When you think you are not worthy to be forgiven

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Lost4words

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Many times i have been to confession and come out still feeling guilty even though i know i have been absolved.

Then, i sometimes keep committing the same sins over and over. I go to confession knowing that there is a big chance of me failing again and committing a mortal sin/s.

I know God is all mercy and forgiving but is there a point where you think if you keep committing the same sins that God will despair and turn his back on you if only for a short time?

I only ask as i keep going to confession about the same sin/s. I know that when i commit that sin i have confession to fall back on. Isn’t that wrong?

How can i beat sin? I pray about it. I ask God about it. But i keep failing miserably.
 
Have you discussed this with your confessor? He’s the best qualified person to advise you.

The best spiritual writers recommend:

– Persevere in asking God for help. If nothing else, this helps us grow in humility.

– Add spiritual reading and meditation to your prayer time, if you’re not doing that already.

– Fast in moderation (or cut down on other comforts). This helps train the will, and particularly helps with sins of the flesh.

– Avoid near occasions of sin, whether they be people, places, movies, TV shows, whatever. Sometimes we just can’t avoid those things, but in many cases we can.

Yes it is wrong to commit a sin because we know we can go to Confession later. We can confess that too, which may help us not to do it.

God be with you.
 
Ad_Orientem said:
Have you discussed this with your confessor? He’s the best qualified person to advise you.

The best spiritual writers recommend:

– Persevere in asking God for help. If nothing else, this helps us grow in humility.

– Add spiritual reading and meditation to your prayer time, if you’re not doing that already.

– Fast in moderation (or cut down on other comforts). This helps train the will, and particularly helps with sins of the flesh.

– Avoid near occasions of sin, whether they be people, places, movies, TV shows, whatever. Sometimes we just can’t avoid those things, but in many cases we can.

Yes it is wrong to commit a sin because we know we can go to Confession later. We can confess that too, which may help us not to do it.

God be with you.
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Thank you. Some good points.

I am seeing my confessor asap. I need spiritual direction and a way to help been my continual sinning.
 
Trust in God’s Mercy

Gracious Father,
I thank you for the mercy you have shown in forgiving my sins and for the peace that comes from being reconciled with you and with your Church.

O God, you are faithful, and you never abandon those who hope in you. I know that my redemption from sin and death has been purchased at the cost of your Son’s blood. In return for this priceless gift, I resolve today to renew my trust in your unfailing mercy.

In times of doubt, when painful memories of past sins threaten to destroy the peace you have given, let the power of your Holy Spirit cast out all self-condemnation and give me greater confidence in your word of pardon.

Teach me to encourage others so they, too, may seek your tender compassion and come to know your peace, which nothing can take away.

I pray this in the name of Jesus, your Son, in whom you have restored me to life. Amen.
 
Everyone can be forgiven.
All we need be is truly repentant and you will be absolved.
To believe you are unforgivable is the work of the prince of lies.
Don’t fall for it. He wants you to feel despair.
The Lord wants you in His loving, forgiving arms.
Peace.
 
In the words of Pope Francis “He is the God of mercy: he does not tire of forgiving us. It is we who are tired of asking for forgiveness, but He never gets tired.”

Never tell yourself that you are beyond forgiveness for the sins that you continue to commit. That is a lie from the devil. God is greater than our sin. God loves us and will always forgive us when we go to Him.

To me, it sounds like you need to forgive yourself (I need to do the same) for the sins you commit. God has already forgiven you for what you have done. You need to do the same for yourself.

Yes it is wrong to commit a sin when you know you have confession to fall back on. It’s like saying you are willing to do something wrong under the assumption you are going to be forgiven for it. It’s not a good mentality to have and is indeed wrong.

I hope I helped!
 
Thank you all. I am trying constantly to beat this weakness / weaknesses. So difficult. I am not winning at all.
 
A very wise friend once told me that it is a sort of reverse PRIDE to think we cannot be forgiven. I’ve thought of that often, and it’s helped me to receive forgiveness!

Repeating sins is another matter, and very human. I think as long as we aren’t telling ourselves, “It’s ok one more time, then I’ll confess it!” but are sincerely making an effort, God is pleased with us.

The Bible often compares us to little children. Training a child takes a lot of repetition, and they fail over & over again. But we see their efforts and our hearts are filled all-the-more with love for them because they are trying so hard.

