Why do we still commit sin?

[IronHammer]

I need help understanding something that has been bothering a great deal lately. Maybe somebody here can shed light on this.

Here is the scenario. Although I have been a catholic for 20 years, I had a conversion experience about three years ago where I believe that Christ opened my heart and showed me how much He loves me. In return, I consecrated (privately) myself to Him and doing His will in all things. I have learned so much over the past three years and I have definitely improved in terms of abstaining from old sins and trying to live my life according to His will. I so long to please God and to be a part of His plan that I am living a life that is similar to a religious order of my own making! haha!

Here’s the rub. I have a certain type of sin which continues to plague me. I pray about it constantly. I say rosaries. I beg God to give me willpower and the grace to defeat this sin. No matter what I do I can’t seem to eradicate this sin. I have tried to ‘let go and let God’ but the sin continues to plague me.

So, my question is: Are we responsible for defeating sin in our lives or is God? Because I tire of hurting God with my sinfulness. I want Him to be happy with me and the life I am tyring to live for Him.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Pax Christi

 

[beckycmarie]

Here’s the rub. I have a certain type of sin which continues to plague me. I pray about it constantly. I say rosaries. I beg God to give me willpower and the grace to defeat this sin. No matter what I do I can’t seem to eradicate this sin. I have tried to ‘let go and let God’ but the sin continues to plague me.

I didn’t see you mention it, so I’m going to ask - have you gone to Confession in an effort to defeat this sin?

 

[IronHammer]

I didn’t see you mention it, so I’m going to ask - have you gone to Confession in an effort to defeat this sin?

Yes, several times. And everytime it is a gut wrenching experience and I feel so good afterwards and ready to serve Him and the Church. Then, BAM! I go and commit this awful sin again like it has a mind of it’s own. It’s so so discouraging.

I hear of people who had a faith conversion and they turned their entire being toward Christ and they walk in the light and they seem so happy and good. Can they really be in a state of grace all the time? Are they not plagued by some kind of awful sin?? Why am I not like them? My ugly spots healed so that I can be pleasing in His sight…

I can’t justify continuing to go to Christ in the confessional with the same ugly sins. I feel like dirt. I can’t hardly walk into our Adoration chapel because of it. It’s eating me up.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I can’t justify continuing to go to Christ in the confessional with the same ugly sins.

Several years ago in confession, I told my confessor (I went to him regularly, so he knew my soul well) that it was frustrating to keep confessing the same sins over and over. He said something like, “So what do you expect to do, invent new ones?” The point he was making is that most of us have a particular sin that troubles us for a long time while we are working to get rid of it.

As long as you are truly sorry and want to avoid the sin, your confessions are valid and good for your soul. Don’t give up on the sacrament of confession; that’s the devil trying to keep you away from the one thing that will, over time, heal you.

Habits are hard to break. A habit of sin is a vice; a habit of doing good is a virtue. Each time you are tempted to commit a certain sin, try instead to perform a specific act that strengthens the opposing virtue. For example:

• an act of humility to root out sins of pride
• an act of chastity (guarding your eyes and senses, avoiding near occasions, dressing modestly, etc.) to avoid sins of lust
• an act of generosity to counteract sins of greed, etc.

 

[tessi]

I can't justify continuing to go to Christ in the confessional with the same ugly sins. I feel like dirt. I can't hardly walk into our Adoration chapel because of it. It's eating me up.

That is your pride. God doesn’t expect us not to sin but to be sorry for them.

 

[IronHammer]

… He said something like, “So what do you expect to do, invent new ones?” The point he was making is that most of us have a particular sin that troubles us for a long time while we are working to get rid of it.

Good point but that still doesn’t resolve the issue of why we continue in the same sins again and again if we truly love Him. My kids love me and I am patient with their errors, and they eventually learn. Maybe sins just take longer to eradicate.

As long as you are truly sorry and want to avoid the sin, your confessions are valid and good for your soul. Don’t give up on the sacrament of confession; that’s the devil trying to keep you away from the one thing that will, over time, heal you.

That’s an interesting statement, which made me think of it this:

God doesn’t want us to commit sin, but He does want us to go to confession. He knows how unworthy and unclean we are no matter how ‘sinless’ we manage to become so He wants us in the confessional humbling ourselves before Him and submitting ourselves to His will so that He can sanctify us. He allows us to only slowly overcome sin so that, in time, the sin no longer plagues us. But in the process He has made us stronger in the spirit … more sanctified, a little closer to becoming worthy.

