Unforgivable Sin

[eBeth]

Hello everyone,

I hope nobody thinks I'm crazy of some kind of evil person for asking this question, but this thought is just killing me.

I think I might be "Scrupulous". This is a form of OCD where the person's compulsions are religious in nature. I'm going on Monday to a counsler to talk about my problems and I hope they will be able to help me. As it is now, I'm at rock bottom. I'm scared and sad and having a hard time functioning in life.

Ok, so here goes. I have this, probably irrational, fear that I have somehow sold my soul to the devil. Please don't laugh at me. I don't know when I would have done this, or how, or for what. I just have this fear. (A lot of people with this condition feel this.) Because of this I feel like not even God can help me, that I've done the unforgivable. It's like I think that the devil has me in his clutches, and God can't pull me away. I know that is totally stupid because God has all power over everything. I'ts not like I feel like I'm too horrible a sinner for God to forgive. I think, somewhere in my screwed up head, that I'm giving evil more power that it really has and that just makes me sick. Can anyone help me? Is this an unforgivable sin? I don't know if I've even committed it. Wouldn't I know something like this?

I have to say that I'm newly returned to the faith. I'm not yet confirmed, but have I been baptized and have made my first communion. I don't know a lot about the faith yet, but I have been learning more. I've been reading the Bible more, espicially the NT, and have a few Catechism books I'm reading. I've been saying the Rosary daily and praying.

Thank you for reading this. This group is a great source of peace for me.

Elizabeth

 

[seebs]

My understanding is that theologians generally agree that, if you actually did such a thing, it wouldn't worry you.

The devil likes to try to convince people that they have no hope of salvation; this is why he is called the Father of Lies.

 

[KennySe]

Elizabeth,
peace be with you.

When you receive the Holy Eucharist, remember that you are receiving the Body, Blood, soul and divinity of the living Lord; and that you are in communion with the saints.

You are not alone. You are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. You are one member of the One Mystical Body. What affects one member, affects the entire Body.

The Lord is WITH you and IN you.

So for the devil to "get you" he has to take on the entire Body.

******

Besides praying and praying the Rosary, spend some time in the church building in sight of the tabernacle.

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

Seek the guidnce of a Priest, they can help . May the Holy Spirt be with you.

 

[Aaron-Aggie]

Your seeking the Lord, so it dosn't sound like you have comitted the only unforgiveable sin.

 

[ProCommunioneFacior]

You have definitely not committed the unforgiveable sin. The unforgivable sin is to continuously refuse the Holy Spirit, to openly reject him. The steps that you are taking to get help and to renew your faith, shows me that you are not rejecting the Holy Spirit but rather you are being inspired by the Holy Spirit to change and you are making steps in doing that. It is quite clear to me that you have not committed the unforgivable sin. I would suggest that you go to adoration and spend time with our Lord, spill out your heart to him and just be with him, let him work his grace. I would then seek out a good spiritual advisor, go to a Priest and tell him what you are feeling and ask him what his suggestions would be.

Never lose hope Beth, God is awesome. Let him take care of you. Let him inspire you and follow his inspiration. The Church is here to help you when you have struggles and questions so please avail yourself of all that the Church has to offer.

I will pray for you.

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

The unforgiveable sin, the sin against the Holy Spirit, is apostacy from Christ, once the Holy Spirit has convicted you into belief.

Dont worry, I dont think you would do this...but I did suspect from your earlier post that you suffered from OCD.

(Dont feel bad, you are among good company)

 

[Cat59]

Most priests have an awareness of this type of fear and can give you help and counsel on it, similar to the advice you have been given here. I must admit, people with OCD do have this sort of fear and the good news is that there are treatments for OCD, which put alongside help from spiritual advisors, should give you back the peace you need.
I'll keep you in my prayers,
Cat

 

[Dominus Fidelis]

Most priests have an awareness of this type of fear and can give you help and counsel on it, similar to the advice you have been given here. I must admit, people with OCD do have this sort of fear and the good news is that there are treatments for OCD, which put alongside help from spiritual advisors, should give you back the peace you need.
I'll keep you in my prayers,
Cat

There are many wonderful medicines that can help alleviate the symptoms so that she can think more clearly as well.

Those combined with a good instruction on the faith should help our newest friend, eBeth, feel much better!

 

[eBeth]

Thank you to everyone who has posted. Your words have comforted me. I hope that I can get the help that I need for these intrusive thoughts. I know they sound irrational, but they are soooo REAL in my head. Althought nobody knows what will happen to them, all I need to know is that I have just as much chance to be with Jesus as anybody else.

