Tell me honestly...

Rosa Mystica said:

Do you guys want me to stay or leave CF? I feel like I am not doing a very good job of responding to others' thread (the advice I give is pitiful in my eyes). Also, as I mentioned in another thread, I am tempted to leave Catholicism entirely- not b/c I don't believe in it, but b/c of scrupulosity (I don't want to leave the Faith, but something tells me I should, 'cause I'm a pitiful Catholic ). You guys have greater faith than I do, and you can articulate things better than I can. So...tell me honestly: do you think that it's in the best interest of everyone in this forum if I leave forever???

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Rosa, I want you to stay
We are never satisfied with the advice we give - or at least I am not with mine
It would be a tragedy for you to leave the Church - you have to question that "something' which is telling you to leave..

Rosa Mystica said:

I think the "something" that's telling me to leave the Church is Satan...

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If you are considering leaving the Church, this can be the only option because God would not tell you to leave His Church. Therefore, you cannot give in to the father of lies.

Rosa Mystica said:

...and although he's wrecked my life...

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The devil has done nothing to your life that you cannot overcome with the help of Jesus Christ. In Him, all things are made new.

Rosa Mystica said:

...I have this overwhelming urge to give into him.

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If you were to give into him, I can tell you that things would not get better, they would only get worse. Do not fall for that deception... that the pain lessens when you finally give up. It only gets worse.

Rosa Mystica said:

geocajun,

Did you read the thread I started yesterday? I think the "something" that's telling me to leave the Church is Satan, and although he's wrecked my life, I have this overwhelming urge to give into him.

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I didnt not see the thread from yesterday.
I am sure your right about satan telling you to leave the Church - who else would do that?
When I struggle with something, I often think of St. Jerome, who was constantly tempted with sexual desires, so he responded to that temptation with study of latin and hebrew.
Maybe you should respond to your temptations with some sort of study?

Well Rosa Mystica, I think you have answered yourself. Don't give in to Satan. Pray for strength. And know the Church is not just for strong people that give good advice. It is for sinners, it is a refuge for sinners. Offer it up to the Lord and know that there is no problem that you can ever have that is too big for the Lord.

I suggest that if you have a real problem with scrupulousness that you might want to go to a counselor, maybe a priest can find a psychiatrist for you to meet with. Everyone needs help from others sometimes.

Rosa,

Please don't leave! None of us here were born with all the knowledge we have or all the advise we give. Many of us have been in the learning mode for many years. Even with all that, at the end of the day I feel in some way I have failed in relating God's truth to the people here and the people I meet. Please don't let your scrupulosity place those here on a pedastool, none of us are worthy of that. What you see of us is only what we write. I can only speak for myself, but I am far from being a model Catholic. Our lives outside of this board are no different then the people you would meet anywhere. We are all human here. We all sin. We have marital problems, substance abuse problems, financial problems you name it we have it. The only thing that may make us different is that we desparately want to love and serve our God. We do that by helping people here.

So Rosa, please don't go. It would be a tragedy if you did.

Peace

Stay... we need some true believers here... besides, you're our sister. We'd miss you.

I think you are better off staying here.

You should definitely stay.

We are not all Albert Einsteins. We are all not Mother Theresas. We are all not the most learned. We are not all the most nurturing.

But WE are Catholic. The Body is one, and you are a member of the One Body.

Don't leave us!!! We learn something from everyone...everyone has something unique to share -- this includes YOU!

No one is a perfect Catholic, that's why we're PRACTICING -- and practice makes perfect. How would leaving the church make you a better Catholic? (which I assume is what you're seeking).

You'll be in my prayers!

And remember:

Rosa Mystica said:

...did you miss the horrible thing I said in the posts above?

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Rosa, there are many of us here who have said worse things than you have ever said here, or probably ever thought. And then there is St. Paul, who had the hobby of killing Christians prior to his conversion... and see how God worked through him! What you have done is small fries compared to the persecution of the early Church. And I know St. Paul agrees with me because he declared himself (with divine intervention) to be the worst of all sinners.

Rosa Mystica said:

And I don't know how to get him to shut up ASAP...

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If Aaron were here, he'd say:

Adoration.

The best thing we can do is admit our sinful nature and then submit to the Lord. Please stay, if you have ever needed the church in your life more than ever, this is the time. Do not give your weaknesses more creedence and power than the mercy of our Lord who loves us, forgives us, and died for our sins.

Besides Rosa, as others have said, none of us here is perfect. You don't know the half of the sins I have comitted in my life in thought, word, and action. Thank God for repentance and the power of introspection, or else we'd all be lost souls. Take heart sister.

Yes, Thanks nyj, your words hit home.

Rosa, we need you and you need us. I think I remember you saying you take meds. Maybe you should ask your MD to fine tune your dosage. I don't think your feelings are really yours but more a biological problem producing bad brain chemistry, depressions, doubts, fears. Am I right?

We are all praying for you, Rosa.

Rosa, as a wise priest I know says, the Church is not a museum for saints, it is a hospital for sinners.