Father:
I am a devout Catholic who
received my sacraments this past Easter. I
struggle with same set attraction. In what
ways
can a man struggling with SSA serve in the Church? -
Timothy
______________________________________________________________
Hi Timothy:
Blessings to you.
Thank you for your question. There are so many
ways in which people with asame sex attraction can
serve the Church and her mission, including being
ordained as priests. I don't know where you
heard that this was not
possible, but it sounds a bit like one of our friend
Donald's alternative facts!! Of course for a
gay person entering the
priesthood, the temptations could be more
challenging than they are for a heterosexual person,
but in the end they would
be very similar. Some dioceses and communities
may resist a person with same-sex attraction, but
there is nothing in the
Church's teachings why that would be so. Of
course there are ministries such as music, teaching,
health care, welfare-
the sky and one's imagination and talents are really
the only limits! I hope and pray that you find
the direction and manner
of monostry that is true for your own heart.
I will keep you in
my prayers, Timothy. - Father
Kevin Bates
"I have been dating my boyfriend for about 3 years
now.
He is Italian, a Roman Catholic. I am Sikh.
A
bishop/priest said he can
give us the permission needed to marry in the
Church. but my boyfriend
says it does not work that way
for Roman Catholics.
Is this true?
-
Sangha
Father:
I have a
question regarding Roman Catholic marriages. I tried
finding the answer online but I did not find
anything. I have
been
dating my boyfriend for about
3 years now and we've recently started talking about
marriage. He is Italian, a Roman
Catholic.
Whereas
I am not Catholic, I am Sikh.(Punjabi). He is
telling me that in order for us to get married, I
would need
to convert,
otherwise the Church will not
allow it. I was researching online and I found that
we can talk to the bishop/priest
about a mixed
marriage, and he can give us the permission needed
to marry in the church. But my boyfriend said it
doesn't
work like that for
Roman Catholics. The only
way we can get married is if I covert. I just wanted
to get more clarity regard-
ing this subject. Is that
true, the only way we can marry is if I convert? Can we not have a wedding without me converting?
Thank
you. - Sangha
________________________________________________________________
Dear
Sangha,
Greetings to you and thank you for your question. Be
assured there is nothing in teaching of the Catholic
Church which
should
prevent you, a Sikh, from
marrying your Catholic boyfriend in the Catholic
Church. I hope you can find a priest
who can help
you
with this in due course, and a suggestion might
be that you have a Catholic ceremony and a Sikh
ceremony as well to honourboth your families and
traditions.
Every blessing to you both.
- Father Kevin
I give about a $100/month to my local Family of
Faith Campaigns part of a
pledge I
made to give $3,000 over 5 years. I also give about
$10 weekly at Mass.
I just
don't want to give that $10 anymore for a variety of
reasons.
Am I committing a sin? - Thanks. - Mark
Father:
At moment, I give about a $100/month to my local
Family of Faith Campaign, as part of a pledge I made
to give $3,000
over
5 years. I also give about $10
weekly at Mass - $5 to the collection and $5 to the
St. Vincent de Paul poor box. Lately,
though,
I
just
don't want to give that $10 anymore for a variety of
reasons that are too long to list here, but can
probably be
chalked up
to
simple anger at God. My
question is the following: Am I committing a sin by refusing to
give that $10 that I've
been giving
regularly?
Thanks. - Mark
__________________________________________________________
Hi
Mark:
The
Bible and our Christian history are full of people
who get angry at God for all sorts of reasons and
for all different
lengths
of time. Some of them are
our greatest saints. I’m sure they would all feel
the same as you about putting less
on the plate or
in the poor box when you and God are not in good
shape with each other. I’d relax if I were you and
spend
a bit of time sorting
you and God out. The
contributions can take care of themselves! Every
blessing, - Father Kevin
FATHER CARLOS MORALES
We have a house in Beatty Oregon, where one murder
and two
suicides have happened and we plan to remove their
remains.
What is your opinion? - Ernie
We have
a house in Beatty Oregon, where one murder and two
suicides have happened. This what we know anyhow.
There
is
a concrete cross buried in the front yard on
one of the doors, about 400 pounds. We plan on
moving it, I wanted
your
opinion
before doing so.
Please advise. - Ernie
_________________________________________________________________
Ernie:
You can do anything you want with your property,
removing any objects, including removing religious
symbols. There is
nothing
wrong with that. I
know that the history of the property can be
upsetting to contemplate. But be at peace. Bring
your faith in
God and positive energy and all will
be
well.
