Why do we even try?

[pghguy]

Philthy - thanks.

 

[LilyM]

I don’t know what to believe anymore. I mean, I love God and Jesus very deeply. But I do sin, sometimes on purposes and sometimes unintentionally. However, I am sorry for those sins and express deep regret and apology for them. But, the chances are fair, if not better than that, that repitition will occur at some point or another.

“The just man falls seven times a day, but rises up again” (Proverbs 24:16). The point is not how often you fall, but how often you get up again.

 

[beehumble]

Nobody knows how many go to heaven. But I believe in a merciful God. I suggest a read of Divine Mercy In My Soul by St. Faustina (might be online somewhere) to read of the awesomeness of God’s Mercy. Trust in Jesus. As He said, “Be not afraid.” And go to confession, where is waiting to pour out His mercy upon us.

 

[pghguy]

“The just man falls seven times a day, but rises up again” (Proverbs 24:16). The point is not how often you fall, but how often you get up again.

So being truly sorry but repeating your sins is common? It’s OK of we aren’t able to repent and never repeat the sin?

 

[LilyM]

So being truly sorry but repeating your sins is common? It’s OK of we aren’t able to repent and never repeat the sin?

We can indeed repeat our sins in spite of our completely genuine sorrow over them and in spite of all our best intentions and endeavours not to repeat them, yes. Because we’re weak, we’re concupiscent, we’re human, we lack understanding of ourselves.

Sorrow combined with the intentions and endeavours = repentance, for a time at least. Even if our efforts to avoid repetition fail and we fall back into sin.

I’m not saying one can obtain absolution with a half-hearted attitude. One must indeed be genuinely sorry, and have the heartfelt and sincere intent of not repeating the confessed sins or committing any others. And I’m not saying that one isn’t guilty if one DOES fall back into sin. But look at the people Jesus forgave - did He say ‘your sins are forgiven’ or did He merely say ‘they’re forgiven only on condition that you don’t repeat them’??

Look at the Old Testament - the people of Israel REPEATEDLY grumbled against God during their wandering in the desert, REPEATEDLY strayed from Him and worshipped other gods, committing the selfsame sins of idolatry time after time. However, God forgave them every time, no?

And look at the New Testament - Jesus told us to forgive our brother whenever he genuinely asks for forgiveness. He didn’t say ‘forgive your brother seventy times seven times (an expression meaning an infinite number) but only if he commits seventy times seven different types of sin against you’.

It’s hardly an admirable trait to be capable of that much variety in one’s sinning, that anyone should wish for it!

 

[pghguy]

We can indeed repeat our sins in spite of our completely genuine sorrow over them and in spite of all our best intentions and endeavours not to repeat them, yes. Because we’re weak, we’re concupiscent, we’re human, we lack understanding of ourselves.

Sorrow combined with the intentions and endeavours = repentance, for a time at least. Even if our efforts to avoid repetition fail and we fall back into sin.

I’m not saying one can obtain absolution with a half-hearted attitude. One must indeed be genuinely sorry, and have the heartfelt and sincere intent of not repeating the confessed sins or committing any others. And I’m not saying that one isn’t guilty if one DOES fall back into sin. But look at the people Jesus forgave - did He say ‘your sins are forgiven’ or did He merely say ‘they’re forgiven only on condition that you don’t repeat them’??

Look at the Old Testament - the people of Israel REPEATEDLY grumbled against God during their wandering in the desert, REPEATEDLY strayed from Him and worshipped other gods, committing the selfsame sins of idolatry time after time. However, God forgave them every time, no?

And look at the New Testament - Jesus told us to forgive our brother whenever he genuinely asks for forgiveness. He didn’t say ‘forgive your brother seventy times seven times (an expression meaning an infinite number) but only if he commits seventy times seven different types of sin against you’.

It’s hardly an admirable trait to be capable of that much variety in one’s sinning, that anyone should wish for it!

Thank you for this. The impression has been given here that this wasn’t the case. I appreciate you clearing things up.

The difficulty I guess lies in the fact that despite your sincerest sorrow and apologies for your sins, virtually knowing that you will commit them again is a difficult thing to deal with.