Now that I think about it, I have noticed my sinfulness has become less and less frequent over the past months and years. The sins I once committed with little thought of others or of God, no longer enter my mind. Even this grave sin I am still dealing with seems to be a little less frequent that it once was. He can’t just ‘turn off our sin’ because that would seem too miraculous and provide too much evidence for His existence to the secular world

 

[water]

Good point but that still doesn’t resolve the issue of why we continue in the same sins again and again if we truly love Him. My kids love me and I am patient with their errors, and they eventually learn. Maybe sins just take longer to eradicate.

if you truly love Him 100%, you would be a living Saint.

He allows us to only slowly overcome sin so that, in time, the sin no longer plagues us. But in the process He has made us stronger in the spirit … more sanctified, a little closer to becoming worthy.

Our souls are like sewage; it contains lots of trash. It takes time to remove those trash few at a time.

I think that growing holy is a long road to go. We don’t become holy overnight. God always pours down His grace to help us, it is us, our sinfulness, that we could not receive it all at once and keep it long. We are fragile and weak, proud and stubborn. Our freewill choses what Jesus wishes us not to chose - thus, we fall.

 

[LilyM]

Several years ago in confession, I told my confessor (I went to him regularly, so he knew my soul well) that it was frustrating to keep confessing the same sins over and over. He said something like, “So what do you expect to do, invent new ones?” The point he was making is that most of us have a particular sin that troubles us for a long time while we are working to get rid of it.

A priest once said something similar to me - to the effect of ‘there are only ten commandments, of course you’re probably going to tend to break them in the same ways’.

And yes, getting rid of sins usually involves work, over a long period of time. A bit like a marriage - you need to wake up every morning and make anew that decision to love God and cease offending Him, just as you need to make anew that decision to love your spouse and treat him/her well.

 

[kristie_m]

I can’t justify continuing to go to Christ in the confessional with the same ugly sins. I feel like dirt. I can’t hardly walk into our Adoration chapel because of it. It’s eating me up.

I had an Anglican priest put it to me this way once…“not going to confession because you keep sinning is like not taking a shower because you’re too dirty.”

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Sins commited habitually, become like an addiction and are difficult to overcome. Also, unless your reason not to sin becomes stronger than your desire, you continue to fail.

We can not overcome temptation on our own, we need the transforming grace given to us through Jesus Christ.

Prayer and sacraments are two important means of receiving this grace.

Don’t give up, it gets easier over time as we receive grace and age.

Jim

 

[onaquest]

This is purely how it makes sense to me in my brain. God has already taken care of the sin. On the cross he made it his responsibility. He took on the suffereing and sin of the world. The punishment for original sin. Now as I understand it(again I have no substantial references) Our punishment at the FAll was twofold. One of suffering from sin the other from suffering from being human death, illness, etc.

Now Jesus invited us to carry our cross. Just as he had carried his. He invites us to play an active part in salvation history. WE carry in our cross sin and suffering. Both of which God can mercifully remove but may in love ask us to carry a little longer so that we may walk to him and finally die to it as he did. I suggest praying the Divine Mercy CHaplet.

 

[onaquest]

I suggest the Divine Mercy Chaplet for these words—
"For the sake of his sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

THis sums up the economy of what Christ did for me on the cross. How intimately tied we are to the Crucifixion…

For Jesus’ sake–I need God to have mercy on me and my sinfulness. The less I sin the less he suffers.

 

[yesukristus]

“Are we responsible for defeating sin in our lives or is God?”

We can defeat sin without God’s help. After all that’s why Jesus died for us in the first place. If we can stop sinning on our own why would He do so?
We are responsible in some way for our sins though, most notably in avoiding the occasions of sin. But we also can’t do that effectively without God’s help. So rely on Him 100% and go easy on yourself. If God can forgive you why can’t you forgive yourselves?
My sympathies are with you by the way. I also have a sin that is damnably hard to stop, and I see now that God will help me stop sinning in His time and will be with me all the way. Yes, even when we sin God is still with us. Did you think you can chase Him away with sin, even mortal ones?

 

[KingAlfred]

I need help understanding something that has been bothering a great deal lately. Maybe somebody here can shed light on this.

Here is the scenario. Although I have been a catholic for 20 years, I had a conversion experience about three years ago where I believe that Christ opened my heart and showed me how much He loves me. In return, I consecrated (privately) myself to Him and doing His will in all things. I have learned so much over the past three years and I have definitely improved in terms of abstaining from old sins and trying to live my life according to His will. I so long to please God and to be a part of His plan that I am living a life that is similar to a religious order of my own making! haha!

Here’s the rub. I have a certain type of sin which continues to plague me. I pray about it constantly. I say rosaries. I beg God to give me willpower and the grace to defeat this sin. No matter what I do I can’t seem to eradicate this sin. I have tried to ‘let go and let God’ but the sin continues to plague me.