God bless you!
 
Lost4words said:
I am not winning at all.
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Sure you are.
You recognize that it is a sin. That’s a win.
You feel shame and sorrow. That’s a win.
You seek God’s forgiveness. That’s a win.
You are sorry even though you know you should be stronger. That’s a win.
You get into the confession box and tell Him you are sorry. That’s a win.
You resolve to try to not do it again. That’s a win.
You do your penance. That’s a win.
You try again tomorrow instead of giving up and walking away. That’s a win.
You believe in the forgiveness of God more than the weakness of man. That’s a win.
You fall again but pick yourself up. That’s a win.
You recognize it is a sin. That’s a win.
…
 
Lost4words said:
Many times i have been to confession and come out still feeling guilty even though i know i have been absolved.

Then, i sometimes keep committing the same sins over and over. I go to confession knowing that there is a big chance of me failing again and committing a mortal sin/s.

I know God is all mercy and forgiving but is there a point where you think if you keep committing the same sins that God will despair and turn his back on you if only for a short time?

I only ask as i keep going to confession about the same sin/s. I know that when i commit that sin i have confession to fall back on. Isn’t that wrong?

How can i beat sin? I pray about it. I ask God about it. But i keep failing miserably.
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GOD made us and GOD makes ONLY good things:)

Keep a Rosary on your person at ALL times; even in bed and in the shower [get one of the plastic ones from the rear of your church], and PRAY it often. When tempted PRAY: “JESUS HELP ME!” / “MARY HELP ME”👍

Don’t give UP!

Keep going to Confession as often as possible, EVEN when you don’t need too:)

Pray much!
 
You describe the state I kind of felt like before I started spiritual direction. Assuming you aren’t scrupulous, most people who are growing in their faith will find a time where they keep running into the same sin over and over, without an idea of how to move past it. We can often get to a spiritual plateau where we recognize the sin and feel deep contrition but aren’t sure how to move around it.

A few books that have helped me are “Navigating The Interior Life” by Dan Burke and “Seeking Spiritual Direction” by Fr Thomas Dubay S.M. They helped me to understand where my root sins are and how to approach spiritual direction to try to overcome those inclination to sin. Burke’s book in particular was a good jumping off point for me to understand where I was spiritually and where I would get hung up. Having that perspective has made spiritual direction more fruitful.

None of us are “worthy” of God’s forgiveness. It is why it is such a gift that He gives us. Use those feelings as the fire of a forge to shape your sorrow into some good. This is where a good spiritual director can help you. They can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses in order to grow beyond your current limitations.

One thing I was told is that we have to be aware of both the boulders and lose rocks beneath our feet, but still keep our eyes on the end destination. If we only focus on the end, without awareness of the obstacles around us we can wander into danger. On the other hand, if we only focus on the dangers at hand, then we can wander in circles or turn from the path.

I’ll keep you in my prayers as you continue to overcome sin. Just try to remember that steel is not forged by a gentlely flowing stream. Without the fires of tribulation we will never be strenghtened to God’s purpose for us.
 
According to a friar whose catechism classes I have been attending recently, the reason you may feel like this is if you do not fully cooperate with God’s grace, i.e. if you are not truly repentant. When I feel like this, I sometimes read Psalm 51 (the Miserere Me Deus). Read that, preferably out loud, and you will feel penitent.
 
Lost4words said:
Many times i have been to confession and come out still feeling guilty even though i know i have been absolved.

Then, i sometimes keep committing the same sins over and over. I go to confession knowing that there is a big chance of me failing again and committing a mortal sin/s.

I know God is all mercy and forgiving but is there a point where you think if you keep committing the same sins that God will despair and turn his back on you if only for a short time?

