This is so annoying

[thirdworld]

So I just came back from confession and one of my worst sins is taking God’s name in vain. I do it out of habit, without even thinking a lot of the time. I’ve definitely reduced the amount of times I’ve done this since my last confession but it’s still an issue. Here’s the deal, like right after confession I have like an obsession with avoiding taking God’s name in vain in my mind and it’s killing me…I’m really afraid I’m going to commit a mortal sin like 2 seconds after I confess. It’s like telling someone “Don’t think about iPhones. Don’t think about the word iPhones. Don’t picture an iPhone. iPhone iPhone iPhone!” what are you going to do? Think about them…that’s how it is with me and it’s so frustrating and I feel I lack control.

Any advice?

 

[NaturalEnquirer]

I don’t want to minimize the sin, but do you really think God is going to send you to hell for an inadvertent mental slip? I don’t. You have an unfortunate habit, and you won’t break it by obsessing. My advice would be, find a replacement phrase. Preferably something slightly ridiculous. Instead of “god **** it” (or whatever your habit is), instead use “gol durn it”. When you accidentally use your habitual phrase, don’t run straight for the confessional. Say to God, “sorry, I meant gol durn it. Please help me break this silly habit.” Maybe say a Hail Mary or something as a penance.

By all means, mention the slips in your next confession, but don’t stress so much about it.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Meditate and pray.

Sins usually are from deadly habits. You can’t give up a habit instantly. Prayer and meditation helps. Be patient and forgiving of yourself. Be glad if you’ve made improvements even though you haven’t completely kicked the habit. Build on this little victories until you get to your eventual goal.

 

[mark_a]

So I just came back from confession and one of my worst sins is taking God’s name in vain. I do it out of habit, without even thinking a lot of the time. I’ve definitely reduced the amount of times I’ve done this since my last confession but it’s still an issue. Here’s the deal, like right after confession I have like an obsession with avoiding taking God’s name in vain in my mind and it’s killing me…I’m really afraid I’m going to commit a mortal sin like 2 seconds after I confess. It’s like telling someone “Don’t think about iPhones. Don’t think about the word iPhones. Don’t picture an iPhone. iPhone iPhone iPhone!” what are you going to do? Think about them…that’s how it is with me and it’s so frustrating and I feel I lack control.

Any advice?

Hang in there. Five years from now you’ll wonder why you ever let it become a habit.

 

[patsydtr]

I don’t want to minimize the sin, but do you really think God is going to send you to hell for an inadvertent mental slip? I don’t. You have an unfortunate habit, and you won’t break it by obsessing. My advice would be, find a replacement phrase. Preferably something slightly ridiculous. Instead of “god **** it” (or whatever your habit is), instead use “gol durn it”. When you accidentally use your habitual phrase, don’t run straight for the confessional. Say to God, “sorry, I meant gol durn it. Please help me break this silly habit.” Maybe say a Hail Mary or something as a penance.

By all means, mention the slips in your next confession, but don’t stress so much about it.

:thumbsup:Good advice! One other thing…being scrupulous isn’t good either!

 

[ProVobis]

So I just came back from confession and one of my worst sins is taking God’s name in vain. I do it out of habit, without even thinking a lot of the time. I’ve definitely reduced the amount of times I’ve done this since my last confession but it’s still an issue. Here’s the deal, like right after confession I have like an obsession with avoiding taking God’s name in vain in my mind and it’s killing me…I’m really afraid I’m going to commit a mortal sin like 2 seconds after I confess. It’s like telling someone “Don’t think about iPhones. Don’t think about the word iPhones. Don’t picture an iPhone. iPhone iPhone iPhone!” what are you going to do? Think about them…that’s how it is with me and it’s so frustrating and I feel I lack control.

Any advice?

You make excellent points on a form of reverse psychology. Have you told the priest the same thing you told us?

 

[Anne1964]

one of my worst sins is taking God’s name in vain. I do it out of habit, without even thinking a lot of the time.

If you just blurt it out without thinking about it first, it’s not really a sin because you didn’t have any intent to do it. Certainly, it’s not a good thing to do and you are right to want to stop it, but it takes time to change a habit.

I have the same problem and have been working on it for four years. I have made a lot of progress, but I still occasionally (once or twice a month at this point) do it. I do still mention it in confession as my confessor knows it’s something I’ve been working on for a long time.

One thing that helped me was to identify what situations caused me to blurt out God’s name and to think about what I might say in place of His name in the future. For example, if I am startled by something like a car swerving in front of me in traffic, or I stub my toe and hurt it, I am likely to blurt out God’s name. If I find myelf doing that I immediately change it into a prayer. So if I say “Jesus!” in an angry sort of way, I imediately add “I love You.” so I end up saying “Jesus I love You.” This has worked quite well for me.