Recieveing the eucharist?

[followerofGod]

being fairly knew to the church in a sense I have been learning quite a bit very fast. I know that one is not supposed to receive the bread if out of grace. my question that i hope you can clear up for me is, is impure thought grave sin and thus reason to not receive the Eucharist? I went to confession a week ago and and have not actually committed sin in a physical sense. Its been rough because at random and with no warning impure thoughts can flood my head but I fight to not dwell on them and change my minds attention to other things. it has been kind of close though times where I almost acted on them and have struggled with the crossing the line part of it and times where I have wanted to sin but only by Gods grace have I been able to walk away from it.

so am i in sin again for having thoughts come into my mind or wanting to at times act upon them but not actually following through on it. Today i did not receive communion just because i did not want to take it unless I knew for sure if i was in a state of grace or not. I worry about it so much almost to the point where I am worried about it non stop. I feel like i am feel like im not enjoying my life much anymore because im always worried about the state of my soul.

please help me.

God Bless.

 

[Della]

One of the pitfalls for new Catholics is scrupulosity. What you have been doing is not sinning but fighting off temptation. Merely being tempted is not the same thing as sinning.

Now, if you give in to temptation and dwell on it with the intention of getting all you can out of it without actually doing it–that is sin, but whether or not it is mortal is something you would have to discuss with your confessor.

Trust your confessor with this. Tell him just what you’ve told us. He will direct you and let you know how to deal with impure thoughts. One good way is to immediately call on Mary or St. Joseph or St. Michael to help you. They want to help you, so take advantage of their heavenly aid.

Here is the Prayer to St. Michael:

St. Michael the Archangel defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil,
May God rebuke him, we humbly prayer.
And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts,
by the power of God, cast into hell Satan
and all the evils spirits
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

 

[palmas85]

Everyone is tempted. Some more than others. Giving in to the temptation to sin is what is sinful not the mere presence of temptation. It sounds to me as if you are struggling the same as most of us are.

A good way to fight off lustful temptations is to pray the Rosary. Trust me, it really works. Another is to pray to Saint Michael the Archangel. You may also wish to speak with your Priest about this as he can probably give you some good advice. Guess what? He more than likely struggles with the same temptation as well. Almost all of us do trust me, you are not alone in this.

I wish you the best of luck