JesusLovesOurLady

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It's often been said that having these kind of thoughts is evidence that grace is already in action.

God bless you, and I pray you make it to confession.
Amen! Thank you very much!
 
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More this, than the other. I'll go into more detail on your questions later. Maybe a fellow Catholic will help.
There are a number of things about what you're saying that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but first and foremost:
Why get others praying for this? That I really do not understand. I mean, I can understand why you'd want support from others as you ask god to - I guess change your mind for you? - but, I don't know why you're asking for their prayers.

@tadoflamb, do you think you could in more detail explain the nature of your prayer in this regard?
 
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tadoflamb

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@tadoflamb, do you think you could in more detail explain the nature of your prayer in this regard?[/QUOTE]

I don't have a lot of time, and I have to apologize because normally I don't quote the Sacred Scriptures to atheists, but all I can say right now is that 'the prayer of a holy man availeth much'. (it's somewhere in the epistles)
 
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anna ~ grace

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I'm asking for several things:

1. That I actually make to confession. That I don't die in a car crash on the way to confession, and that nothings happens to prevent confession from being available.

2. That I confess my sins purely because they offend God, not because I'm scared of going to hell, although, that is sufficient for the removal of mortal sins. Ideally, one should repent of, and avoid sin, purely because it offends God.

3. That I have the desire to never sin again, this is closely related to (2), and for my asking for compunction. I want to have the grace to be really sorry for my sins, and thus have the desire to never do it again because I am so sorry over it.

Brother, chill. The greatest thing that we can offer God is not necessarily making it to confession, but sincere and heart felt grief for having offended Him. How many folks make it to confession but feel no real pain over their sins? If you feel pain and tears, and genuine anxiety over what you've done, you're in a healthy place spiritually. Make it to confession. Confess to the priest, and make a firm resolution of amendment, and purity.

If you've got stuff in your life or in your room that is making it difficult to avoid temptations to sin in any way, get rid of that stuff.
 
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LivingWordUnity

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I've gravely offended God this morning! Please pray that I make it to confession this week, confess my sins well, with compunction and perfect contrition. And that I make a firm resolve to sin no more.
Although we should desire perfect contrition, if while in the confessional we can only muster an imperfect contrition (fear of going to Hell) it would be enough. But saying the act of contrition prayer, which is required in the confessional, helps us to have perfect contrition.
 
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Saint Beloved

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I like to think of it in this way. Confession is the ordinary way in which our Lord gave us to have our sins forgiven and that we would know, for sure, that they are forgiven. To put it another way, I would prefer to confess my sins to a the Lord's minister and have him proclaim the Lord's forgiveness over me, than confessing directly to God and then proclaiming his forgiveness over myself.

When I confess my sins to God purely and solelmy not flippantly I receive an immence sense of calm relief I never assume I am capable of generating that overwhelming sense off my own bat. I never forgive myself for things I can never forget but I trust God to have forgiven and forgotten them when I've come to Him on my knees weeping because He lets me know.

To me the sheer sense of panic and worry the OP is going through about getting to confession before a car crash that is heartaching and seems a man made burden placed on them our of all proportion. Jesus said don't worry the OP is worried for his life!

Please forgive my ignorance.
 
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JesusLovesOurLady

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When I confess my sins to God purely and solelmy not flippantly I receive an immence sense of calm relief I never assume I am capable of generating that overwhelming sense off my own bat. I never forgive myself for things I can never forget but I trust God to have forgiven and forgotten them when I've come to Him on my knees weeping because He lets me know.

To me the sheer sense of panic and worry the OP is going through about getting to confession before a car crash that is heartaching and seems a man made burden placed on them our of all proportion. Jesus said don't worry the OP is worried for his life!

Please forgive my ignorance.
No, no, I'm confident in God's mercy. I'm more focussed on how I offended God than making it to confession. Like I said earlier, ideally one should be sorry for his/her sins, purely because they offend God, albeit fear of hell does suffice, when one actually makes one's confession.

To be on the safe-side, I am saying the Act of Contrition regularly:

O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee!
And I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pain of Hell!
But most of all, because they offend Thee my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love!
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to avoid near occasion of sin and sin no more!

Amen.​
 
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pdudgeon

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Oh yeah—well, once you go to confession all your sins can be forgiven. :)
make that "all the sins you confess and are sorry for can be forgiven" and you would be right.
 
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tadoflamb

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When I confess my sins to God purely and solelmy not flippantly I receive an immence sense of calm relief I never assume I am capable of generating that overwhelming sense off my own bat. I never forgive myself for things I can never forget but I trust God to have forgiven and forgotten them when I've come to Him on my knees weeping because He lets me know.

