Shut Out From Grace?

[Livin_the_MASS]

Can someone be shut out from grace? Like you go to confession and pray and recieve the sacraments but keep falling into the same sin. The persons heart wants to do good knows that it's weak and needs God's streangth. What causes this? I know each situation is different but one who is praying everyday going to Holy Mass every week and is still failing is it because God has shut the door. Or is the person not noticing the grace or not using it properly?
Thoughts please!

[MIKolbe]

wow.. you sound like me. I told the priest there must be something wrong with me because I feel shut out, and I know He can't do anything 'wrong', so it must be me. Well, there is something wrong with me..it's called sin. My prayer life was pathetic, mainly because I was apathetic, lazy and/or slothful.

Sometimes falling into the same sin is a trigger for deeper, perhaps professional help. (I mean no offense by this..again, this happens to me as well and I get 'deeper and professional' help.)

My advice...as unappealing as it is.. toil. try. fall. get up. I often have problems just conversing and listening to God. It has been helping me to write things out...who I pray for...where i need help...things I dont understand...how thankful I am for Him...etc... Just the action of writing it down gets me thinking about Him and ultimately praying (albeit in a more informal way).

Keep sacramentals nearby..hold them...use holy water daily to bless yourself...burn incense (if you can)..things like this also help me...

Let me tell you.. You are loved by God. He loved you since before creation.

St. Paul hit this on the head

[quote]Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,

but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong. [/quote]


Pax.

[MithLuin]

'The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.'

Wanting to do better...and actually doing better...are two different things.

Sometimes people are weak in the midst of temptation. They have not trained their wills to say 'no', so the moment the temptation comes along, they fall down. Sometimes God gives us grace, but we don't recognize it. We want to succeed on [i]our[/i] terms, not on God's terms. For instance, God can send other people into our lives to help us on our way, but we can be too proud to accept the help.

Increasing prayer life is always an option. Attending mass weekly is good, of course...but mass is offered daily. Adoration is available. The rosary is a great aid. Fasting. Marian consecration. Joining a group of faithful Catholics.



Perhaps this thread should be in Transmundane?

[Sarah147]

Weak will, habit, and probably bad influences in your life (bad TV, images, people, talk, etc.) Psychological factors. Pride leads to any and every sin.

There are many types of graces besides the grace of Sanctifying Grace, being out of sin. Fr. Corapi talks of the different kinds.

It will get you straight to keep your heart on loving God and neighbor, affection, humor, kindness. And growing in prayer (just gentle talking with God and being in His presence, rather than always mental prayer.) Contemplation is a goal.

Edited January 4, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[Livin_the_MASS]

Thanks for the kind words and help from you all. I will keep trying. I fall into the temptation to give up sometimes because I get frustrated with myself. I know God loves me but sometimes I hate myself for the things that I do. I read the lives of the saints and dream I could have their graces.

I do see God's grace in my life in certain areas. But in others I really struggle, maybe that does mean I need professinal help. When I do go to confession it is my goal to stay sin free, but when I get tempted it's almost like it's consuming me. I am in the process of getting a Miraculous metal for something to remaind me of graces.

I have done Marian consecration both by de Montfort and Kolbe. I have the grace to want to say the rosary. It is easy to say but hard to consentrate sometimes but I fight through it. I know it is a prayer to contemplate Christ's and Mary's life.

It's just hard sometimes because it's a temptation to give up on myself.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Livin_the_MASS

[Sarah147]

Councelling with a Priest would be a good idea.


Pray for the humility and patience to accept yourself as you really are and to give it all to Jesus to help you grow stronger.

Have you considered taking up a sport, to help with discipline? It crosses over.

