Recurring Sin In Confession

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1345478431' post='2470626']
I surprised myself by finding out that one of my favorite sins was being triggered by being a) tired, b) discouraged, and c) someone had to tell me "no" about something that day. Those aren't things I can`t just avoid as occasions of sin, but if I know they are contributing factors I at least know to be on my guard.
[/quote]

Getting to the root cause of a sin is important, it is key. If you don't get to the root of the sin, then it will always creep up.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

This exert is from humanae vitae which i now is directed towards married couples but there is some general wisdom in the letter that can be fruit for all, here is one that i found in there it is from section 25, sub title 'Recourse to GOD.'
[font="Times"][size="3"][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"]'If, however, sin still exercises its hold over them, they are not to lose heart. Rather must they, humble and persevering, have recourse to the mercy of God, abundantly bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.[/size][/font][/size][/font]'

GOD bless you all
JESUS iz LORD

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye' timestamp='1345453229' post='2470526']
Where sin abounds grace abounds more. What is saint paul getting at exactly here?
[/quote]

Thinking about what grace actually is i can't figure it out, it isn't mercy because the word mercy is used in other areas of sacred scripture and it isn't justice or wrath because both these words are used paticularily in other sacred scripture. What i mean is the translator if mercy,justice or wrath was grace than why would he or she not just use the word grace. So again i ask what is grace? is there an actual infalible definition of grace handed on my any of the church councils or the pope himself on an infallible matter of faith and morals handed to him by the holy spirit. I should probably stop partaking of the holy eucharist till i get an exact definition. 'The young lady gracefully moved to the dancefloor with her partner.' Has that anything to do with grace or is that just poise. Or perhaps it is some kind of acknowledgement of presence like 'it was indeed grace that bought you here.' I don't know i have posed the question in Q&A

Onward christian souls.
JESUS is LORD.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[To Jesus Through Mary]

Since that topic was posted I have been giving this Sacrament a great deal of thought and trying to form myself in understanding it better. (Thanks Papist for posting it)

I was listening to this last night:

http://www.audiosancto.org/sermon/20061119-The-Sacraments-Penance-part-1.html

To summarize the point that stuck out for me for those not interested in listening, this priest talks about the form and matter of Confession. How part of the matter is firm amendment and contrition (or at least attrition). Talked about not having this could making the Sacrament a sacrilege! (double yikes!) It makes me think of often I go without even giving firm amendment a thought. Sure I am sorry that I sinned. But I 99% of the time I do not actively plan how to avoid that sin as to not commit the same sin again. I am speaking of venial sin. He says we must have firm amendment for all mortal sins. If we are not confessing mortal we must have firm amendment for at least one of our venial sins to make a valid matter for the Sacrament.

Anyway, kind of knocked my socks off.

[Papist]

[quote name='arfink' timestamp='1345478431' post='2470626']
Ahh, I can see that.

But as you probably know, temptation rarely comes knocking when we're in consolation. The parts to really keep your eyes open for is when things get hard, when you encounter desolation, difficulty, frustration. That's when we get hungry for a cheap thrill or get desperate for a quick fix and fall.

It helped me a lot to actually take a good hard look at what leads up to my temptations and to my sins. The "occasion of my sin." This is easiest to do when you're at the end of the day, to reflect back and say "Why did I do that?" It's humiliating and painful, but very enlightening. Sometimes I even write that stuff down, so I know what I'm looking for.

I surprised myself by finding out that one of my favorite sins was being triggered by being a) tired, b) discouraged, and c) someone had to tell me "no" about something that day. Those aren't things I can`t just avoid as occasions of sin, but if I know they are contributing factors I at least know to be on my guard.
[/quote]
My recurring sin(s) are not near mortal, but nonetheless....my aim is to please the Lord.

[Slappo]

I almost think the better question is, does anyone here [b]not [/b]have re-occuring sins? Bad habits turn into sinful actions, and habits are hard to break. The sins I commit most frequently are also the ones I confess most regularly. Over time, regular confession, and true attempts to sin no more, I have found that they have either lessened in frequency or in severity.

My spouse and I when we were first married, fought a lot. We were not patient with each other, we were selfish, and we were quick to anger. It has taken both regular confession and firm purposes of ammendment to lessen the frequency and severity of the fights. We still fight, we still fight quite frequently, we still hurt each other, but we are quicker to forgive and forget, and we don't let things escalate as much as they used to. That being said... we still have a lot of progress that we need to make. God willing neither of us die and we'll have many many years to perfect our marriage . It took both the sacramental graces and the conversations and changes my spouse and I made to get to where we are today, and I'm sure it will take much more grace and many more conversations and conversion for us to get to where all married couples strive to be.