To me the sheer sense of panic and worry the OP is going through about getting to confession before a car crash that is heartaching and seems a man made burden placed on them our of all proportion. Jesus said don't worry the OP is worried for his life!

Please forgive my ignorance.

I don't believe confessing our sins directly to God is inherently wrong, I believe it's the extraordinary way in which our sins are forgiven. I say this because I believe the biblical evidence for sacramental auricular confession is greater than the biblical evidence for confessing our sins directly to God. One can have their sins forgiven without going to confession, it just requires, as LWU alluded to in the post above yours, perfect contrition. It's possible to have perfect contrition, but I think that it's a rare thing. In sacramental confession, our Lord make up for all our deficiencies.

Like you, I have felt a great joy and relief after confession. Birds even sing as I skip out of church, but with confession we're also blessed with sacramental grace. For me, it doesn't hit me all at once, it soaks in like a gentle rain, but it helps me to despise my sins and gives me the strength to resist them again.

I also have to wonder how much weight we should give our feelings. True, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for feelings (maybe a subject for a new thread?) but, I firmly believe that the Lord gave us the gift of the Sacrament of Confession so that we don't have to depend on our feelings but that we could know, for sure, that our sins are forgiven. The OP is a rational guy. I'm sure he appreciates the sacrament for this reason.
 
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eastcoast_bsc

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I've gravely offended God this morning! Please pray that I make it to confession this week, confess my sins well, with compunction and perfect contrition. And that I make a firm resolve to sin no more.



We all gravely offend God on a daily basis. You might try to address your issues with OCD. I don't mean this in a malevolent way.
 
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chevyontheriver

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When I confess my sins to God purely and solemnly not flippantly I receive an immense sense of calm relief I never assume I am capable of generating that overwhelming sense off my own bat. I never forgive myself for things I can never forget but I trust God to have forgiven and forgotten them when I've come to Him on my knees weeping because He lets me know.

To me the sheer sense of panic and worry the OP is going through about getting to confession before a car crash that is heartaching and seems a man made burden placed on them our of all proportion. Jesus said don't worry the OP is worried for his life!

Please forgive my ignorance.
On the one hand it does seem like too much worry. Maybe it is. But our society is of the other mind. No worries. Be happy. I'm OK. You're OK. God loves everybody so you have nothing at all to worry about. That's the common mindset. It's a nicely paved road to hell. Sin is a big deal. It is an affront to God and a warping of our dignity. We get used to it, which we shouldn't.

You come to God on your knees weeping over your sins. Most people excuse their sins blithely and move on to engage in the next sin, with self talk about how God really understands the circumstances and it isn't so bad anyway. Not like the sins of those other guys, such unlikable guys. It's an easy trap to fall in to.

So I think it is good to have a lively sense of sin. To go to confession. To be contrite. To have a firm purpose to avoid that sin in the future. To hear the words of absolution and have those words come in the ears and resonate within the mind and soul. And at the same time the confessor can discuss whether anything is out of proportion. There is an opportunity for counseling and an opportunity for spiritual direction inside of confession. We can have our opinions, but a person with authority to forgive sins as Christ forgave sins is also a person who can teach as Christ taught. That's what the priest can do.
 
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chevyontheriver

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No, no, I'm confident in God's mercy. I'm more focussed on how I offended God than making it to confession. Like I said earlier, ideally one should be sorry for his/her sins, purely because they offend God, albeit fear of hell does suffice, when one actually makes one's confession.
If this is the repeat of an old sin, please do mention that in confession. Often we need to reform habits, get ourselves out of the environment where temptation has succeeded against us in the past. It's a matter that the priest may counsel you on. Perhaps by asking you to make small steps willfully to overcome. Of course we have to do that all of our lives, but there is a sort of victory in every small resistance to temptation.
 
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anna ~ grace

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On the one hand it does seem like too much worry. Maybe it is. But our society is of the other mind. No worries. Be happy. I'm OK. You're OK. God loves everybody so you have nothing at all to worry about. That's the common mindset. It's a nicely paved road to hell. Sin is a big deal. It is an affront to God and a warping of our dignity. We get used to it, which we shouldn't.

You come to God on your knees weeping over your sins. Most people excuse their sins blithely and move on to engage in the next sin, with self talk about how God really understands the circumstances and it isn't so bad anyway. Not like the sins of those other guys, such unlikable guys. It's an easy trap to fall in to.

So I think it is good to have a lively sense of sin. To go to confession. To be contrite. To have a firm purpose to avoid that sin in the future. To hear the words of absolution and have those words come in the ears and resonate within the mind and soul. And at the same time the confessor can discuss whether anything is out of proportion. There is an opportunity for counseling and an opportunity for spiritual direction inside of confession. We can have our opinions, but a person with authority to forgive sins as Christ forgave sins is also a person who can teach as Christ taught. That's what the priest can do.