If you wish, you can have your house blest by
a priest or deacon of your local parish church. God
bless in remodeling the
property and house. -
Father Carlos Morales
"What happens if a priest suspects that the person
confessing
is not in touch with reality?" - Elizabeth
Father
Carlos:
I have a
question about confession. What happens if a priest
suspects that the person confessing is not in touch
with
reality? For example, if the person starts
talking about being abducted by aliens, having a
microchip implanted in his/her
brain,
believing that something mundane (e.g. a stranger sneezing) was evidence of some vast conspiracy (e.g. that the
sneezer
was making fun of him). What would happen? I
understand it will vary from situation to situation,
but what are
the guidelines
for encountering this issue? Thank you, Elizabeth
_____________________________________________________________
Elizabeth:
People who display the symptoms of mental illness
are treated with great respect in the sacrament of
Penance (
confession).
There are times when I am the
confessor of someone trying to deal with mental and
emotional illness.
I listen and depending
on the situation, and I try to bring a person to a moment where
I can pray with and for that
person.
Confession is NOT the time for dealing with the
symptoms of mental or emotional illness and I would
suggest that
the person
who is dealing with these
issues talk to me outside of confession. I also
know that the culpability of a
person with mental
illness who commits sin depends on their ability to
understand their own motivations. Mentally
and
emotionally ill people
struggle with their own sense
of being culpable of sin and when a person comes to
me
in that state, I pray with them and
suggest other options for seeking healing. I hope that someone can find pro-
fessional medical
help for your family member
who is struggling with
mental illness.
Continue to pray for the healing
and deliverance of your family member. Trust in God
in this matter and treat
everyone with
respect. As to the question of whether there are guidelines for
a priest confessor to follow in
regards to a person
with mental
illness, there are some from the U.S.Catholic Bishops' Conference. Here is an
article
that describes the thought now on
mental illness
within the church's outreach ministry:
http://www.us
catholic.org/node/5811 .
-
Father Carlos Morales
Why do I keep committing the same sin over and over
again?
- KN
Father Carlos:
Why do I keep committing the same sin over
and over again? I hate going to confession if I
keep telling the same sin. - KN
________________________________________________________________
KN:
In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 41,
Jesus warned his apostles in the Garden of Olives
before his passion and
crucifixion,
"Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
There
are always temptations around us that want
to rob
us of our peace of mind and these temptations can
work on our personal
weaknesses and kill the spirit
of joy that is in all believers. This constant
struggle between sin and being obedient to God's
Will and Plan is part of our spiritual journey to heaven and salvation in Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said this: "Whoever
wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up
his cross, and
follow
me."
Each of us has a cross to carry that challenges us
to be better and stronger so that we do not become
complacent and
lazy. That cross that we carry
actively and with trust in God conforms us to Jesus
Christ and makes us
more
like him even though
you
may feel that you are failing. Saint Paul, in his
Second Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12,
Verses
7 through 9, knows
what you are going through when he wrote this: "Therefore, that I might not become
elated
(proud),
a thorn in the flesh was
given to
me, an angel of Satan to beat me to keep me from
being too elated
(proud). Three
times I begged the
Lord
about this, that it may 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 weakness in order that the
power of Christ may
dwell with me."
Even though you feel that you are not making any
spiritual progress in your battle with sin, know
that you are taking two
steps
forward and one step
back in all that you do against the power of sin in
your life. That's spiritual progress! To give
you
perspective,
you are a better person today than you
were five years ago! See, that's progress. So,
instead of getting
frustrated at your
apparent
weaknesses; weaknesses that we all have to battle,
rejoice instead in the wonderful mercy of
God
through Jesus Christ. Instead of just focusing on your failures, focus on the forgiveness of God given
so freely
that it
is called
"Amazing Grace" And when
you go
to confession, know that the priest confessor
understands what you are going
through because the
priest-confessors know
from our own battle with our
own particular weakness.
Do not concern yourself about repeating the same sin
in confession. Repeat as often as you need to. But
remember, re-
joice
in the
love and mercy
that God has for you forever!
- Father
Carlos Morales
"I am a
Catholic and have been struggling with living in a
world that
is becoming increasingly evil.