[Slappo]

That ended up being more of a personal story than I intended... but the purpose was to say that most if not all people have recurring sins. It is through regular confession that they can lessen in both frequency and severity. Those who swear, hopefully they will swear less frequently or instead of shouting swearwords at others, slowly come to mumble them under their breath as they work towards breaking the sin in it's entirety.

[PhuturePriest]

I know this thread isn't about pornography, but Matt Fradd has a great video about recurring sins:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AA8m1TDwCM&feature=plcp[/media]

Edited August 21, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='To Jesus Through Mary' timestamp='1345546369' post='2471182']
Since that topic was posted I have been giving this Sacrament a great deal of thought and trying to form myself in understanding it better. (Thanks Papist for posting it)

I was listening to this last night:

[url="http://www.audiosancto.org/sermon/20061119-The-Sacraments-Penance-part-1.html"]http://www.audiosanc...nce-part-1.html[/url]

To summarize the point that stuck out for me for those not interested in listening, this priest talks about the form and matter of Confession. How part of the matter is firm amendment and contrition (or at least attrition). Talked about not having this could making the Sacrament a sacrilege! (double yikes!) It makes me think of often I go without even giving firm amendment a thought. Sure I am sorry that I sinned. But I 99% of the time I do not actively plan how to avoid that sin as to not commit the same sin again. I am speaking of venial sin. He says we must have firm amendment for all mortal sins. If we are not confessing mortal we must have firm amendment for at least one of our venial sins to make a valid matter for the Sacrament.

Anyway, kind of knocked my socks off.
[/quote]

Is not the firm desire to amends and to not sin again and sorrow for the sin in it's self amendment?

[To Jesus Through Mary]

[quote name='Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye' timestamp='1345598901' post='2471618']
Is not the firm desire to amends and to not sin again and sorrow for the sin in it's self amendment?
[/quote]

The point is the desire of amendment needs to be there- practically speaking. (I am thinking "firm desire to amends" and "self amendment" are the same thing?) Like the priest gave the example of a man who watched pornographic videos- he needs to get rid of those videos. He is making a firm amendment not to commit that sin again. Or say I am gluttonous with ice-cream- I will abstain from ice-cream for a month to mortify my passion for rocky-road. So that the next time I were to eat ice-cream I would use temperance. I am not really sure how "firm amendment" would look in my life even. To be honest I have been pondering over that question. I am due to go to Confession and I am not sure how in my life it would look concretely, and feel like I need to have at least that in order before I go. So these are just thoughts really. Haven't quite got this thing nailed down.

[emmaberry]

Just wanted to add that there are few things that bring me more joy than going to sleep and saying to God, "Tomorrow is a new day!" It is also so freeing to wake up in the morning resolved not to sin.

Of course, I fall every day, but then I have that glorious nighttime ritual where I am reminded that tomorrow is a new day, and more importantly, an opportunity to start fresh.

That sad, confessing the same thing over and over again stinks. However, there are some sins I will probably confess at every confession for the duration of my life-even with perfect contrition! An example is selfishness. Unless God does some pretty amazing things concerning my sanctity (counting on it!), I will probably be confessing my selfishness on my deathbed.

I recommend Father Daniel A Lord's [i]Confession Is A Joy [/i](not specifically for you OP, just anyone interested): [url="http://www.catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/CONFESSION%20IS%20A%20JOY.pdf"]http://www.catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/CONFESSION%20IS%20A%20JOY.pdf[/url]

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1345295510' post='2469659']
If someone hurt you and then later apologized, you would forgive him. And probably forgive him even after the 2nd and 3rd time he hurt you. But after 10, 15, etc. times you'd be less likely to forgive b/c you would believe he has no intention of stopping.

How many of us repeat the same sin in confession? I kind of wonder if at some point my priest is going to be less likely to give me absolution for the sin I confess at every confession.

This is something to reflect on while preparing for receiving absolution.
[/quote]

You're being tempted to look at forgiveness as a fallen human. Christ forgives without measure. If you are sincere, He will forgive you. Ironically enough, often the difficulty is not with God, but with us in our acceptance of a Love we don't understand.

If you are going to the same priest consistently, I expect you're getting good advice from him. I'd just say that our habits reveal a lot about ourselves and can help us grow in self knowledge. Virtues fairly easy to examine, but with vices we tend to focus more on mere fact that they sins. However, there is something within the way God made each of us that draws us toward certain virtues and vices. So if you look deeper into what it is specifically that draws you into those habits, you could learn how to attract yourself toward the good by ensuring that whatever God-given inner need is being fulfilled with good actions instead of sins.