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Mickey
Guest
This is good advice. Our Lady will surely assist you.
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itsjustdave1988
Guest
njguy58,
Being Christian is not about “feeling better.”
It is about giving to God what is due Him, it is about responding to God with “faith that worketh through charity” (Gal 5:6). It is about living the “obedience of faith” (Rom 16:26). It’s about being forgiven, healed, sanctified, despite your sins and undeservedness.
If you do these things, in truth, you will feel better…when you meet your Maker.
Being Christian is not about “feeling better.”
It is about giving to God what is due Him, it is about responding to God with “faith that worketh through charity” (Gal 5:6). It is about living the “obedience of faith” (Rom 16:26). It’s about being forgiven, healed, sanctified, despite your sins and undeservedness.
If you do these things, in truth, you will feel better…when you meet your Maker.
S
Sailboat
Guest
Hi Mikey, God Bless you man!
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Island_Oak
Guest
(Edited)
To the OP: I have to ask–what was the RESPONSE from your confessor? Was he compassionate? Did he inadvertently minimize your struggle? Did he give you a pennance you didn’t understand? Perhaps, if you approached him with the fact that this is an on-going, daily struggle and that you need some spiritual tools, you would feel better about having gone to confession–instead of feeling as if you will just fall back into struggle, sin and the feeling that you failed.
I have to admit to being one of the settled-marrieds so I am not now in your boat…but I can confirm all of us struggle at some time or another with temptations of the flesh. I think you deserve loads of credit for examining your lifestyle and conscience and trying to conform them to the ideals taught by the Church.
To the OP: I have to ask–what was the RESPONSE from your confessor? Was he compassionate? Did he inadvertently minimize your struggle? Did he give you a pennance you didn’t understand? Perhaps, if you approached him with the fact that this is an on-going, daily struggle and that you need some spiritual tools, you would feel better about having gone to confession–instead of feeling as if you will just fall back into struggle, sin and the feeling that you failed.
I have to admit to being one of the settled-marrieds so I am not now in your boat…but I can confirm all of us struggle at some time or another with temptations of the flesh. I think you deserve loads of credit for examining your lifestyle and conscience and trying to conform them to the ideals taught by the Church.
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itsjustdave1988
Guest
njguy58,
You can stop sinning. It takes prayer and work. It is hard, like a cross to carry. That doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Embrace your cross in the manner worthy of our Lord. Satan is battling for your soul against our Lord and all the angels and saints in heaven. The Lord and his saints desire that you “sin no more” (cf. John 5:14; 8:11), as Christ told those he has blessed with healing and forgiveness.
Think of all your thoughts, words, and deeds as all that you are offering back to God as a thank-offering for the amazing gifts He has given to you. Given this context, will you offer up masturbation as a worthy thank-offering to our Lord? Don’t rationalize sins because they are hard to overcome. Offer up instead, your sufferings to the Lord, but know that ALL of your actions, words, and deeds are to be seen as a freewill offering to our Lord, because that is how our Lord will see them. What you decide to give to Him, in thought, word, and deed, is up to you.
Animals have also been known to eat their young. Just cuz it’s “natural” doesn’t mean it should govern our moral behavior.
You can stop sinning. It takes prayer and work. It is hard, like a cross to carry. That doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Embrace your cross in the manner worthy of our Lord. Satan is battling for your soul against our Lord and all the angels and saints in heaven. The Lord and his saints desire that you “sin no more” (cf. John 5:14; 8:11), as Christ told those he has blessed with healing and forgiveness.
Think of all your thoughts, words, and deeds as all that you are offering back to God as a thank-offering for the amazing gifts He has given to you. Given this context, will you offer up masturbation as a worthy thank-offering to our Lord? Don’t rationalize sins because they are hard to overcome. Offer up instead, your sufferings to the Lord, but know that ALL of your actions, words, and deeds are to be seen as a freewill offering to our Lord, because that is how our Lord will see them. What you decide to give to Him, in thought, word, and deed, is up to you.
S
Sailboat
Guest
LOL. Pretty good post Oak.
