What if I was not in a state of grace when I was Confirmed?

[AlegreFe]

One cannot “console” another person by minimizing their pain or loss. If you haven’t experienced the heartbreak of realizing that you can never make a public, lifelong, sacramental commitment to the God you now love because you once did it unworthily, then I’m very glad for you. For those of us now irreversibly deprived of this opportunity, we did blow it.

If you want to believe that you “blew it” then go ahead and believe that. There is nothing that I can do for you except to pray that God soften your heart and heal you of your pain.

But just to assure you, you did not “blow it” when you received Confirmation unworthily. If you know for sure that you did receive unworthily and you did it deliberately then you committed a mortal sin. But don’t think that your mortal sin is greater than God’s mercy. If you do then you do commit another mortal sin. That is called despair. Do not despair the way that Judas did.

There is hope for you. All you have to do is go to Confession and confess that you received the sacrament of Confirmation unworthily and you did it on purpose just to satisfy your parents. Believe me, the priest will absolve you of your sin. You can then have the privilege of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. You will then be leading the sacramental life you want to have.

Your biggest mistake is to think that your sin is much greater than God’s mercy. You are so wrong about that. Your sin is like a drop of water and God’s mercy is an ocean. Once you confess your sin, God will never find your sin (drop of water) in His ocean of Mercy. Did you know that when you confess your sins, be they mortal or venial, Jesus forgives and He also forgets your sins? Yes, He forgets your sins. Your sin is lost forever in His Ocean of Mercy. Alleluia! God is awesome!

 

[AlegreFe]

Sorry, I did not know that I was supposed to mention RCIA.

When I asked how old you were when you were Confirmed I assumed you were a cradle Catholic and thought you were confirmed around the age of 12 to 16 years old. If you were in RCIA more than likely you are not a cradle Catholic and could have been Confirmed at an older age than most cradle Catholics get confirmed.

I’m sorry to say that I do not like many of the RCIA programs that are out there. Many of them are run by volunteers who do not know their Catholic faith very well or are “liberal” Catholics. But perhaps your parish has a good RCIA program.

Since you were in RCIA, were you also Baptized before you were Confirmed? Or where you validly baptized in a church before coming home to the Catholic Church?

If you were also baptized before being confirmed then you have nothing to worry about. Baptism cleanses you of all your sins, original and personal sins. And it even rids you of the temporal punishment due to sin. So if you were baptized, then confirmed, no need to worry.

 

[AlegreFe]

Holly, I didn’t even notice your signature. So sorry.
I guess I should read signatures huh?

If you were a baptist then more than likely you were baptized already in that church. correct?

 

[Gamera]

If you want to believe that you “blew it” then go ahead and believe that. There is nothing that I can do for you except to pray that God soften your heart and heal you of your pain.

But just to assure you, you did not “blow it” when you received Confirmation unworthily. If you know for sure that you did receive unworthily and you did it deliberately then you committed a mortal sin. But don’t think that your mortal sin is greater than God’s mercy. If you do then you do commit another mortal sin. That is called despair. Do not despair the way that Judas did.

There is hope for you. All you have to do is go to Confession and confess that you received the sacrament of Confirmation unworthily and you did it on purpose just to satisfy your parents. Believe me, the priest will absolve you of your sin. You can then have the privilege of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. You will then be leading the sacramental life you want to have.

Your biggest mistake is to think that your sin is much greater than God’s mercy. You are so wrong about that. Your sin is like a drop of water and God’s mercy is an ocean. Once you confess your sin, God will never find your sin (drop of water) in His ocean of Mercy. Did you know that when you confess your sins, be they mortal or venial, Jesus forgives and He also forgets your sins? Yes, He forgets your sins. Your sin is lost forever in His Ocean of Mercy. Alleluia! God is awesome!

I confessed this and received absolution 20 years ago. That isn’t an issue.

Several people seem not to understand what I mean when I say I blew it, so let me clarify my meaning. Confirmation is a one-time opportunity to make a public, sacramental litetime commitment to Christ. Yes, I have since received the graces which come with Confirmation. I understand that. Yes, I have been forgiven for my sin. I understand that, too. But I can never get back the opportunity to be Confirmed and have it mean something, as an experience of publicly committing myself to Christ in an indelible sacrament.

Thanks, though.

 

[AlegreFe]

I confessed this and received absolution 20 years ago. That isn’t an issue.

Several people seem not to understand what I mean when I say I blew it, so let me clarify my meaning. Confirmation is a one-time opportunity to make a public, sacramental litetime commitment to Christ. Yes, I have since received the graces which come with Confirmation. I understand that. Yes, I have been forgiven for my sin. I understand that, too. But I can never get back the opportunity to be Confirmed and have it mean something, as an experience of publicly committing myself to Christ in an indelible sacrament.

Thanks, though.

It’s great that you realize and understand what I was saying. But from your posts it seemed to me that you did not understand. From those previous posts and this particular post it seems you have not forgiven yourself. Do not dwell on the fact that you were not in a state of grace at the time of the actual “event” of the sacrament. The “event” itself is important but not as important as the graces you have received after your confession. You actually receiving the grace of the sacrament is more important than the actual event when it took place. If you keep on dwelling on the event instead of thinking of the time you actually received the graces of the sacrament it might keep you from growing spiritually when receiving any other sacrament. Oh sure you receive graces from the sacraments you receive, confession and communion, but I hope you are also growing spiritually in your quest to be holy. I’m not perfect and I can’t imagine anyone being perfect but I would almost die if I were to dwell on something that happened in my past for which Jesus has already forgiven me.