How
am I supposed to live in joy?" - Avana
Dear
Father:
I am a
Catholic and have been struggling with living in a
world that is becoming increasingly evil. I am
speaking on a
macro
level where
the world
seems to be headed in the end times and I do not
know how to live my life or raise my
young adult
children with hope for a
good future. I fear for
the end times and the hell on earth which we are
going
to experience (as per
the book of revelations)
. This
time feels very close . Why does it feel that
the devil is stronger
than God in these days? How
am
I supposed to live in joy? Thank
you so much for answering my question . There is
no one else I
can ask as it is too
serious an issue. God bless you
. - Avana
_____________________________________________________________
Avana:
The devil is never stronger than God Who is All in
All. Evil never wins the battle. I do know that
human weakness
and sin
is quite
powerful because the
devil doesn't make any of us do anything against our
will. We have free will
and because we
have free
will,
we chose whether to sin or not, whether to do
evil or good.
The problems of the world, the evil you see, the
powerlessness you feel comes from the sinful hearts
of humankind.
Jesus
said this
in the Gospel of
Mark, Chapter 7, Verses 18 through 23: Jesus
said to them, "Are even you
likewise without
understanding? Do you realize that everything that
goes into a person from the outside
cannot defile;
since it
enters not the heart but the
stomach....But what comes out of a person, that is what
defiles.
From within people,
from their hearts, come evil
thoughts,
unchastity, theft, murder, adultery,
greed,
malice, deceit, licentiousness,
blasphemy,
arrogance, folly. All these come from
within and
they defile."
Notice that Jesus did not blame the devil for the
evil things in the world. He blames the human heart
that is capable
of doing
such evil
things. When
people chose to do evil it is because they have no
faith, no love of God in their hearts,
and they need
to repent and turn
to their Creator. And when people
turn their hearts to God, repent, and turn to their
Creator, it is then that
the human heart changes
and
peace can be restored. There can be no peace on
earth without
faith in God.
You mention that you are concerned about your young
adult children and how they will fare in this world.
The world is
not evil.
But
there are your children in faith. They will cause
others through their walk in faith to change the
hearts of
others who do not
believe
and when they
do, they will be building a better world. That's
why I know your children will
be just fine: they
believe in
Jesus Christ
as their Lord and Savior and
have the love of God in their hearts. They already
have the armor of God to protect
them
(see
Ephesians 6:10-18).
-
Father
Carlos Morales
"We were married in the Church, but she says that
she didn’t really
take the vows
because she had mental reservations." -
Peter
Hello
Father:
We were
married in the Church, but now she says that she
didn’t really take the vows because she had mental
reserva-
tions. If
we
continue to live together is it
a sin since the marriage was not confected? Thanks.
- Peter
____________________________________________________________
Peter:
I am not sure that I understand your question. You
are not living in sin if you are married and living
together no matter
the personal
situation you find
yourselves in. But I don't understand what you mean
that your marriage was "not confected."
If you
mean
that
you have not ratified your marital bond because
you have not consummated your marriage, you are
still
not living in
sin. I am going
to have to
refer you to your parish priest in regards to
whether your marriage is valid or not.
Your wife has made a serious accusation against
herself by saying that she had and continues to have
"mental reser-
vations"
at the
time of your
marriage in the Church. If that is so, your parish
priest needs to help you understand your
marital
situation. - Father
Carlos Morales
"I had a
civil marriage to a Catholic man. Because I was
sick
and he was unfaithful we got divorced. Again I got
baptized in a
Catholic Church. Can I marry again?" -Sabrina
Father:
I had a civil marriage years
ago to a Catholic man, I was not baptized at the
time. We got divorced because I got sick
and
he
was
unfaithful. When we separated and I had 2 boyfriends
and did not know much about adultery. We divorced
later. I
then
got baptized
as a Catholic in the
Church. I have a boyfriend now, we are not having
sexual relations but we
both live in
a guest
house
and we
would like to get married. I sent in my
documents to the Catholic marriage tribunal in
my
country and
they prepared a document for
me allowing
me to get married again in the church. I am a bit
worried
though because the bible
says if
a man
marries again its adultery.
I would like to know if
the church is right and that I
can marry again?
Thanks.
- Sabrina
___________________________________________________________
Sabrina:
Yes, you can have your marriage in the Church. The
gospels does say that if a man (or woman, for that
matter) divorces
and
marries
another, they commit
adultery (Matthew 19:9). But also the bible says
this concerning your particular situ-
ation
in I
Corinthians 7:12-16,
Saint Paul writes that
"if the unbeliever separates, however, let him
separate. The
brother or
sister
is not bound in such
cases;
God has called you to peace."
