself” (4 lack of a better term) because you are human. I have recently been thinking about/meditating on how weak & pathetic we humans really are, the really sad thing being that we can’t (totally) really HELP it. I mean, we are sinners no matter what… To explain: I thought i was doing OK, spiritually… Then i spent time with Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament… I was shown there (all over again) how weak and far from “my destination” I really am… I felt, on some level, downright hopeless… mentally, spiritually… but the longer i stayed there, the more healed i got, the better off i was … I pray you can go & stay in his presence for a long while. It took me about 2 hours 2 start feeling… well… as good as i have in the past… In fact, maybe i need to go there now (One of the things i was shown there was that my priorities are messed up more often than not). Yikes! That was kind of news 2 me… God bless…

 

[contramundum7]

i know there may be several other posts like this, or have been in the past, but i need some peace of mind.

i have been struggling for several years with my delima. i feel as though i am doomed, and/or damned to hell. i have asked for forgiveness of my sins, but i dont feel like i can be forgiven. mainly, because when i did these things (denied God, spoke against him, lying stealing, premarital sex (which would include cheating on my boyfriend), drugs, to name a few), i knew they were wrong but decided to do them anyways. i feel so ashamed of my past. but i have changed. i am married now, and i cant even take 20 cents from someone. i despise lying. you get the idea. i try to live my life better, try to make better decisions. but i feel like no matter what i do or how much i pray, God is just simply not going to forgive me. my mother (who is non-denominational) fears that my feeling this way may be a form of rejecting God, because i am rejecting his word. [this is another layer of guilt on top of all that!] and i know, who i am that makes me so special that i cannot be forgiven, but thats just how i feel. i also suffer from hypo-mania, and have anxiety issues. i worry myself to death. i think i need to go speak to a priest. i have not gone through the RCIA classes yet, i have not been confirmed. i will be doing this hopefully in august, when it starts up again. maybe someone could refer a specific book or prayer that might help me overcome my worries. some days are better than others, i feel God throughout the whole day and it is a pleasing feeling, like he is right there, or he sent someone there to be with me. and others i feel like he’s so far, and/or i just have these demons on my back. its hard to explain. like i said, any thoughts or words of wisdom would be greatly appriciated.

I just left a post, but thought of something else. There is a difference between being forgiven and being cleansed perfectly of the sin… Maybe this explains why you don’t FEELl forgiven. Pray a “thousand” prayers, do some charity work, fast, etc… and you will begin 2 b cleansed of the effects of the sin on your soul… Another good thing is to offer up your sufferings (poor health? bad relationships? don’t like your job??) to “make up for” past sins. When i do this (&/or offer up sufferings 4 the souls in PUrgatory) i feel very close 2 God and can feel myself being cleansed… Sometimes i even make a written list of my sufferings (kind of painful…but that’s the point) & offer that up for this or that sin and/or all of them… When u offer up your sufferings 4 the souls in Purgatory, ask them 2 pray for you. I’ve heard their prayers are powerful…
God bless…