As far as my faith, I had a sort of epiphany yesterday. My friend and neighbor wanted me to go and talk to her pastor. He is not Catholic, but I thought I would talk with him anyway. We read some Bible passages, and then we talked. At some point he asked "Would you like to be forgiven of your sins?" I thought it might just be a rhetorical question, but I said yes anyway.

Later when I thought about what he said, I pictured it this way. While Jesus is on the cross, he asks me, "Do you want to be forgiven?" How can I say no. Of course I want to. Then it really hit me. Jesus died for me. Sometime during that day, during the agony, he say my face and said "I'll die for Elizabeth so she may have life." Then he thought about my sister, Sue and he thought "I'll die for Sue so that she may have life." Then he thought about my brother, and so on. This may not be what really happened, but it does help me to comprehend the immense awsomeness of what Jesus did. So now I really want to be with Jesus. Before I was just scared of hell, and I still am, but now I want to be with Jesus. I want to be close to him in my life.

Well thanks everyone for your help and support. Everyone her is so great.

Elizabeth

 

[eBeth]

Your seeking the Lord, so it dosn't sound like you have comitted the only unforgiveable sin.

So selling your soul, no matter how awful it sounds, is forgivable?

I wish I had any other obsession. This one is making me so sad.

 

[ukok]

So selling your soul, no matter how awful it sounds, is forgivable?

I wish I had any other obsession. This one is making me so sad.

Forgive me, i do not fully understand what it is that leads you to believe that you have 'sold your soul'. Your posts speak of knowing God, of loving God and of recognising that God is all powerful, i find it difficult to reconcile your self belief of having 'sold your soul' with such faith in God clearly evident.

I do not know quite how to respond in such regard as i am of the opinion that one who truly had 'sold their soul' would not be seeking the help that you are.

I don't want to cause offense to you, but i am unsure as to why you think of yourself in such a way.

I will pray for you.

 

[eBeth]

Forgive me, i do not fully understand what it is that leads you to believe that you have 'sold your soul'. Your posts speak of knowing God, of loving God and of recognising that God is all powerful, i find it difficult to reconcile your self belief of having 'sold your soul' with such faith in God clearly evident.

I do not know quite how to respond in such regard as i am of the opinion that one who truly had 'sold their soul' would not be seeking the help that you are.

I don't want to cause offense to you, but i am unsure as to why you think of yourself in such a way.

I will pray for you.

Hello ukok,

I've only started strengthening and analyizing my faith since I've started having these thoughts a little over a month ago. So that's where the doubt comes in.

However, you are right, if I had done such a thing, I probably wouldn't be seeking help.

Thank you for your prayers.

Elizabeth

 

[InnerPhyre]

I dunno if this helps, but maybe you should consecrate yourself.....soul included to Jesus.....in other words, give your soul to Him. Then it is no longer yours to give....to the devil or anyone else. Just a thought.

 

[thereselittleflower]

Hi eBeth

I understand your fear and believe me, it is a groundless one and one that Satan likes to torment people with to cause them to despair so they do not turn to God. . .

Something I had always heard while a Protestant was that if you are afraid you have committed the unpardonable sin, then that is proof positive that you have not, as one who has done so has their conscience so seared it is impossible for them to be concerned about it . .

Well, I always wondered about that, how do they know? What if they are wrong? And always there was a tiny bit of conern of "what if" I have done this, how would I know?

Well . .. I can say now that I know . . . I was confronted with this sin head on in my darkest hour . . I saw its face . . I knew what it was clearly . . I knew what I had to say and I knew what I had to do . . It is by God's grace I did not do it.

The unpardonable sin is related to (but not the same as) attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to that of demons. . that is how one starts down the path to committing this sin . .the Catechism of the Church also relates it to this . .and when you look in the scriptures, the context it is set it is exactly that .. Jewish leaders were accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Belzebub . .and it is in this context that Jesus warns about committing the sin of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that will neither be forgiven in this world or in the world to come . . attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan is not in itself that blasphemy . . but it starts one on the road that can lead tocommitting it if one does not turn from it . . And this is exactly how I started down the path to where I was confronted with it. . .

I don't normally share this online, and I won't go into any details here in the thread, but if you want to talk about it, feel free to PM me . .

I can tell you with absolute certainty that you have NOT committed this sin . .

I do suggest that you receive counselling from a Catholic priest. I do not recommend that you receive counsellingfrom a Protestant pastor, as well meaning as they might be. There are depths to the struggle you are experiencing that I believe will be best dealt with within the fullness of faith of Catholicism and what it has to offer.

Also, can you spend time in Eucharistic Adoration? Doing this as often as possible will help you greatly -you will be in the presence of Christ in a very special way and you will know that you are loved and not rejected, I think from one of your posts you are already resolving some of these issues, but I want to encourage you in this.