So, my question is: Are we responsible for defeating sin in our lives or is God? Because I tire of hurting God with my sinfulness. I want Him to be happy with me and the life I am tyring to live for Him.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
Pax Christi

If it’s related to your mating instinct, you’ll probably never be able to break it completely. We’re human, and driven by instinct, whether we like it or not.

 

[speaker1777]

Sins commited habitually, become like an addiction and are difficult to overcome. Also, unless your reason not to sin becomes stronger than your desire, you continue to fail.

We can not overcome temptation on our own, we need the transforming grace given to us through Jesus Christ.

Prayer and sacraments are two important means of receiving this grace.

Don’t give up, it gets easier over time as we receive grace and age.

Jim

36 And as a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I want to add that I think in denying myself I ended up acquiring a mental disorder. Yet I consider this my cross for following Jesus. Don’t give up in trying to do God’s will. But to date, I seem to be less symptomatic when I put all my being into doing the will of our Father.

Something that has helped me overcome a particular sin was believing with all my being the ‘act of contrition’. I just want to echo that prayer and sacraments are very necessary to overcome sin but they are only effacious when used appropriately. I waited for the grace to go to confession and now I truely see what an act of contrition is. The more we deny ourselves sin, the longer we keep sanctifying grace, and if we keep sanctifying grace, we are being prepared for the eternity in heaven to behold the face of God. In purgatory we cannot lose sanctifying grace, thus we should live this life as purgatory keeping sanctifying grace. Actual graces are given so that we might keep sanctifying grace.

May God grant you the grace to overcome your particular sin. Amen.

 

[DL82]

2 Corinthians 12: “7 And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. 8 Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; 9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Have you ever considered boasting of God’s strength working through you in spite of this weakness?

Also, have you considered asking your Priest/Spiritual Director about deliverance or exorcism. It should always be possible for a Christian to resist temptation. If it’s not, then there may be something else at work.

The Lord is doing great things in you. By giving you this hatred of sin, He is doing great things. Give thanks.

 

[liberational]

Look to the Bible…Romans 7 15:25

I can’t say it any better than Apostle Paul…It seems that Paul suffered from exactly what we all struggle with.

Many answers to life’s questions can be found in scripture.

What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.

Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good.
So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.

For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.

Now if (I) do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

… Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

36 And as a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I want to add that I think in denying myself I ended up acquiring a mental disorder. Yet I consider this my cross for following Jesus. Don’t give up in trying to do God’s will. But to date, I seem to be less symptomatic when I put all my being into doing the will of our Father.

Something that has helped me overcome a particular sin was believing with all my being the ‘act of contrition’. I just want to echo that prayer and sacraments are very necessary to overcome sin but they are only effacious when used appropriately. I waited for the grace to go to confession and now I truely see what an act of contrition is. The more we deny ourselves sin, the longer we keep sanctifying grace, and if we keep sanctifying grace, we are being prepared for the eternity in heaven to behold the face of God. In purgatory we cannot lose sanctifying grace, thus we should live this life as purgatory keeping sanctifying grace. Actual graces are given so that we might keep sanctifying grace.

May God grant you the grace to overcome your particular sin. Amen.

You are you actually replying to?

If its me, your post makes no sense in regards to what I posted.

Jim

 

[mangy_dog]

Yes, several times. And everytime it is a gut wrenching experience and I feel so good afterwards and ready to serve Him and the Church. Then, BAM! I go and commit this awful sin again like it has a mind of it’s own. It’s so so discouraging.

I hear of people who had a faith conversion and they turned their entire being toward Christ and they walk in the light and they seem so happy and good. Can they really be in a state of grace all the time? Are they not plagued by some kind of awful sin?? Why am I not like them? My ugly spots healed so that I can be pleasing in His sight…

I can’t justify continuing to go to Christ in the confessional with the same ugly sins. I feel like dirt. I can’t hardly walk into our Adoration chapel because of it. It’s eating me up.

Understand up front that Lucifer will re-double his efforts to keep you off balance as it pertains to this recurring sin, this weakness, this thorn in your side.

I have been there. And this is what has worked for me thus far:

Rosary - daily.

Confession and Communion - weekly and in that order.

Carry and wear my sacramentals - never leave home without 'em. I can forget my wallet but, I cannot forget my Rosary.

Say the St. Michael Archangel prayer - daily and at several moments of the day…especially when the temptation is strongest.

Ask the priest (at your next weekly confession) to annoint your hands and forehead with the holy oils.

This is what has worked for me for the last 4 or 5 years. The temptations never stop, but the actualization of the particular sin has diminished by 99.9%.

Only when we complete our earthly journey will the temptations cease.

The influence of the world; our own concupiscence and the instigation of the devil - are the sources of temptation to sin.

Read some “Seeds of Contemplation” by Thomas Merton - so you don’t go to extreme, radical measures that may do you more harm than good.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.