 

[jmcrae]

Thank you for this. The impression has been given here that this wasn’t the case. I appreciate you clearing things up.

The difficulty I guess lies in the fact that despite your sincerest sorrow and apologies for your sins, virtually knowing that you will commit them again is a difficult thing to deal with.

The act of going to Confession is, itself, a means of grace, and the more frequently you go to Confession, the less temptation you will experience.

In my own experience, I had a bad habit that I thought I would never be able to conquer. I went to Confession with this sin once a week for more than two years - and then I didn’t need to go to Confession for a whole month - and then when I went again to Confession the following month, that particular sin wasn’t on my list any more.

It has cropped up again from time to time, but only once in a while, now. Not all the time, as it used to be.

So, based on my experience, I would say, if you have a bad habit that you want to conquer, go to Confession once a week. It works!

 

[puzzleannie]

I suppose you’re right about that. It just seems that no matter what, we will never be good enough. I CANNOT be Mother Theresa. It is not in me, or pretty much anyone else.

no but you can be pg guy the one God intended you to be, in fact it would be a mistake to try and be Mother Teresa

 

[pghguy]

no but you can be pg guy the one God intended you to be, in fact it would be a mistake to try and be Mother Teresa

It just seems that I’ve been nothing but unhappy ever since trying to be more dilligent in following God.

 

[jmcrae]

It just seems that I’ve been nothing but unhappy ever since trying to be more dilligent in following God.

This is actually quite normal. Even good changes are often stressful. And don’t discount completely the idea that the Devil may be unhappy with your choice to follow God more closely, and might be trying to prevent you from doing so, by throwing obstacles into your path.

 

[pghguy]

This is actually quite normal. Even good changes are often stressful. And don’t discount completely the idea that the Devil may be unhappy with your choice to follow God more closely, and might be trying to prevent you from doing so, by throwing obstacles into your path.

If this feeling doesn’t end soon, I don’t know what I’ll do!

 

[MarianD]

If as virtually every forum post states over and over again on the subject, very few will make it to Heaven, that essentially means that most if not all of us posting here will go to Hell.

If there’s no hope, what’s the point in even trying?

I don’t believe that at all. I believe the large majority of us on this forum (myself included) will go to Purgatory first, and then Heaven. It’ll just be a painful detour, but Heaven will be worth it.

 

[pghguy]

I don’t believe that at all. I believe the large majority of us on this forum (myself included) will go to Purgatory first, and then Heaven. It’ll just be a painful detour, but Heaven will be worth it.

That’s exaclty how I feel but almost everyone here disagrees.

 

[MarkInOregon]

I suppose you’re right about that. It just seems that no matter what, we will never be good enough. I CANNOT be Mother Theresa. It is not in me, or pretty much anyone else.

I am not sure that this is true. In my mind its more a case of we don’t want to be Mother Teresa–we don’t want to live like that–we don’t want to make that sacrifice. It’s in us all–we all make great sacrifices for the things we want–a certain car, a certain house in a certain neighborhood, kids college education, season tickets, cosmetic surgury, etc–so I posit that it’s really more a case of we don’t want to do what Mother Teresa did. We don’t have to be Mother Teresa but we could volunteer at the soup kitchen, we could find hospice ministries to volunteer for, we could visit the sick, etc.–but we don’t because we would rather watch football on Saturday and Sunday. It’s more important to play that round of golf. Its more important that our kids play 2 sports a season and go to every available camp. It’s more important that we work 60 hours a week so that we can afford nicer possessions.

I don’t think it is that it’s not in us–I think it’s just that we don’t want to do it at the expense of the material things we like.

That’s my two cents anyway.

Peace,
Mark

 

[pghguy]

I am not sure that this is true. In my mind its more a case of we don’t want to be Mother Teresa–we don’t want to live like that–we don’t want to make that sacrifice. It’s in us all–we all make great sacrifices for the things we want–a certain car, a certain house in a certain neighborhood, kids college education, season tickets, cosmetic surgury, etc–so I posit that it’s really more a case of we don’t want to do what Mother Teresa did. We don’t have to be Mother Teresa but we could volunteer at the soup kitchen, we could find hospice ministries to volunteer for, we could visit the sick, etc.–but we don’t because we would rather watch football on Saturday and Sunday. It’s more important to play that round of golf. Its more important that our kids play 2 sports a season and go to every available camp. It’s more important that we work 60 hours a week so that we can afford nicer possessions.