Peace in Him!

 

[Michelina]

It sure sounds like a brain chemistry problem.
There are many excellent medications for this today, Thank God.

Praise God, Thank Him for everything. This is the best medicine of all.

 

[Phoebe]

Thank you to everyone who has posted. Your words have comforted me. I hope that I can get the help that I need for these intrusive thoughts. I know they sound irrational, but they are soooo REAL in my head. Althought nobody knows what will happen to them, all I need to know is that I have just as much chance to be with Jesus as anybody else.

As far as my faith, I had a sort of epiphany yesterday. My friend and neighbor wanted me to go and talk to her pastor. He is not Catholic, but I thought I would talk with him anyway. We read some Bible passages, and then we talked. At some point he asked "Would you like to be forgiven of your sins?" I thought it might just be a rhetorical question, but I said yes anyway.

Later when I thought about what he said, I pictured it this way. While Jesus is on the cross, he asks me, "Do you want to be forgiven?" How can I say no. Of course I want to. Then it really hit me. Jesus died for me. Sometime during that day, during the agony, he say my face and said "I'll die for Elizabeth so she may have life." Then he thought about my sister, Sue and he thought "I'll die for Sue so that she may have life." Then he thought about my brother, and so on. This may not be what really happened, but it does help me to comprehend the immense awsomeness of what Jesus did. So now I really want to be with Jesus. Before I was just scared of hell, and I still am, but now I want to be with Jesus. I want to be close to him in my life.

Well thanks everyone for your help and support. Everyone her is so great.

Elizabeth

I'll keep you in my prayers, too.
Don't let the ol' sneaky snake get to you. (Satan)

 

[RhetorTheo]

The unforgivable sin is to accuse a person who is being used by the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way, and accusing the Spirit of being Satan.

Mark 3:22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (28) So Jesus . . . spoke to them . . . (28) I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. (29) But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (30) He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

If you've never seen a person performing miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, and ascribed those miracles to the Devil, you are okay.

EDIT: The above is my understanding. If there is a legitimate, alternative understanding of those scriptures, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Debi1967]

eBeth,
This is going to be a little hard for me so bear with me. I am one of those people that has a chemical disorder in their brain, I am BiPolar. The reason I say this is hard for me is because many when they hear this automatically lose some respect for me due to the fact that they see me as mentally challenged. And the truth is I am sometimes.
I too get the same feelings of inadequacy that you seem to be experiencing right now. I am under a doctor's care and I do in fact take meds daily for it which have changed my life dramatically. I found out about 7 yrs ago. For the longest time although I wished to be near Him and I was always searching for Him I never thought I was good enough and I thought that the things done in my past were just too far gone to be redeemable from.
My brain would tell me that this in fact was not the case but my feeling of it was completely different. Through much counseling and the proper medical care I have come to a point that I am able to deal better with these feelings now. I can rationalize them to myself and tell myself that what I have been taught is what is right and that in time I will see my way through this again that it is just a temporary state. One of the most important things that I had to learn though was this, that if I am good enough to be forgiven by Him then who am I not to forgive myself for whatever I think or imagined I have done wrong.
I hope this has been of comfort and help to you.
In Christ
You are in my Prayers
Debi

 

[thereselittleflower]

The unforgivable sin is to accuse a person who is being used by the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way, and accusing the Spirit of being Satan.

Mark 3:22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” (28) So Jesus . . . spoke to them . . . (28) I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. (29) But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (30) He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

If you've never seen a person performing miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, and ascribed those miracles to the Devil, you are okay.

EDIT: The above is my understanding. If there is a legitimate, alternative understanding of those scriptures, I'd love to hear it.

Hi Role Troll

Actually, it is associated with it, somewhat closely, but not actually it . . this is based on my reading of the context of the scriptures Christ's comment is set in, the teaching of the Catholic Church, and my own very real encounter with this issue . .

Many people, not knowing any better, think that something that is of the Holy Spirit is a deception of the devil and say so . . but they have not committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit .. if this was the case, I would not be here right now with the rest of you . . You do not know how grieved my heart has been . . what God was offering me which I doubted thinking it might be a deception, which I declined then at that time to accept unsure of myself and what was happening . . the road I travelled from that point took me from the highest mountain top to the darkest pit faster than you could ever imagine . . . I now know that this was part of God's design for me, but then, and for a long while afterwards, it was a grief almost too hard to bear . . it was in that pit that I encountered the reality of this sin face to face . . and I knew, as sure as I know that my Lord lives, that no one can commit that sin wihtout realizing exactly what they are doing and choosing to do so . .

Anyone who has any fear of having possibly committed this sin has never committed it.


Peace in Him!