Please pray for me, I can't stop sinning!

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adam235

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Hello, I am not sure where I am supposed to post this, but-
I have been struggling with the sin of masturbation, and I can’t stop.
I have prayed to Jesus, and I am 14 years of age (going through confirmation)
I went to confession around Christmas time, and I confessed sexual idolatry and lust, but I ended up doing it again. I am greatly ashamed, my parents have always taught me to do the right thing, and to go to mass and to love everyone and forgive people who have done wrong to me, but I can’t stop this sin.

Please pray for me so that this addiction will end.

Thank you so much. May god bless you.
 
adam235 said:
Hello, I am not sure where I am supposed to post this, but-
I have been struggling with the sin of masturbation, and I can’t stop.
I have prayed to Jesus, and I am 14 years of age (going through confirmation)
I went to confession around Christmas time, and I confessed sexual idolatry and lust, but I ended up doing it again. I am greatly ashamed, my parents have always taught me to do the right thing, and to go to mass and to love everyone and forgive people who have done wrong to me, but I can’t stop this sin.

Please pray for me so that this addiction will end.

Thank you so much. May god bless you.
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:signofcross: I will pray for you. I would have to say that for your age you sound as if you are well formed spiritually.
As a person who has struggled with this sin most of my 53 years I would suggest 3 things for right now. First continue to go to confesssion about this sin, you need God’s grace to deal with it. You are right, you can not stop this sin, but you and God can stop them.
Secound, rmember th line from the Our Father; “…lead us not into temptation”. What are things or places that lead into temptation to sin? Untill you can deal with, avoid it.
Finally, pray for God to send someone to help you face to face, to know you. Thy do not need to know all the “dirty details”, just to be there for you.
:gopray2:
 
Thank you, the 7th one, for the good reply.
I will continue to pray and I will go to confession as many times as it takes for
the devil to finally realize I mean it. I go to mass every sunday with my youth group, so next time confession is available (I think normally every week, right?) I will go to confession.
 
Hello Adam. I would recommend that you speak to your priest. Also, pray to God and ask Mary to pray for you as well. 🙂 The Rosary is also a great devotion to have. If you feel the need, don’t be afraid to go to Confession again as well. 🙂
 
Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice.
My dad has a rosary, and he said he would pray it with me, but we haven’t done it yet:
today would be a good time for that. Infact, to be honest, I’m not sure if I have prayed the rosary ever, or if I have I can’t remember… 😊
 
adam235 said:
Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice.
My dad has a rosary, and he said he would pray it with me, but we haven’t done it yet:
today would be a good time for that. Infact, to be honest, I’m not sure if I have prayed the rosary ever, or if I have I can’t remember… 😊
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Yes, the Rosary is going to be key here. If you can do it, I recommend 15 decades a day instead of the usual 5.

Speaking as a former 14 year old boy, you’re not the first. I just wish I had the well-formed conscience in those days that you do.
 
Hi Adam,

I will pray the Divine Mercy for you tommorrow at 3:00. As someone said in another post
pray the rosary. Always try to keep a rosary with you. I always do.
If your mind starts to wander hold onto to your rosary and ask our Good Lord and
his Blessed Mother to help you. They always help us all you have to do is ask
and BELIEVE…

I will keep you in my prayers.
 
Have hope. I too struggle with habitual sins. It’s easy to kick yourself while you are down and to start entertaining morbid thoughts about what would happen if you died right this minute and so on and so forth. Such thoughts are useless. The only important thing is to get yourself cleaned up in the confessional and get back on the path to sanctity. Remember that God is very patient with us. He could take any of us at any minute he wanted to and yet he gives us chance after chance after chance because He loves us. Be thankful that you have the sacrament of reconciliation to go to. And don’t be ashamed about this particular sin. Priests hear about it so often, especially from people your age, and most of them won’t even remember that you confessed it or even think badly of you. Never let embarassment keep you away from confession. I also highly recommend the rosary. If you are faithful and I am confident that eventually this sin will wither and die.
 
Thanks everyone for all the great replies and prayers.
I am reading them, and I am going to pray the rosary tomorrow (as it is 10:42 PM).
When the next chance arises, I will go to confession and continue going, as well as going to mass and receiving Communion.
 
Here’s a thought: abandon your sexuality to God. Just give it over to Him, and allow Him to assist you in protecting what is rightfully His. Then, after that, think about your sexuality in terms of being God’s precious gift to you, and save it for that vocation of marriage that He may very well have on store for you.

Temptation? It is everywhere. Something triggers the urge. Men’s sinfulness in this area is often triggered visually. Put down the magazines, even the common ones that push sexual images at you relentlessly. Advertisements sell sex, so watch yourself around them. Internet ads are horrible. Even billboards! Sexy men and women everywhere. Why? It sells and makes millions for others, and leaves you empty, and sinful.

Turn off the TV, or watch EWTN. Give up the games with the sexual imagery in them. Every image you see, every sultry voice you hear only serves to lead you to sin. It all sinks in - even subliminally, and builds up over time until sooner or later, when you are weak, it takes its toll. Look at others in the eye. The eye is the mirror of the soul, not the body. Avert your eyes from all images that give you “that feeling”. You can control it. Remove the triggers. Takes a little re-structuring of your lifestyle, but it can be done.
 
Adam,
I had struggled with this on and off for a number of decades.

Things began to change for me after going to weekly confession. After a while the temptation almost disappeared. I found that to be a little disheartening as I felt that I was ‘failing the test’ so to speak.
I kept at it though. Now I occasionally find myself tempted again. But I am able to flee to Mary and Jesus. It is no longer a problem.

Keep up the fight! You can never win it on your own power.
Keep on praying and going to confession. And, of course, keep receiving Communion whenever you are not in a state of mortal sin.