In your situation, you were the "un-
believer", meaning
that you
were not baptized. Since you
became
a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
through
your baptism, your past
marriages
were dissolved so that you could marry a believer in the
Church by the words of Saint
Paul in I Corinthians
7:12-16. This is
called
the Pauline Privilege (and
its canon law "cousin"
called the Petrine Privilege
which was probably used in your
situation) in
Church
canon law regarding marriage. Once you marry in the
Church, your
marriage cannot be dissolved again.
You are
married until
death.
Be at peace. No one
in
this situation is committing
adultery. Here is a
link for your to read about the canon law concern-
ing
marriage, especially in regards to the Pauline and Petrine
Privilege (officially called IN FAVOR OF THE
FAITH): http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7272 .
-
Father Carlos Morales
"If
someone dies in grace and is admitted to Heaven, is
that their
final destination?" - PW
Father:
I am
confused between the return of Jesus to judge the
quick and the dead on earth, and the final resting
place in Heaven
for
those
who die in a state
of grace previous to his return. If someone dies in
grace and is admitted to Heaven, is that their
final
destination?
Or when Jesus returns to Earth do
those souls also return to earth to earth to be
judged again? - PW
___________________________________________________________
PW:
When you die and are given the free gift of
salvation on heaven because of your faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior,
you
will be in
heaven
forever even after the final judgment when you will
be reunited with your glorified body!
The difference between dying now and going to heaven
and being at the Final Judgment is the glorified
body. When Jesus
comes at the end of time and
judges the living and the dead, God will raise our
mortal bodies from the dead and we will be
reunited
with our new
glorified bodies where there will be no
more tears, sadness, or pain. So if a deceased
person is now
in heaven, that's their place forever.
And after the Final Judgment, you will be in heaven
with your glorified body!!!!
Here are some biblical references in regards to the
Final Judgment that is coming for all: Matthew
25:31-46
/
Philippians
3:21
/ Revelation
20:12-15 / John 6:50-71, a great
explanation that all who eat Jesus' body and blood
in Holy Communion
will be raised up
on the last day!
-
Father Carlos Morales
My husband was living a double life. One
with me and one for his
girlfriend. When I found out, he chose to be
with his girlfriend.
What are the Church's standings for me?" Jen
Father
Carlos:
I am
having some difficulties forgiving my ex-husband.
We were married 30 years and were practicing
Catholics. He was
living a
double life-- one with me
and our daughters, and one with his girlfriend. When
I found out, he choose to be with the
girlfriend. I
wanted to reconcile. We now have been divorced for
2 years and he is still with the girlfriend and
living
together. What are the
church standings for
me? And what are they for him? Has God forgiven me?
Has He forgiven him?
Is divorce
a sin?
Thank you. - Jen
________________________________________________________________
Jen:
I am sorry to hear that your ex-husband was such a
unfaithful person that he destroyed the peace and
joy of all those
around
him,
especially in you and
your children. The Lord will always stand by you
and your children. He knows the
depth of your
pain
that
cannot be described in human vocabulary. I
cannot speak for God in regards to forgiveness of
sin because it all
depends on the
actual repentance
of the person. Therefore, I cannot see into the
hearts of people like
God can see, whose
Spirit can
pierce all
secrets of the human soul. When you have
asked God to forgive you, and you
ask with
all your heart,
then you are forgiven. Your
husband's action betray an unrepentant heart and he
will be held
accountable by
God
for his
actions. As
for you, your faith in God and your dependence on
His grace is your guarantee
of God's forgiveness.
Your
participation in the Sacrament of Penance
(confession) is your guarantee of God's forgive-
ness.
Be at peace. As to your
question if divorce is sinful, divorce in itself is
NOT sinful. Divorce and REMARRIAGE is
sinful. Your
husband has done this
(he is living in
sin with the girlfriend) and
is living in adultery. You have not remarried
so
you are
in full communion with the
Church and I hope you are
receiving communion and taking part in the
sacramental
life of the Church.
The gospels say
this about the issue of divorce, and look carefully
at the wording: in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter
19,
Verses
8 through 10 - Jesus said,
"I say to you, whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits
adultery."
Your husband
is in a state of adultery because he
has married or is living with his girlfriend after
his divorce. He has a lot
to answer for. As for
you, you remain unmarried and therefore are in full
communion with the Church. You are fine.