I only ask as i keep going to confession about the same sin/s. I know that when i commit that sin i have confession to fall back on. Isn’t that wrong?I

How can i beat sin? I pray about it. I ask God about it. But i keep failing miserably.
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**
Re: Not being worthy to be forgiven**
I’ve got news for you; it’s **good news, actually. None of us can make ourselves worthy enough to receive forgiveness from God. Why is that good news? Because we are made perfectly worthy by the perfect one, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer. <3
**
Secondly, what worked for me and snapped me out of not forgiving myself, holding out that I’m not truly forgiven:
I saw that, for me, that was being arrogant. Who am I to say that MY forgiveness and beliefs are more important than God’s? And do I, who has to work hard to forgive, want to be the one who has to decide that forgiveness? No way! God has the power to forgive me; it’s His Forgiveness that cleanses me and sets me free. My own forgiveness flows directly from that, and releases me completely. I try to focus on thanking God for His Mercy after my penance prayers (or before is fine); that reminds me that I am forgiven by my King and as far as He is concerned, I’m clean/pure if I made a good and sincere confession.
**
God cannot, and will not, despair of you! **Not for one moment!! We need to remember that God already knows how all this ends, and it’s in VICTORY for Him! He knows our faults better than we do, even the hows and the whys of the reasons we are that way, which we might not know and realize. He of course wants us to imitate Jesus, to be as holy as we can, to love Him perfectly, and He knows that when we’re in Heaven, we will. Just like He knows that we will make mistakes, we will sin, even the same sin, while on earth. He already knows! We aren’t hiding anything from Him, or teaching Him something new.

Watch the ‘presumption’ of being able to sin and then requesting forgiveness; I don’t know if that’s what you’re doing or not, but I’ve had to catch myself on that before; I examined myself even closer and was able to resist most of the time. God knows we are weak, and that we’re sinners. We shouldn’t presume, because what if we aren’t repentant, and don’t make it to Confession if a mortal sin… and that remains on our soul, either for Purgatory or… I am hesitant even to leave my house without going to Confession first if I have a mortal sin on my soul, especially if I’m going to be traveling or doing anything out of the ordinary for me! 🙂

Hope this helps!
 
TheDoctor said:
Sure you are.
You recognize that it is a sin. That’s a win.
You feel shame and sorrow. That’s a win.
You seek God’s forgiveness. That’s a win.
You are sorry even though you know you should be stronger. That’s a win.
You get into the confession box and tell Him you are sorry. That’s a win.
You resolve to try to not do it again. That’s a win.
You do your penance. That’s a win.
You try again tomorrow instead of giving up and walking away. That’s a win.
You believe in the forgiveness of God more than the weakness of man. That’s a win.
You fall again but pick yourself up. That’s a win.
You recognize it is a sin. That’s a win.
…
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Waw, that is so kind. Thank you
 
Lost4words said:
…
Then, i sometimes keep committing the same sins over and over. I go to confession knowing that there is a big chance of me failing again and committing a mortal sin/s.
…
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It’s a relief to me that I can’t/won’t commit certain sins like killing people. That kind of narrows down what sins I do commit, but are those which happen over and again.

The evil one knows which of my buttons to push, but sometimes I push them myself.

This is one of the reasons for prayer, so that when we are praying, we aren’t sinning.
 
My priest told me something once and it has helped me a lot. He said “God loves our struggles”.

If we didn’t struggle then we would either be perfect, which is impossible, or be doomed to hell because then obviously we don’t want God around. We struggle and God loves this because it shows how much we love Him. The more and the harder we struggle I think the more God appreciates us trying, even if we end up failing, I think He looks more at the fight we put up than at the actual sin. Of course we still have to ask for His forgiveness but the more you fight the happier God is I would think.

I also would say that this has a lot to do with the Saints. A lot of people think the Saints led this easy life of no sin where they just did whatever God commanded and whew, it was a piece of cake. Remember the bigger the Saint, a lot of times directly correlates with the harder they had to struggle with things in life.

Examples include but are not limited to: St. Paul, St. Augustine, The Cure of Ars, St Therese of Calcutta, and so on…

So don’t think of your struggles, your fights and even your temptations as a bad thing, consider them a necessity on your way to holiness…

Finally remember the closer you are to God the harder the devil will attack you. So if you have no struggles, no temptations and no problems you may want to look around and think, is it because the devil doesn’t need to attack me???
 
Pax et Bonum! I read once that even the Saints did not feel worthy…you are trying and God knows this. One day, you might find it suddenly lifts and is gone. Don’t give up and try not to use Confession as a cop-out - not that you really are, just cautioning and it is good to discuss this with a spiritual director/confessor because there could be an underlying cause simply corrected. Pray, Pray and Pray…Receive the Sacraments…God bless you! angeltime
 
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