“I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (John15:17)
It seems to me that Catholics in general are aware of their sins, and they most often know when they fall for a temptation. To be aware of sin and that there are such a thing as sinful actions – and thoughts – makes you aware of the consequences of your sins. Of your guilt. All people sin, but as a Catholic perhaps you think a little bit extra on the condemnation of what you have done.
Sin is an act against God and His creation. When I hurt someone I also hurt God. My sins are foremost sins against God since all glory is His. All of creation is his. Through love for others I love God and through my sins I pound the nails in His Hands and Feet.
Still, to me “Catholic guilt” is nowhere near the guilt you feel when you think there is no forgiveness in the world. We all live with the consequences of our actions, even the nihilists does, and the Catholic guilt is a tool here. Without it you are risking that guilt will eat you up. It’s with guilt as it is with stress. Stress causes heart attacks. Stress that you can control builds you up. There is good guilt and bad guilt just as it is with stress.
In the confession you are forced to be aware of your sins, you even have to confess them out loud. You can’t regret your sins if you are not aware of them. If you not formulate them. You can’t get forgiveness if you don’t ask for it, from the bottom of your heart. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
It’s like if you don’t believe there is a city called Stockholm, then you would have no reason to go there. It’s the same with Jesus. If you don’t believe in him, why would you seek his forgiveness? And if you don’t seek his forgiveness, why would he forgive you. Just as the prodigal son, full of remorse returns to his father’s home, so must we all regret all our sins and return home to be able to receive his abundant love and forgiveness. Catholic guilt and the confession is two sides of the same coin:
– We must be aware of our guilt to be able to be released from it.
Love has boundaries. God doesn’t endorse my wrong doings in any way. His endless love doesn’t mean that He loves the sins I commit. No matter if I didn’t think it through, no matter all my best excuses. He loves me despite of what I have done. Like a loving father he welcomes my forgiveness. No matter what I do, he still loves me… Hammering nails in the body of Christ – I still have his love – and there is my guilt, I hurt Him who loves me. I hurt the one I love. He gives me everything and in my sin I instead reject him and causes him pain.
This is the Catholic guilt: I can do better.
And this is the confession: I will.
May 11, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Hello Joakim.
Thank you for visiting my blog. You have an interesting site here, I will bookmark it and visit again, soon.
Kind regards from Germany,
Paula
May 11, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Thanks. You got a great site yourself, very poetic and with lots of catholic recourses.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Joakim
May 11, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Sprichst Du auch Deutsch Joakim? 🙂
May 11, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Nein, es tut mir leid. I tried to learn it when I was a kid, but, the german grammar got the better of me. I know a few phrases from Nina Hagen songs from when I was young but I’m afraid they have not all been that useful.
“Wenn ich ein Junge wär’,
das wäre wunderschön.
Da könnt ich jeden Tag,
in langen Hosen geh’n.”
😉
May 11, 2007 at 11:11 pm
🙂 German has a difficult grammar indeed.
I am very happy that I met a fellow Catholic blogger from Europe. There are not so many of us.
Good night (23.11 here).:-)
May 11, 2007 at 11:15 pm
We’re even in the same time zone. Good night to you too!
May 12, 2007 at 10:19 am
Joakim, may I introduce you to the others reading my blog by making a short post?
May 12, 2007 at 10:22 am
Sure. Your too kind.
And good morning by the way. 😉
May 12, 2007 at 10:35 am
Guten Morgen.:-).I will make the post today or tomorrow.
May 13, 2007 at 10:24 am
Hallo Paula Vermutung, die du nicht kanntest, daß ich Deutsches spreche?
Love your friend,
Marie *chuckles*
May 13, 2007 at 10:48 am
Dein neon-rosaner Nagellackstach im meinen Kopf
wie eine Hornisse!
(I’m not sure if that was exactly what I wanted to say though.) 😉
May 13, 2007 at 5:51 pm
LOL. Sie beide Marie und Joakim , sie sprechen gut Deutsch.
May 19, 2007 at 3:40 pm
“We must be aware of our guilt to be able to be released from it.” Exactly — and how well you’ve said it! And indeed, we often say we wonder how those who don’t believe in Christ can have any hope or peace or solace. Yes, we sin, but we are assured of a remedy from a loving Saviour, if we but turn to Him. I don’t know how anyone can live without that. And Catholicism, as you sum up, is the kindest of all religions, even its sense of guilt:
“This is the Catholic guilt: I can do better.
And this is the confession: I will.”
Amen.
May 19, 2007 at 3:43 pm
[…] Stockholm. He says it so beautifully! I tell you, Catholic converts blow me […]
May 19, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Guilt without forgiveness is surely a heavy burden. Thanks for the kind words!
//Joakim
July 25, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I appreciated your post about Catholic guilt a lot. Well said, tackar och bockar.
September 11, 2007 at 9:46 am
[…] No Comfort in Faith The recent revelation that Mother Teresa was a doubting Thomas almost the entire time she worked in India but yet remained faithful shows the lie that Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens would like to promulgate: belief in God is comforting. (And here, I thought we were still struggling with Catholic Guilt.) […]
March 15, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I pray reading about Catholic Guilt and confession will help end my anxiety and depression. Iam going to confession today.
God please help me in ths hor of despair. Amen
March 15, 2008 at 6:58 pm
catholic guilt and confession please release
me from suffering from anxiety and depression. Amen
March 15, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I’ll pray for you.
April 29, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Gypsy (post13): I find hope, peace and solace as an atheist in the compassion of other people, and the promise to myself that I will try to be a better person: My strength of will takes the place of confession. This requires a lot of introspection, but is rewarding and in my opinion worth doing. Atheists must look in themselves or to society (empathy and compassion as being part of a larger picture) for the strnegth that others find in religion.
Perhaps a difference is the atheist is not assured of salvation, nor would he expect to be. That makes sins bad and better off not committing.
So yes, Christianity and Catholicism are perhaps a kinder and easier route. But I expect no special favours, as I am not a special being on this Earth, so I will take it upon myself to be an honourable member of society.
I hope this helps. The article certainly helped my understanding of sin and the role of confession.
-Matt
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