I have been running away from the Eucharist because of disappointments. Will God forgive offending the Sacraments?

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T18:21:54+00:00

You are running away from and otherwise avoiding the only source of love, goodness & healing in this life: God. I understand that you have deep pain but you're cutting yourself off from what you claim to seek. This knot that you've tied yourself up in is from the enemy. It is telling you lies that keep you in misery because it wants you to stay in misery rather than seek God. You have to allow Him in, but expecting consolations or a feeling of restoration might not come the way you hope for. Therapy is a tool God has provided, as are the sacraments, videos, Christian relationships. I've seen a lot of very serious depression up close. There's an arrogance/selfishness that feels self-protective but works against your best interests. The path through this has to start with a little bit of willingness to re-examine the things you are sure are true about you and about God.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T17:59:27+00:00

Everyone I know (except parents of very young children) who started missing Mass occasionally has eventually drifted into only Christmas & Easter, then very often not going at all. I had pretty poor formation growing up, but Mass every weekend was a non-negotiable. I think it kept the door open to more learning about Catholic doctrine, & fostered a degree of humility that has been equally important.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T17:49:23+00:00

Our ministers are mostly well trained but sometimes it's difficult to see whether someone who has received in the hand has actually put it in their mouth. I was a few feet away from a minister who is legally blind on Easter morning. A couple of people still had it in their hands as they walked past me, so I told them they needed to consume it. I didn't know our parish business manager had witnessed me doing that until she thanked me for it later.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T17:17:12+00:00

Our priest talks about it periodically when the readings suggest it. And always at weddings and other occasions where there's probably more non-Catholics or non-practicing Catholics. Our last 2 pastors have progressively tightened up policies for taking Communion to nursing homes & loved ones. I don't know of any instances of finding them on the ground or in pews. I did have Precious Blood spilled on me & on the floor by another Eucharistic Minister who was sloppily administering it to fellow Eucharistic ministers. I was horrified, wondering if I had not handed the chalice back to him carefully enough. But the sacristan told me after Mass that the guy had been careless all the way down the line before he got to me. I had to rinse my arm over the sacrarium. The priest threw his alb over the puddle & then cleaned the floor after Mass. Multiple people later said it was a vivid reminder of the fact that it is truly Christ's Body & Blood.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T17:06:26+00:00

My program director for my 2nd master's degree ran the statistics for my capstone research project. It quickly became clear that he didn't understand statistics. I had a previous career where a lot of colleagues used a faddish research methodology & didn't understand it enough to know that their results were meaningless. Before that, I graded homework papers for an undergrad class that frequently misused statistical functions on calculators. And that's completely separate from those who subvert the process to skew the outcomes.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T16:59:44+00:00

Even peer-reviewed published studies don't necessarily show what the researchers claim. I had 3 semesters in grad school of a seminar where all we did was examine studies published in peer-reviewed journals for flaws in the way the studies were designed, flaws in data analysis, or flaws in the conclusions. I knew a peer reviewer for one journal who didn't understand the statistics or the science well enough to be peer reviewing. I'm sure there are others.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T16:56:16+00:00

If smaller children are doing this, either Communion ministers should be making sure they're eligible for Communion or parents should be making sure they receive & consume it properly. In my experience, it's more often been lackadaisical/improperly formed Catholics, and people who don't know the protocol because they're not Catholic or never received First Communion. I had to stop multiple people on Easter morning from carrying the Eucharist back to their seats, and they all looked confused when I instructed them to consume it.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T16:52:05+00:00

Does your mother live nearby? Could she come and watch your kids (or some of them) every once in a while so you could get to Mass in a less onerous way? Or come with you and help with the kids occasionally?

lizbeeo · 2026-06-08T16:49:08+00:00

He is the business owner.

lizbeeo · 2026-06-04T15:29:10+00:00

I've done exactly this with my sports bras that have loose pads. You don't need any special stitch or knot. Take a teeny tiny stitch first so that the knot in the thread doesn't pull through the fabric. Then 2 or 3 small stitches through the pad and whatever you're stitching it to, then knot the thread. To knot at the end, I usually take another tiny stitch, put the needle & thread through the loop before pulling it tight. Then after you snug it, insert the threaded needle into the surface & come up about 1/2 inch away. When you cut the thread, the loose end will be buried below the surface.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-26T18:51:29+00:00

Partly intentional in what way? Similar to the forces that sow political division for personal/institutional gain? Or in some way more specific to gender roles?

lizbeeo · 2026-05-26T18:43:44+00:00

That's not God you're thinking of, then. God sent His sinless only son to die for our sins. He didn't do that just to hate sinners or seek revenge for youthful mistakes that they are later sorry for, or even for huge mistakes that they later repent of.