That's awesome. Really. Well explained.
 
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BroIgnatius

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If we say a Perfect Act of Contrition, we are restored to a State of Grace immediately, but with this is the promise to confess that sin in the Sacrament at the earliest opportunity. Even though a Perfect Act of Contrition restores us to a state of Grace, we are not to receive the Eucharist until we confess the sin in the Sacrament.
 
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@tadoflamb, do you think you could in more detail explain the nature of your prayer in this regard?

I don't have a lot of time, and I have to apologize because normally I don't quote the Sacred Scriptures to atheists, but all I can say right now is that 'the prayer of a holy man availeth much'. (it's somewhere in the epistles)[/QUOTE]
Well don't worry about quoting sacred scripture to me - my question to you really speaks more to your intentions and motivations. As I've understood it, prayer is quite a lot like 'communication to god', so I was wondering if you could explain what it is you'd say to god with respect to "you praying for JesusLovesOurLady" in this particular circumstance.
 
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tadoflamb

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Well don't worry about quoting sacred scripture to me - my question to you really speaks more to your intentions and motivations. As I've understood it, prayer is quite a lot like 'communication to god', so I was wondering if you could explain what it is you'd say to god with respect to "you praying for JesusLovesOurLady" in this particular circumstance.

My prayers don't have a lot of words. The best I can put it is that I'll have an intention in mind such as 'take care of JLOL' and that intention then springs from my heart towards God. It always come with the faith that the prayer will be heard and answered but it also comes with the qualifier, 'Thy will be done'.

My friend JLOL is a big fan of formal prayer, especially Marian prayers, so as we're praying a rosary together I'm sending the same petition as above to Our Lady so she might intercede for my friend as well. Again, this comes with the confidence that any prayers answered will be for the common good and not a lot of words, just a prompting from the heart.

The thing I've found about these prayers without words is that they're efficacious. I simply send up a prayer and step back and watch God go to work. I'm not surprised anymore that this happens. These days, I expect it happen, or as I like to say, 'if you're going to pray for rain, bring an umbrella'.
 
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tadoflamb

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I guess...why are your intentions and your prayers insufficient?

I wouldn't say individual prayers are insufficient, I would say that we pray for each other but because Christianity is cooperative by it's very nature. We're all in this together. It's much the same way why we assemble for our greatest prayer, the mass.

Even when I was a borderline atheist, I thought that there must be something to a group of people gathered in common prayer. Something had to be going on there. But this, to me, is still a great mystery. :)
 
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My prayers don't have a lot of words. The best I can put it is that I'll have an intention in mind such as 'take care of JLOL' and that intention then springs from my heart towards God. It always come with the faith that the prayer will be heard and answered but it also comes with the qualifier, 'Thy will be done'.
Ok but isn't a fundamental part of god's will to be 'take care of JesusLovesOurLady'? Do you not already know with absolute certainty that the answer to that heard prayer is "yes tadoflamb I'm already on that."?

My friend JLOL is a big fan of formal prayer, especially Marian prayers, so as we're praying a rosary together I'm sending the same petition as above to Our Lady so she might intercede for my friend as well. Again, this comes with the confidence that any prayers answered will be for the common good and not a lot of words, just a prompting from the heart.
Could you explicitly explain in what way you hope or expect god to intercede in this case? To me, it sounds like JesusLovesOurLady is asking, very explicitly, for god to change JesusLovesOurLady's own will (e.g. to change his will from 'wanting to sin' to 'not wanting to sin'). Is that also a part of the 'take care of JesusLovesOurLady' prayer?

The thing I've found about these prayers without words is that they're efficacious. I simply send up a prayer and step back and watch God go to work. I'm not surprised anymore that this happens. These days, I expect it happen, or as I like to say, 'if you're going to pray for rain, bring an umbrella'.

I guess - am I actually correct insofar as understanding that the purpose of this prayer request is to either convince god to do something different than what he is currently doing (i.e. without this prayer, god would not 'take care of JesusLovesOurLady' or god would not transform JesusLovesOurLady's will), or it is to inform god of information he is not already privy to (i.e. JesusLovesOurLady's desire for him to have an external entity change his will)?

Or to put it another way: efficacious at what?
 
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One great thing about Confession : you sometimes get to know 'the peace that passeth understanding' very powerfully, though you always sense the blessing in some measure.

I remember a lad in the army who had not been to Mass or Confession since his childhood*, when his mother died, and he had, understandably, become somewhat embittered. But one thing he remembered, he told me, was the peace he felt after Confession. And they would, of course, have been just the confessions of a young child !
 
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