Dominus tecum!
 
Again, thank you for all of the helpful responses!
@po18guy This is definitely something I will try.
I read somewhere if you pray the Hail Mary 3 times a day,
you will be purified in the mind, body, and spirit.
I will do so and tomorrow I am going to mass.
I believe my parish has confession at least once a week, so I will go this week.
 
adam235 said:
Again, thank you for all of the helpful responses!
@po18guy This is definitely something I will try.
I read somewhere if you pray the Hail Mary 3 times a day,
you will be purified in the mind, body, and spirit.
I will do so and tomorrow I am going to mass.
I believe my parish has confession at least once a week, so I will go this week.
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Mary, pure source of all pureness of flesh, is our mother. To whom do you run in times of trouble? She, who remained pure, will help you to remain pure. The prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel is also very helpful. This is a spiritual problem, and so needs a spiritual solution.

You may be disappointed if you fall, but we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation in that case. If it feels like you are not making sufficient progress against the same old sins, consider what Professor Scott Hahn’s confessor told him: “What? Do you want new sins?”
 
Dear brother, when you wake up in the morning with this urge, I advise you to think of our Lord. Think of His Passion and pouring out of Himself on the hard, bitter Cross. Quite apart from taking your mind off of lust, it will put your mind on holy things. I strongly urge you to get a crucifix to put over your bed; if you have one already, look to it and Him whenever you feel the urge to masturbate. The urge arrives most strongly in the morning for we men, so having Him above your bed to look up to is very helpful.

Find a male saint known for chastity, and ask for his prayers. Try St. Thomas Aquinas: who was tempted to commit sexual sin by a paid lady, but forced her out of his room with burning kindling from the fireplace! When he had gotten rid of the woman, he knelt down and prayed to God, thanking Him for preserving St. Thomas. God sent His angels to wrap a belt of perpetual chastity around Thomas’ body and soul, purifying his mind so it could be turned to spiritual things.

Think of your patron saint for confirmation, and learn who it’s going to be. That person will guide you in chastity and love of other human beings, so you don’t turn them into objects for your personal pleasure. 🙂 It’s difficult…
 
One of the hardest things for us humans to comprehend about sin, and I think in particular habitual sin, is that we cannot overcome it on our own. We keep falling, and we keep beating ourselves up, and we fall again, and we beat ourselves up-- thinking that we just need to be stronger to overcome it. Secular society often talks to us about “empowering” yourself through “self-help” books and programs. But we can’t help ourselves, in the way society would have you believe.

In fact, we have to acknowledge our powerlessness and our wretchedness before God, and ask the Lord for help. We are nothing and can do nothing without Him. Pride makes us believe that we can overcome something on our own.

The Rosary is very, very powerful. I have learned that it is not just for little old ladies.

Also, St. Faustina’s journal, “Divine Mercy in My Soul” is a wonderful resource. I am reading it now, and it so powerful. It helps one understand the danger of pride and the need for us to humble ourselves.

God bless you. I, a most humble sinner myself, will pray for you.
 
Hi,

I have also struggled with habitual sins. At the end of it all, I came to learn that God sees our struggles and sends help in many ways. This one sin could lead you to do many other sins of the flesh and hence you need to prepare your mind to think of good things only. Sin would start in your mind as you entertain impure thoughts. I wish to recommend that you think of the cross when you feel you are being tempted.

Meditate on the fact that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and he forgave you even before you sinned. You must practice self control and this can best be achieved by leaving it to the Holy Spirit who will strengthen you with the faith of the Martyrs. Remember Stephen who was stoned because of his faith in God. He did not care what sort of pain would have befallen him but he trusted in God. He was surely tempted to deny God being human but he sacrificed his life knowing that the life here on earth was temporal. Similarly, our bodies are the temples of God and are to be sacrificed for him to live in us as we receive holy communion.

If you go to confession believe that it is Jesus forgiving you and later when temptations come, through your conscious you will hear the voice that will advise you not to do the habit. Many posts have mentioned that you need to clean your mind off the bad things that the world offers through the internet, TV, dressing etc. And the fact that you are fourteen now and you are able to recognize this is a very good thing indeed! I think you would make a saint in the future because of your fear of God. If you go to confession, go with a contrite heart, mean your confession and you will not want to do the same sin again. That way, you will mature as a christian and God will lead you to give blessings to others.I would also suggest you talk to a gifted priest because sometimes bad habits could be caused by demons as was my case.I will also pray for you that you may overcome this habit.

May God bless you.
 
WOW!! You should be SO proud of yourself. I teach Confirmation to kids your age and your level of maturity is well above average. You have a lot of good advice here as I read through this thread. I, too, still struggle with this sin and I am 52 yeas old. So, do not despair as this is what satan would want. Keep praying, go to confession and DO NOT beat yourself up when you fail. God’s love is unconditional and he knows you infinitely bettter than you know yourself. God bless you and keep up the good fight!! 🙂
 
No one here has even mentioned what the Church teaches in regard to masturbation. From the Catechism;

“To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability.”

There are many physiological reasons that cause people to masturbate, especially for a 14 year old boy who is going through puberty. My advice is to do what you can to avoid it, but don’t beat yourself up if you fail. Jesus is not going to send you to Hell if you fail and fall to this temptation.
 
Once again, thank you for all the wonderful advice and kindness.
I appreciate it greatly. 🙂
I am going to mass today and I am praying the hail mary.
Also, I am going to pray the rosary.

I will continue to go to reconciliation and pray for myself so that this habitual sin will stop.
This is really great advice and it is comforting to know I am not the only one.
I won’t give up until this is ended.
 
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