| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| sin against the Holy Spirit, despair,spiritual conflict | Teresa | Sunday, February 10, 2013 |
Question: Hi Brother how does one know if they have sinned against the Holy Spirit. What is it. I have experienced some well as you know some severe temptation and I seem to be despair and if it was not for the grace of the sacraments and rosary divine mercy adoration and prayer of others, counseling, and spiritual direction, I would not be here today. My question is the sin against the Holy Spirit is being mean to God by cursing him or it is more than that. Forgive me for I am very ignorant. It was never explained. If one sins against the Holy Spirit can it be forgiven if he/she is under mental distress. I am concerned since I really don't know much about this sin. If one is tempted to ends ones life writes a letter and planning to take pills but dosen't thank God because of the rosary. is that still mortal sin, venial sin or just temptation. My will has been weakened. I did go to mass but was not able to go to confession because of the storm. I did recieve Jesus in the Eucharist but I am not sure if I am in state of mortal sin but my confessor said I would know but I don't. What do you reccomend? What is your insight on this? I been having temptations simular to the one mentioned alot. I am going to bring it up in counseling as well. I need to know when a soul does that or behaves as such is he/she out of the grace of God. After that one temptation I started up seven steps to deliverance but I know I am weak and can not face this alone. I will try to find out the meaning of the sin against the Holy Spirit in the catechism of the catholic church. Besides counseling, sacraments (confession) and using the seven steps to delirverance and spiritual direction, What else can I do? |
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| Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)
Dear Teresa: Sinning against the Holy Spirit, also known as Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or the unforgivable sin, is the sin of Final Impenitence. This is the sin whereby a person goes to their grave rejecting God's saving grace. It is unforgivable because the person refuses God's forgiveness. You have not committed this sin. The very fact that you are asking about it proves you have not committed this sin. A person who's heart is so hardened that they will go to their grave rejecting God's saving grace, will never ask that question because they do not care. You care about your soul. Thus, you have not committed this sin. If you reject God due to mental illness and such, then God the sin is not committed, however this particular sin is one that the person maintains his rejection of God all the way to death and dies rejecting God. In order to commit any grave sin one must have freedom of will to deliberately choose to commit the sin. Anything that impairs one's ability to make a true free choice, may be in a state of diminished capacity. Only God can know for sure when a person is in such a state. This does not apply to you because you have the presence of mind to go to confession. Temptation IS NOT SIN. I think I have mentioned this before. There is no sin in temptation, only in indulging the temptations and acting out that sin in mind (such as lust, or hatred) or body (such as committing fornication, murder, etc). God tells us that he will never always any temptation to come into your life that would be impossible for you to resist. He also promises that he will always give you a way to escape so that you can endure the temptation and not fall into sin:
This is the promise of God. God is not a liar, He keeps his promises, but He will not force his grace upon us. We must accept His grace, including the promise of this verse.
As far as a Religious Priest is concerned finding a Religious Priest to be your confessor may be a good thing, at least for a while, if you are struggling over issues that pertain to the religious life. But, Teresa, you need to put that behind you. Frankly, it does not matter why your superiors did what they did. You need to forgive them and move on with your life. If you obsess on this you cannot move on with your life. This is true for all of us, but it is especially true for someone like yourself who appears to be suffering from Scrupulosity. You must put the past in the past. Our pamphlet on How to Forgive (pdf file) can be helpful.
Concerning Mass and Confession, anytime you have gravely sinned (remember temptation is not sin), and you are not able to get to the Sacrament of Confession before Mass, then you need to go to Mass as usual, but remain in your pew. Do not receive the Eucharist unless you are in a state of grace. So get to Confession as soon as you can, confess you sins, and the sin of receiving the Eucharist when not in a state of grace. Then you may receive our Lord joyfully. Remember, temptation is NOT sin. Sin happens only with you actually commit the sin. You are going the things you need to do — counseling, Sacraments (confession and Eucharist), the "seven steps", and spiritual direction. Be sure to add prayer, including spiritual warfare prayer from our Catalog, linked below, and daily devotions (whatever devotions you like, such as a rosary, prayers to a favorite saint, etc.) God Bless, For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.
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