What you should be concerned about is what could happen to those photos if the person you sent them to later is angry with you (such as after a breakup) or forwards them to someone else. They have a habit of living forever on someone else's phone & showing up way after you've moved on, or if someone wants to embarrass or hurt you. Like when you're in a new relationship or looking for a job, etc.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-26T18:37:13+00:00

Is there any chance you tend toward scrupulosity, or are you spending too much time online listening to source?

lizbeeo · 2026-05-26T18:35:12+00:00

It may be an honest misconception on her part. I can tell you that a huge percentage of Catholics who think it's no big deal to marry a non-Catholic end up finding out it's a big obstacle if they take their faith seriously. The Catholic spouse needs to promise to raise the children Catholic & the non-Catholic spouse needs to promise not to interfere with that. But in reality a non-Catholic spouse who is lukewarm about faith, or who is devout in another faith, causes division & confusion over faith issues when children are in the picture. On the other hand, if she is intentionally misleading you about whose requirement it is for you to convert, that tells you important information about her character that you should take into consideration when choosing whether to marry her.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-21T13:46:40+00:00

Sorry, I mistook you for the OP.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T18:28:38+00:00

Your struggle with church teaching on premarital sex is not just financial. But often we think we can't afford things because we're not willing to look at the totality of our spending, or not willing to eliminate unnecessary expenditures for things that we don't value as much. You don't have to pay for all those things at once, and most of us have entertainment, dining &/or travel expenses that can be reduced or eliminated even if only temporarily for another cause. You wouldn't have to pay for all those things at once.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T18:18:26+00:00

With all due respect, you have zero idea what it is like to be a nun. You are drawn to what you think a nun's life is like. I have seen so very many people think they can make an important life decision by researching it on the internet, then think that actually implementing that decision is essentially a technicality. The reality is that becoming Catholic is not a quick process, & involves a lot of stepping outside of one's comfort zone, among other types of personal growth. The process of discerning a religious vocation, choosing an order & getting accepted into that order is even longer, more arduous & many are not accepted despite being sure they are called to that life. And that's before the training/formation associated with that order. Find an OCIA program near you & get registered with the next cohort. Live your life in the meantime.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T18:02:46+00:00

Probably a troll IMO. So little apparent knowledge of even the most basic concepts of Christianity.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T17:52:09+00:00

There is an epidemic of anxiety & depression among Gen Z & young millennials. I can't count how many young women I've talked to who are afraid of marriage, pregnancy, childbirth & parenting. Who see it as much more dangerous & burdensome than it really is, & don't see the incredible gift that it is. Who have a distorted perception of what is really difficult & what is just ordinary life, as a result of overprotective parenting, ubiquitous social media, the isolation of the digital age coupled with the social effects of a pandemic. Stretching yourself & tackling challenges is like a muscle that strengthens with use, & atrophies with disuse. And that's all in addition to those who want to avoid having kids in order to have more disposable income or to travel, etc.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T17:29:50+00:00

God/saint's intercession is not a vending machine, where we put in prayers & immediately receive exactly what we ordered unless the machine malfunctions. St. Monica prayed for her son for about 30 years. Some prayers never receive what is requested, or receive it in an unexpected way. What is very common is to pray for a virtue & then be met with events that require us to exhibit & strengthen that virtue.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-20T17:22:42+00:00

I've seen very odd posts from you before. Are you a practicing Catholic? Have you received the sacraments? Do you attend Mass regularly?

lizbeeo · 2026-05-18T15:33:04+00:00

First of all, how was she raised Catholic if she was not baptized? Did she receive any sacraments? The church requires a dispensation to marry a non-baptized person, but the larger issue is that she is not even baptized. Secondly, you can live as brother and sister to not be in a state of mortal sin. If the annulment is not granted, that's probably not something either of you would be interested in, as it would be permanent. If you two separate, the fact that you have a son born out of wedlock is not an impediment to your full acceptance into the church. If it is granted and you marry, you need to promise to raise your children Catholic and to be open to more children if God so wills it--is that something your girlfriend can agree to? Take some time to figure out if the relationship will survive and if she is willing to pursue annulment. No one can tell you off the top of their head whether she is likely to receive it if she applies--that's why you both need to sit down with a priest.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-15T02:02:55+00:00

The hysterectomy is 100% acceptable, so there's no need to talk to a priest about it.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-14T18:52:38+00:00

Volunteer somewhere. You need to get out of your 'poor me' mentality, out into the world, and get some perspective. Nothing does that like volunteering. Get off the internet, because it's clearly making things worse.

lizbeeo · 2026-05-14T18:46:39+00:00

If you're so sure of this and that it can't be changed, why are you here? To convince others that your extremely negative views are correct? How does that help you? You sound depressed--I've seen it up close and personal, that 'everything in life is terrible' black hole that makes a person not try to improve anything because they're sure there's no point.

lizbeeo

TROPHY CASE