Please help mee

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Several months ago, I accidently walked out of a grocery store with an item I didn’t pay for. I was horrified when I realized what I had done. I went to confession and made a full confession of what I had done. I was given a penance, and was absolved. I continued to pray for forgiviness. I felt dirty and ashamed. For the past few weeks, everytime I go into a shopping area, I am overwhelmed with thinking about taking things without paying for them. I try hard to fight this, but lately, have taken several things. I just seem to not to be able to control this. I don’t know what is happening to me. I was never like this before. I am a converted Catholic of long-standing, and try to live a good life. I have been back to confession several times, but now I’ve done this again and I am so ashamed. I am 55 years old, so its not like it has anything to do with being immature. I am in agong over this. I feel too ashamed to go to confession again for the same thing. I don’t know what to do. I pray and pray and yet I still do this. Has the devil really taken over my life? Please anyone who reads this, help me. I can’t stand being out of the will of God. Thank you/.
 
Don’t be too ashamed to go to confession, no matter what you do and how many times you do it. Believe me, I’ve gone to confession more than once a week at certain times in my life! Remember, God already knows your sins before you confess them and it is Jesus who forgives you in the sacrament of confession. The priest is an earthly mediator of God’s forgiveness and mercy so don’t worry about what the priest thinks about you and believe me, they have heard it all before and far worse!! Even though God knows our sins already, he wants us to come to him so that we acknowledge our sin so that he can forgive and heal us sacramentally. We are all sinners and we all have to acknowledge that we need God’s help and we need the armor of the sacraments and the intercession of Mary and the saints, especially St. Michael the Archangel. Talk over your problem with the priest in the confessional. Explain your temptations to him and he will surely help you. Don’t hold back and don’t let excessive guilt keep you from the sacrament. Jesus said to St. Faustina “the greater the sinner, the greater right he has to my divine mercy.” You can’t get more reassuring than that.

Also, I noticed a few things you may want to reflect on. You said that you accidentally took the first item and then it sounds like it became almost an obsession when you shop now. Have you had trouble with other obsessions throughout your life? Do you actually enjoy taking the items or do you feel compelled to take the item so that it helps relieve the anxiety of the obsession? I will pray for you. Don’t give up!
 
I try hard to fight this, but lately, have taken several things. I just seem to not to be able to control this. I don’t know what is happening to me.
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Have you consulted a mental health professional?
Certainly confession to a priest is sound advice and beneficial. But, it is not enough because it is not OK for you to continue to steal. Unless, that is, you’re looking for a little vacation via the criminal justice system.
 
I’m certainly not an expert on this, but one observation? You said that the first time was an accident, you felt horrible, went to confession and was absolved.

But then, you continued to pray for forgiveness. Did you not think that when you were absolved that you were forgiven? It seems that this is where the obsession took hold, when you did not allow yourself to be forgiven. Isn’t this what is call scrupulosity or something? (forgive me, but I’m new to Catholicism, so the terminology is foreign to me although I understand the concepts fairly well) And maybe the obsession gained a foothold in your life after this.

I would definitely discuss this further with your priest. You need spiritual guidance, especially if you are having a problem with not understanding forgiveness, which may be the root of your continued problem. And maybe, if you could find a Catholic counselor, you could find further help also.
 
Thank you for your answer, Jeanette. I have talked to my priest about this and he was talking about what you have mentioned. I believe that I do have a problem with forgiving myself, I continue to feel guilty. I need to accept Jesus’s forgiveness. I feel like I have let Him down.
 
Karen Cook:
Thank you for your answer, Jeanette. I have talked to my priest about this and he was talking about what you have mentioned. I believe that I do have a problem with forgiving myself, I continue to feel guilty. I need to accept Jesus’s forgiveness. I feel like I have let Him down.
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From one 50-something to another–get over it, sweetie! You’re at the age when you begin to forget little things. I forget what I wanted to get from one room to another. I have to keep repeating to myself what it was I was looking for. Or I carry some little thing around with me not even realizing I have it in my hand. 😃 😛

Besides, do you really think this is the only way in which you have let Jesus down? We let him down all the time, we just aren’t always aware of it. Should we despair because of it? No! Just the opposite, we should be grateful that God is merciful and loving, and knows our every intention.

It is our intentions that God looks at first and foremost. He knows perfectly well that you simply forgot to pay for the item. And unless it was something expensive, it’s no big deal. You haven’t committed a mortal sin, you’ve merely been human–a getting older human–and that is certainly no sin!
 
It def sounds like Kleptomania and you may need professional (psychiatric) ALONG with spiritual help
 
Recently, my husband, our two kids, and I went out to dinner. I paid the bill with a credit card (bank debit) and my husband put the tip down in cash. Well, the next day I was reconciling my bank account, and realized that they put a tip on my debit card, too! I was angry, and stopped back down at the restaurant to see what happened. They were very nice, and gave me the $12 back in change. No hassles. No problems. A few days later, I had to check my account for something else, and noticed that the RIGHT amount was now charged to my card. SIGH. I felt like I was in the same dilemma. So, I confessed this a few weeks ago, and the priest suggested I give the overage to the ‘poor box’ of my church. Great idea! So, whatever the item cost, just take the money and tithe it, or give it to a homeless person, or whatever. It made me feel that I was somehow ‘giving back’ what wasn’t mine. Plus–you made an honest mistake. So, don’t beat yourself up too much over this–mistakes happen. You didn’t willfully choose to take the item. Hope that helps!
 
Karen Cook:
For the past few weeks, everytime I go into a shopping area, I am overwhelmed with thinking about taking things without paying for them. I try hard to fight this, but lately, have taken several things. I just seem to not to be able to control this. I don’t know what is happening to me. I was never like this before.
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As I said above, confession is not enough in this situation. The woman has continued to steal and claims that she CAN’T CONTROL herself.

To continue to steal isn NOT “making honest (:nope: ) mistakes”.
 
Aside from the spiritual and psychological help you should seek, another thing you could try is to avoid shopping alone. If you go with a friend, you’ll probably be less inclined to take items without paying for them.
 
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