Your ex-husband, on the other hand, is under the
judgment of God. Remember, divorce is NOT a sin by
itself. Divorce
and re-marriage is the problem.
Forgiving your ex-husband's betrayal is going to be
a difficult journey, but forgiveness on
your part
means
your ability to move forward and leaving the
past behind. Use the Sacrament of Penance to help
you
move forward.
As a side comment, if you do wish to remarry in the
Church, the process of ecclesiastical annulment must
be completed
before you
can remarry again. The
annulment process answers the question posed by the
gospels in Matthew 19:9
("unless
the marriage is
unlawful") and Mark 10:9 ("what God
has joined, no one must separate"). Is the
sacramental
marriage
lawful (there is a large
explanation in church law to describe a lawful
marriage) and
did God actually join this
sacramental
marriage (not
all marriages are joined by God. Some marriages
were joined simply by persons without
God's
involvement,
such as forced marriages, and
marriages
done by fraud, etc....). May I suggest, if you wish
to re-
marry in the
future to ask
your parish
priest or deacon for more
information about the
annulment process. You are in
my prayers for
healing this day. -
Father Carlos Morales
"I
was told by one of the Sisters that I am not allowed
to receive the Eucharist
until my husband gets his first Marriage annulled.
Can I receive the
Eucharist?" - Suzanne
Hello Father:
My name is Suzanne. I am divorced and my first
marriage was annulled. Also my first husband is
deceased. I have re-
married
to
a divorced man
who is Catholic but not married in the Catholic
Church. I was told by one of the Sisters that
I am
not allowed
to
receive the Eucharist until my
husband gets his first Marriage annulled. This
completely devastated me and I
have been
without
this
sacrament for over a year. One other thing I
can mention
is there has not been any marital relations
in 4 yrs
just not
because of lack
of love but medical issues.
Am I allowed to receive the Eucharist? Please
let me know.
Thank you. - Suzanne
__________________________________________________________
Suzanne:
Your parish religious (sister) is correct in stating
that you are not in full communion with the Church.
You married outside
the
Church.
Why didn't you marry in the Church when you got
married? The way you describe your marriage to your
present
husband, your
husband who is Catholic and divorced was not married
in the Church previously. This is a relatively
simple
process called the LACK
OF FORM declaration for your husband.
Your husband can easily get this form by asking your
parish priest or deacon. You have to prove that
your husband is
Catholic
(baptismal certificate and other sacraments he may
have received such as First Communion and
Confirmation)
and two
witnesses
that can say that he was never married in the
Church. Then the diocesan marriage tribunal
examines
the documents
and declares
your husband's first marriage invalid. Then you
will be able to be married in the Church.
Your
annulment is fine.
You are ready to be married in the Church. Your
present husband needs a LACK OF FORM declaration.
It is simple.
Don't
let
something so simple keep you away from full
communion with the Church. Until this situation is
remedied, you
and
your
husband
cannot receive communion until you are both married
in the Church. This situation can be remedied
in
one
month
in
some
dioceses!
Don't wait anymore!
-
Father Carlos Morales
I have been mentoring a Catholic girl of 19 in
Theology of the Body. Her
father
wanted me to help her. Would it be ok for her
to share her sins with me?
- Amy
Dear
Father:
Thank
you for taking the time to prayerfully answer my
question. I have been mentoring a girl of 19 in
Theology of the
Body,
and she
comes from a very
devout Catholic Family. (Mother passed away 2 years
ago) As I mentor her, it was
directed by
her
father that I
help her do a good examination of
conscience. This I feel comfortable with. But in
order to
do this, it has
been directed that she
confess her sins to me as she would a priest, and
permit me to dig deeper to see if
there is a way I
could help her. I know that the
sacrament of
confession is only meant to be between God, the
priest and
confessor. I
certainly do not want to in
anyway violate that
sacrament. But I need more
"back up" for the father's sake to
support my
feeling of not crossing that line. Can you please
help me?
Am I right in my concern? Or would it be
ok for
her to share
her sins with me? Please
help. Blessing and Peace.
Many
Thanks.
- Amy
_______________________________________________________________
Amy:
I thank God that you have taken the role of a
spiritual director/mentor in the life of this young
woman. But I must stop
you
in regards
to your
desire to lead this young woman in the examination
of conscience. You are not to talk about
her sins
unless she freely wants to. You are not to "dig
deeper"
into anything that may be personal. You must
respect
the
boundaries of any person that you meet.
