infinitelord1 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 or is it a matter of being honest about his/her sins......whether they feel bad about it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazymaine catholic Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 well, don't you have to be sorry for the sins in order to be forgiven? i would think that feeling remorse for sinning would make one feel at least a little bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenchild17 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I believe simply fear of the punishment of hell is the very least necessary for the sacrament to be sufficient. Could be wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezic Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 do you have to feel bad? One might think he should, but i am not sure if this is the case. It should bother you that you have offended God. If this is feeling bad, then yes. If you are sinning and saying that it is no big deal, then there is a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinitelord1 Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 [quote name='jezic' post='971052' date='May 4 2006, 12:06 PM'] do you have to feel bad? One might think he should, but i am not sure if this is the case. It should bother you that you have offended God. If this is feeling bad, then yes. If you are sinning and saying that it is no big deal, then there is a problem. [/quote] So according to you........you have to feel remorse for a sin in order to be forgiven? But dont we all sin and in a lot of cases not feel bad or remorse for it? What if you commit a grave sin towards your neighbor and apologize for it even though you didnt feel bad for it just cuz you know apology is the right thing to do? Basically im saying that you repent (feeling no remorse) cuz its the right thing to do. So does repent include feeling remorse in its definition? Also i would like to point out that feeling doesnt always dictate whether or not an action is right or wrong. You can feel remorse after doing something that is morally acceptable. You can feel good for doing something bad. I think im losing my mind here.....LOL. So if you stand before god......and say "im sorry for my sins" but you dont really feel that way......does that count as repentance? Or even say something like "lord, even though i dont feel sorry for my sins, will you forgive me?". What if you are completely honest with the lord......would he forgive you? (regardless of how you feel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Domini Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 No you dont have to feel bad. Atrition as opposed to contrition is easy to come by. Only pride can stand in its way. Atrition motivated by the fear of Hell, as goldenchild mentioned, may not be motivated by feeling sorry for what you've done but by feeling dread at the prospect of eternal damnation for instance. In essence barring arrogance its not so much the motive but the direction the will takes as a consequence that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Repentance is NOT based on feelings. Feeling bad may at times be a part of repentance, but it's not a necessary part. Above all repentance is based on regretting what one did because they know they offended God and determination to try not to commit those sins again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toledo_jesus Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 contrition isn't necessarily scourging yourself over your sins. You should feel a little bad, and disappointed in yourself. God expects so much of us, but we let Him down. The more you recognize your sins for what they are the more you'll come to appreciate God's infinite mercy when he forgives you for them. God's love for us is so apparent in Confession, but we need contrition first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 You shouldnt feel happy about sinning, however. That leads to pride, and if you are not committed to avoiding sin, then you cannot be validly forgiven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 [quote name='goldenchild17' post='971032' date='May 4 2006, 10:55 AM'] I believe simply fear of the punishment of hell is the very least necessary for the sacrament to be sufficient. Could be wrong though. [/quote] True. Imperfect contrition (being sorry for one's sins out of fear of punishment in this life or the next) is all that is necessary for the sacrament to be valid. One should strive for perfect contrition though (being sorry for one's sins out of love of God). If one is not truly sorry for his sins at all, then the confession is not valid. But one should not be scrupulous about this - it is more about the intention of the will than one's emotional state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franimus Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 If by "feel bad" you mean "feel sorry for" then, definatly yes. Feeling sorry for something means that you wish that you had not done it. Feeling truely sorry for your sins means that you truely wish you had not sinned and that you truely wish you had done the right thing. Thus, you are not forgiven for sins which you would still commit if you could 'hit the rewind button,' so to speak. In my opinion: If you do not feel extremely sorry for your sins, it just means that you have a lot of growing to do in your spiritual life, and that you once you do grow (helped by a 'diet' of weekly/daily Eucharist and continuous prayer for a renewed conversion to Christ and prayer to live for Christ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dspen2005 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 contrition is necessary -- perfect or imperfect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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