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njguy58
Guest
He told me to say 5 Hail Mary. He didn’t say much about anything I confessed really…
And I have already fallen back into the sin
I’ll have to go back soon.By the way, I have slightly improved (meaning over the past few months I’ve been doing it less), so I guess it is a slow improvement, kind of like when someone tries to quit smoking. I’m thinking I can eventually quit, but I don’t think I can just “become born again right at this moment and never commit the sin again”, which also something I’m confused about. “Born again” to me sounds like you almost lose your original identity, though I’m sure it’s not like that, but that’s off topic anyway.
These next 3 years of college will be… interstiing.
But thanks for the comments and help everyone.
M
Michael_Francis
Guest
Take a hint from the editing that has been done to this thread.
Stay on topic and avoid personal sniping.
Further occurences will affect posting privileges.
MF
Stay on topic and avoid personal sniping.
Further occurences will affect posting privileges.
MF
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Magicsilence
Guest
Perhaps for the sex addict who lives alone on a country farm with a superfast broadband connection, it will.
It took me a week I think.
I fell once after firmly resolving not to do it. And that was it. The real war is not masturbation, its the mental aspect of it. I started off just trying to control the habit, but when you are still lusting in your mind the problem is still there.
I was nearly sick when I had to go to confession for my “big list”. Its amazingly hard to do it. But if you have a firm resolve not to sin again then I cannot see how you don’t feel better.
Peace and God Bless.
M
Mickey
Guest
Yes. The passion of lust is the root cause.
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corvidae
Guest
If I could jump in,
Go to confession as soon as possible, even if you feel that it is not doing anything.
I had about 6 years of weekly and sometimes daily confession before I got to a point where I could take control of my passions.I still struggle, but it is nothing like it was in the beginning. I would just keep it up, and when in confession, ask for advice, ask what the priest thinks, and what you could do. If he hears you every week, he may see something that you do not.
just my two cents.
A lone Raven
p.s. again work like everything depends on you, pray like everything depends on God
Go to confession as soon as possible, even if you feel that it is not doing anything.
I had about 6 years of weekly and sometimes daily confession before I got to a point where I could take control of my passions.I still struggle, but it is nothing like it was in the beginning. I would just keep it up, and when in confession, ask for advice, ask what the priest thinks, and what you could do. If he hears you every week, he may see something that you do not.
just my two cents.
A lone Raven
p.s. again work like everything depends on you, pray like everything depends on God
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Mickey
Guest
Yes. Confession is a powerful sacrament and we need to participate in this sacrament on a regular basis.
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puzzleannie
Guest
this sermon on the Sacrament of Reconciliation from an Irish bishop, posted on Zenit the Vatican news service site, says beautifully everything we need to know to answer questions posed by op
zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=95418
I am saving this, I want all my catechists who prepare children and adults for first confession to read it.
zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=95418
I am saving this, I want all my catechists who prepare children and adults for first confession to read it.
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francisca
Guest
njguy,
It is very important that you believe that God created you good. God creates all men and women good.
You do not want to believe that “90% of the race does this, as do animals”. First of all, animals does not do it the way some men/women do. Animals do it only for procreation. MOST places of the world do not have easy access to pornography. In some remote places, there are tribes where clothes are not part of their life, thus they live clotheless. Yet, they don’t do it like those people who watch pornography.
Since you are very young, I’m sure you do not really know what it means to love. It is very unfortunate that you learn sexuallity from a wrong angle. Now what you need to do is to shift the way you look at it : animals does not do the way you do it. Even if some men/woman do it the way you do it, it doesn’t mean it is the good way to do it. Even if all men/women in your city did it that way, I tell you one thing : there are places in this world where men/women don’t do it that way. Pornography is the cause why SOME men/women do it that way. And regardless whatever they say about it, believe me : it is a perversion. You just have to look at animals to know this : Many things in the media about sex are myths, things that men and women made up because they are separated from the natural way to do it.
Sexuallity is formed from the way you look at “the value of a person” in yourself and in others. A change of value changes your “appetite and taste”. Ask God to change it, so you will transform into a new person who knows that he is prescious : a person who can see good values in others and in himself.
Remember this : in God’s eye, you are prescious. Believe it.
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