I don’t think it is that it’s not in us–I think it’s just that we don’t want to do it at the expense of the material things we like.

That’s my two cents anyway.

Peace,
Mark

I agree with your postion of the average person here. But, I am definately not that. Money isn’t a big deal for me, nor are possesions, at least in comparrison to the average. I do contribute by helping others but of course I could do more.

So, I figure, it’s somewhere in between. Maybe we have the potential but it’s unlikely that human nature will allow us to fill it.

 

[pghguy]

Mark -

I also feel that we’d miss out on so much in this world and have little more than missery if we where to live like the great Mother Theresa. This makes her all the more remarkable.

 

[jmcrae]

Mark -

I also feel that we’d miss out on so much in this world and have little more than missery if we where to live like the great Mother Theresa. This makes her all the more remarkable.

It’s true that Mother Teresa didn’t partake of the benefits of a wealthy lifestyle, but I don’t think she was miserable. She was surrounded by love, every day. She genuinely loved the poor people that she worked with, and they loved her. To us, they seem unlovable, and we think, how could she let “those” people hug her and kiss her? But she loved them. When they kissed her it didn’t disgust her at all - it gave her joy. She was able to see Jesus in them.

We haven’t been given the gift of loving the poor - but we have other gifts - and there are ways we can help the poor, even if we have a hard time being around them.

 

[pghguy]

It’s true that Mother Teresa didn’t partake of the benefits of a wealthy lifestyle, but I don’t think she was miserable. She was surrounded by love, every day. She genuinely loved the poor people that she worked with, and they loved her. To us, they seem unlovable, and we think, how could she let “those” people hug her and kiss her? But she loved them. When they kissed her it didn’t disgust her at all - it gave her joy. She was able to see Jesus in them.

We haven’t been given the gift of loving the poor - but we have other gifts - and there are ways we can help the poor, even if we have a hard time being around them.

I enjoy helping people but I’d feel like if that’s all I did, you’d miss out and it would sort of negate some of the joy.

That’s why she is so remarkable.

 

[jmcrae]

I enjoy helping people but I’d feel like if that’s all I did, you’d miss out and it would sort of negate some of the joy.

That’s why she is so remarkable.

She is remarkable, for sure!

But keep in mind, almost everything you do as an adult is in relation to helping other people - you can’t really get through the day without helping someone else, unless you quit your job, leave your family, and completely drop out of society. You can’t stay in business, for example, unless your business provides a service or product that lots of people need - so, you stay in business by meeting their need, or in other words, helping them.

The reason you work is to get money to support your family, so again, you are helping people - your family.

When you go home after work, you do your household chores, which again, involves helping people.

The difference between us and Mother Teresa, of course, is that the people we help are clean, and beautiful, and polite, and easy to like - and they also help us, too, in return for the help that we give them.

Mother Teresa is remarkable, not because she helped people, because every adult human being does that - but that the people she helped were not equipped in any way to return the favour.

 

[pghguy]

She is remarkable, for sure!

But keep in mind, almost everything you do as an adult is in relation to helping other people - you can’t really get through the day without helping someone else, unless you quit your job, leave your family, and completely drop out of society. You can’t stay in business, for example, unless your business provides a service or product that lots of people need - so, you stay in business by meeting their need, or in other words, helping them.

The reason you work is to get money to support your family, so again, you are helping people - your family.

When you go home after work, you do your household chores, which again, involves helping people.

The difference between us and Mother Teresa, of course, is that the people we help are clean, and beautiful, and polite, and easy to like - and they also help us, too, in return for the help that we give them.

Mother Teresa is remarkable, not because she helped people, because every adult human being does that - but that the people she helped were not equipped in any way to return the favour.

Excellent point!