Souls In Hell

[Donna]

Moderation in smoking, the Church teaching, right?

But smoking more than moderately is not a mortal sin.

Vianney, who knows about your other question?

I love your avatar.

[BLAZEr]

We have to be careful how we use the term "addiction" I believe the catechism uses the phrase "force of habit."

The most holy and orhtodox priests I know treat this as a serious sin, which needs confessing, but also needs compassion in the confessional. We know when we choose ourselves over and against God . . . this is true in an act of impurity especially. There are times that we give in to the temptation and times that we fight the temptation with all our strength and lose. Both times are transgressions, both times require the confessional, but both times are not the same.

The only way to drive out some demons is with prayer and fasting. This is especially true of those demons that attack our sexual purity. I'm not a priest, but this is the advice I give to young men who talk to me about this problem (thankfully, I have never had to talk about this with a young woman. Not that I'd be unwilling, but I probably wouldn't be the right person, since I'm a man, and not a priest).

First: You must pray every day for your purity. Pray to Mary, Mother and Model of Purity. Pray to St. Joseph, her most chaste Spouse. Pray to Bl. Pier Giorgio, Bl. Marcel Callo, and Bl. Francisco Castello Aleu.

Second: You must fast, at least one meal a week. It would be better if you gave up some enjoyable thing at every meal. (no ketchup with those fries, no coke with your lunch, no salt on those veggies, no desert with dinner, no popcorn with that movie, etc.)

Third: You must go to mass as often as you can, and at least one more time each week than Sunday.

Fourth: You must go to confession at least once a week.

Now, are these hard fast rules? Of course not, but I will say from experience, that this works. I will also say that it is not a "short" route. Sometimes it takes years of this method to notice any change. Sometimes you will find a very quick freedom from this habit, and then occasional "re-lapses." Like any sin, it takes time to root out, and God does the work, you just cooperate with his Grace.

Okay, so this doesn't really answer your question . . . just suffice to say . . . you gotta do hard work to get results.

[ICTHUS]

We have to be careful how we use the term "addiction"  I believe the catechism uses the phrase "force of habit."

The most holy and orhtodox priests I know treat this as a serious sin, which needs confessing, but also needs compassion in the confessional.  We know when we choose ourselves over and against God . . . this is true in an act of impurity especially.  There are times that we give in to the temptation and times that we fight the temptation with all our strength and lose.  Both times are transgressions, both times require the confessional, but both times are not the same.

The only way to drive out some demons is with prayer and fasting.  This is especially true of those demons that attack our sexual purity.  I'm not a priest, but this is the advice I give to young men who talk to me about this problem (thankfully, I have never had to talk about this with a young woman.  Not that I'd be unwilling, but I probably wouldn't be the right person, since I'm a man, and not a priest).

First:  You must pray every day for your purity.  Pray to Mary, Mother and Model of Purity.  Pray to St. Joseph, her most chaste Spouse.  Pray to Bl. Pier Giorgio, Bl. Marcel Callo, and Bl. Francisco Castello Aleu.

Second:  You must fast, at least one meal a week.  It would be better if you gave up some enjoyable thing at every meal.  (no ketchup with those fries, no coke with your lunch, no salt on those veggies, no desert with dinner, no popcorn with that movie, etc.)

Third:  You must go to mass as often as you can, and at least one more time each week than Sunday.

Fourth:  You must go to confession at least once a week.

Now, are these hard fast rules?  Of course not, but I will say from experience, that this works.  I will also say that it is not a "short" route.  Sometimes it takes years of this method to notice any change.  Sometimes you will find a very quick freedom from this habit, and then occasional "re-lapses."  Like any sin, it takes time to root out, and God does the work, you just cooperate with his Grace.

Okay, so this doesn't really answer your question . . . just suffice to say . . . you gotta do hard work to get results.

Thanks Blazer, that really helps. I might try some of those things you listed.

[Theologian in Training]

I was reading a book yesterday that spoke of a "shortcut" in the spiritual life, and the strongest guard for our purity...the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother.

When a child is sick, when a child is in need, when a child has to have someone kiss his wounds, who is the person to do so, but Our Mother.

Many a Saint have spoken of the rosary as the chain to purity, and how can it not be, we are invoking the help of an Immaculate Virgin, need we any other means of purity?

As regards the specific question of masturbation, we all know what is needed for a good confession, and how sincere of a resolve we are making when we say the Act of Contrition. We too also know whether it is habitual or an "addiction." At the same time, we are also aware that inherently, or objectively, masturbation is a sin, there are no two ways around it. However, we must also keep in mind the freedom, or lack thereof, that is influencing the decision. Paul said, "I do the things I do not want to do" but what makes us culpable is our own well-formed conscious in this matter. Well-formed, of course, in the context of what the Church teaches.

Please note that I am not a priest, and therefore what I say is not definitive, but based upon what I have learned and questioned with other priests, these are the "results" I have come to.

Ultimately, the decision is this, do I or do I not want to love God? If I do, when I fall, do I want to stay in that sin, be given over to it, or do I have the desire and resolve to sin no more? To sin no more not just because it is wrong and sinful and "I dread the loss Heaven and the pains of Hell, but MOST OF ALL because they offend YOU, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love." Therefore, "I firmly resolve, to sin NO MORE, to avoid the NEAR OCCASION of sin. Amen"

Jesus fell three times on his way to Calvary, a righteous man falls seven times, the point wasn't the fall, but that they got back up again. Thus confession is not there to put a coin in the machine, get clean, and sin again, but to fall, realize the fall, admit the sin, confess, and resolve, with the grace of God, to sin no more.

God Bless

[Didacus]

Good info in this thread, good questions too. All catholics at one point or other likely asked themselves the same questions.  

Although the prayers for souls in hell may not help the souls in hell - no good intentioned act remains fruitless and the prayer does do good - IMO to whomever prayed.

So I wouldn't tell anyone to stop praying for any one soul, or for souls in hell in general.

I would advise to consider praying for the hells to be empty. The saints tell us to pray for this every day.

[Didacus]

On 11/10/2003 at 1:39 PM, kdewolf2 said:

C.S. Lewis said the gate to hell was locked from the inside.

That's a good way of putting it!

If you've read his Chronicles, in the end, the dwarfs who rebelled are approached by Aslan who tries to give them good things, but the dwarfs are incapable of receiving them as they are so obstinate in their rebellion.

In other words, God Himself would want to empty the hells and bestow upon the damned the goods of heaven, but the damend are so far gone in their rejection of all things that is God, that they have lost their very ability to accept anything that comes from God, and hence their state is set and unchangeable.

It is to be understood of course that hell is a consequence, not a punishment.