Question on sin...

[catholicgamer]

I’ve got a few sins I’m working on (…I’ve got many more, but baby steps…)…and I’m constantly failing at just addressing theses few. They are mortal in nature. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is working on sins that are mortal and trying to get rid of them. Let’s just say it’s an uphill battle.

Question I have is how can anyone expect to get into heaven when the same mortal issues hit us over an over again? Right now…if I died, I would not be in a good place since I go to confession on Tuesdays. “Don’t panic” is what I hear when we fall…“get back up…”, “try again…”, but it’s very hard to have a positive attitude when I know that because of my current nature…despite my efforts… that I’m screwed.

How do you guys deal with this?

 

[1ke]

Please get under the regular care of a spiritual director. You need some guidance of a personal nature.

 

[J_Peterson]

I’m about halfway through this book. It’s helping me put things in perspective.

Pardon and Peace: A Sinner’s Guide to Confession

 

[underacloud]

As 1ke advises, find a spiritual director (regular confessor) who can be your guide and advisor through your struggles.

The are key differences between objective mortal sins and personal mortal sins. The fact that you confess regularly but keep failing indicates that you may have developed habits that compel you to the particular sins (most of us have such habits with regard to one sin or another). Such habits may diminish your culpability, such that objective mortal sins and not personal mortal sins. But only a confessor can help you discern this.

In the Catholic catechism, there is this discussion:

“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.”

This is in reference to masturbation, but the principles could apply to any given sin. You need to discuss this with a regular confessor, who can help you determine your own culpability in the sins you commit, and help you find ways to break your habits.

Do not despair. God loves you and His mercy will always trump your sins; just keep trying to not sin and come back to Him when you fail.