You
are not a priest confessor so you are not
permitted to make your
spiritual
protege tell you
anything that she wishes to keep in confidence. To
do so would be considered spiritual abuse.
You are not to share anything that this young woman
says to you in regards to her spiritual journey,
especially to her
father. I am
concerned that her
father asking you to help her in an examination of
conscience is his way to control her
and
know her
spiritual secrets.
You can lead her to make an examination of
conscience by giving her a series of questions on
paper and asking her to
answer these
questions to
herself privately so that she may make a good
confession. You are NEVER authorized as a
spiritual
mentor or spiritual
director to have her answer
these examination of conscience questions to you
verbally. I want
to be as clear as I can: Respect Boundaries.
You are not a confessor. You are not to make anyone
tell you their sins unless they freely want to
within the context of
spiritual direction. You are
not to talk to anyone else about what you hear
within the context of spiritual mentoring. Here
is the official USA Bishops' Conference examination of
conscience document: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/
sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examinations-of-conscience.cfm
Here is another more simple form from EWTN:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/Prayer/examconscience.htm
You can print
these out
and give them to her to
answer on her own without your prompting. Then she
can go to confession with these
questions to her
priest-confessor.
I must tell you in the strongest terms possible: you
are not to hear her confession and you are not to
dig deeper in regards
to an
examination of
conscience which is considered privileged and
sacred, so much so that only a priest confessor is
allowed to hear the
answers to the questions of an
examination of conscience.
I do want to commend you on guiding your spiritual
protege by using Pope John Paul II's teaching on the
Theology of the
Body. I am
impressed that you and
your protege want to examine the teachings of the
Church on the destiny of human-
kind and the
sacredness
of the human body. We are all temples of
the Holy Spirit. The sacredness of the sacrament of
marriage between one man and one
woman is also part
of this teaching as well as personal chastity.
I am so happy to know that you are doing this within
the context of the theology of the body. I hope
that you are leading
others as
well. I do hope you
are leading a study group on this subject of the
Theology of the Body. Don't keep this just
for
yourself and one
other person. You are called to
share these teachings with as many people as you
can! For our
readers, here are the documents
of
Saint John Paul II in regards to the Theology of the
Body:
https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2TBIND.HTM
If you read all the documents on the meaning of
human life as taught by Saint John Paul the Great,
you will never look at
life in the
same way again. -Father
Carlos Morales
"I had sold my soul to the devil and gave up
using drugs. I am
asking God for forgiveness. Can you help me?" - Andrew
Father:
I was
using drugs, heavily methamphetamine to be specific,
I had sold my soul to the devil, had my private area
out in
front of the Virgin Mary. Since I have cleaned up my
life, stopped the drugs, I asked God for forgiveness
but the demon
still bombards me before all this. My wife had
passed away, I had lost custody of my children, and
I was in a deep de-
pression. Help! - Andrew
____________________________________________________________________
Andrew:
I am so sorry to hear of your painful struggles to
break free from drug addiction and to get control
over the continuing
temptations of the compulsive drive for drugs that
continues to haunt you. But you have completed the
first step in
gaining control and find healing for your broken
spirit. God forgives so that you can move forward.
God forgives to so
you can rebuild your life and to do great and good
things.
Sadly, you can never go back to the life you had
before drug addiction. But that doesn't mean there
is no hope. On the
contrary, hope abounds because you have
self-knowledge that you didn't have before. You
know yourself better, and
you know what can make you dive back into the
cesspool of addiction. You are aware of what your
addiction has done
to you and those around you. Now, take that
self-knowledge and move forward.
You have lost the past, but you have not lost the
present time and the hope of a better future. Soon,
you will be able to
repair your relationships with your children and you
will be able to bring healing to those who were hurt
by your actions.
But you need to do this step by step and not all at
once. I hope that you are involved in a support
group that helps those in
the grip of addiction. This will help greatly in
getting control over the obsession for drugs that
will always exist within you.
God has not turned His back on you. And I don't
know how you sold your soul to the devil, but
understand, your soul can
never belong to the devil since it was made in the
image and likeness of God. Such a bargain with the
devil is negated by
you accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
and making a good confession to the Lord and in the
sacrament of
Penance. I have every hope for you! You are on
your way to victory! The Lord is with you! The
devil has no hold over
you since you are covered in the blood of Christ by
your confession of faith in Jesus. Don't give up on
yourself because
God never gives up on you!
- Father
Carlos Morales
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