Edited January 5, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[thessalonian]

The apostle Paul says "the good that I would do I do not. While the evil that I would not do I do". Rom 7:19. You are not alone in your struggle against sin and repeating it. We must not get discouraged in this and continue to confess. Noone is out of God's grace. The Church teaches that all are predestined to heaven, that God gives all sufficient grace for heaven. Take ownership of your sin and keep working at it. Yet remember that Jesus, told Peter that he was to forgive 70 times seven times and the result is not 490.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Livin_the_MASS' timestamp='1294174160' post='2196634']
Can someone be shut out from grace? Like you go to confession and pray and recieve the sacraments but keep falling into the same sin. The persons heart wants to do good knows that it's weak and needs God's streangth. What causes this? I know each situation is different but one who is praying everyday going to Holy Mass every week and is still failing is it because God has shut the door. Or is the person not noticing the grace or not using it properly?
Thoughts please!
[/quote]

As one local confessor said *What do you want, all new sins to confess?*

If you are falling into a regular serious mortal sin, such as sexual sin or sins involving drugs or alcohol, you may want to considering upping your game appropriately until you can break out of the addiction or habit. Do everything you can to live in holiness, and keep going to confession. Be at peace with the mercy of God, his grace is sufficient for you.

[Luigi]

Jesus told the parable of the good seed sown with the weeds. The grower couldn't uproot the weeds without danger of uprooting the wheat. Sometimes you have to live with the weeds... the wheat will keep growing, too... the goal is tend the wheat and hope the weeds will die out... the growing season is your life.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1294203682' post='2196834']
Jesus told the parable of the good seed sown with the weeds. The grower couldn't uproot the weeds without danger of uprooting the wheat. Sometimes you have to live with the weeds... the wheat will keep growing, too... the goal is tend the wheat and hope the weeds will die out... the growing season is your life.
[/quote]

It depends on what your reference here is. If you mean that you have to live with your sin, I would disagree. If it means that Satan is at work in this world and we will be tempted and live among those who follow him, yes.

[Luigi]

I mean it may take a lifetime to overcome our sin. And there will still be weeds growing in us when we die. But the presence of weeds doesn't negate the good that we do, nor does the presence of weeds mean that we can give up - as at least I've been tempted to do - because we don't feel we're making any progress against the weeds.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1294206540' post='2196876']
I mean it may take a lifetime to overcome our sin. And there will still be weeds growing in us when we die. But the presence of weeds doesn't negate the good that we do, nor does the presence of weeds mean that we can give up - as at least I've been tempted to do - because we don't feel we're making any progress against the weeds.
[/quote]

I agree, it may take us that long to overcome sin in our life, but that is not the normal course of growing in holiness. God wants, and equips us, to live without sin, right now. Many of the saints reach that stage of perfection in the spiritual life before they die and have no need for purgatory. That is our ideal, even if it is not readily practiced by most of us. The Way is never the easy and wide road, but it is the one we are called to. It is possible to become discouraged, but we should reside in hope. God is love.

[Livin_the_MASS]

Is my idea of Grace wrong? I know grace does not make things "easy" but "possible".

The saints play an important role in my life. But I am far from living their examples. Lets use for instance use Padre Pio, he said 20 rosaries a day, so to me this is a grace from God. I understand it to be that God gave him the want and desire to have a deep prayer life.

And St. Louis de Montfort spoke about the Cross. He said once one understands the Cross he will desire to actually seek out Crosses and do so willingly and with patience. So to me all of these things are a grace. First God gives the grace and opens the mind for understanding, then the desire the want to suffer for His sake, and finally to do so with patience.

Or the children at Fatima after having visions of Our Lady did penances and prayer. It was as if they had the desire to do so.

In my prayer life I ask for these type of graces. The want to pray more, the want to do penances(I have a hard time even giving up soda and only drinking water) the want to stay away from all sin. I know how weak I am and how little I can do without God's help.

I ask for the desire for the hate of all sin because it crucified Christ. But like I said when it comes to certain sin my mind focuses on the sin all day. It's a fight that I tend to lose. I feel like I am shut out from grace because I pray for these things, yet I still fall, or have a hard time doing penance but I want to in my heart.

So am I wrong in thinking that grace gives us the "want" and or "desire" to do good things? Am I putting to much of it in God's hands? Is God letting me fall to keep me humble?

[Sarah147]

A big help is praying to the Blessed Virgin immediately when a temptation hits you, and even when you are falling and even after. You'll break down and it will hit you what a struggle you are in and just how much you need God's help. Imagine you are the prodigal son of the Father and Mary. They are there like a Mom and Dad, even more so, infinitely so. Wearing a Miraculous Medal especially helped with my struggles in the beginning; you may want to wear one, too, if you didn't already mention it.

Edited January 6, 2011 by JoyfulLife