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Catholic / Orthodox Fapstronauts

A group for members of all religions, or no religion at all, to talk about religion

  1. mikepian

    mikepian Fapstronaut

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  2. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    Really well described in a passage in Journal of a Soul.
     
  3. Guster

    Guster Fapstronaut

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    The first reading at mass today was about Elijah. After an epic battle with the false prophets of Baal, in which he was victorious, the bad Queen Jezebel sent some out to kill him. He had to flee for his life. That is where we find him in today's reading, under the broom tree ready to give up. God sent an angel to feed him and give him courage. He eats - I think twice - then gets up and continues his journey 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of God.

    Here's to all who fight the epic battle and might be ready to give up. May an angel bring you sustenance from God so you can continue on your journey onward

    Prayers to all on the journey

    Gus
     
  4. headedup

    headedup Fapstronaut

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    Thanks @Guster . I thought of the PMO connection too. We need to remember that the experience of grace at the broom tree isn't the end of our recovery, it's the beginning! When we let God into the picture during an urge, rather than trying to fight it on our own, the battle starts rather than ends! I have been learning this the hard way for years of reboot attempts.
     
  5. Ze'ev

    Ze'ev Fapstronaut

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    By the grace of God, I've been doing well. I also went to a Coptic Orhodox church yesterday which I think might be the church I will be received in. I still have to make one more visit first, though. Pray for my discernment.
     
    headedup likes this.
  6. 8BitsOfStuggling

    8BitsOfStuggling Fapstronaut

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    This is always good advice. It was once recommended to me that every morning you physically get down on your hands and knees and ask for specifically strength to fight, to remove impure or lustful thoughts, and to help fight struggles.
     
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  7. Guster

    Guster Fapstronaut

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    I pray the rosary while on the tread mill. It makes my exercise bearable. I have it it on my MP3 player. (that's because I can't really navigate the beads and walk at the same time). My mind wanders a lot in my praying the rosary. That's not all bad. But bringing my thoughts back to my prayer is a mental discipline that itself is a healthy exercise as it pertains to this forum.

    I have found (or better re-discovered) the 'Daily Examen' that every Jesuit must do three times a day. I have gotten back using it before lights out. You can find it at JesuitPrayers.org

    @headedup - thanks for responding to me. Your are my first. Now I feel like a real person not just a lurker. Sorry to see your relapse and also like you little disappointed. DUDE Your were the first to inspire when I read your thread. One of your first lines was every day is day one. Let's go buddy! Start a really long streak! My rosary tomorrow on that miserable tread mill will be for your intention. I might even try to go two miles!

    Love and prayers
    Gus
     
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  8. headedup

    headedup Fapstronaut

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    @Guster thanks for the support and prayers, I really appreciate it. I forgot about that line, but months later, I can see that it is true. And I can succeed if I start to live according to the philosophy that every day is day one. I hope it works for others as well.

    @Ze'ev , praying for you brother.
     
  9. Newme95

    Newme95 Guest

    Hi guys I was born in a catholic family but I never showed interest about that(I basically did everything they told me to do without paying attention to it).now after 30 days of nofap My thoughts about life are reshaping and I really want to start following god.I dont Know where to start.Besides confessing My sins what things ylu suggest doing what books you suggest reading to restart?
     
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  10. JoeinUSA

    JoeinUSA Fapstronaut

    First of all make a total and complete confession as you say and attend Mass again (you need to feed your starving soul with Jesus's very presence in communion - "My flesh is real food - my blood is real drink," Jesus says in the Gospel. Read John Chapter 6) - this will lead to the rest. Make the Eucharist the center of your life, and attend adoration if possible - if only 10 to 15 minutes at first. More important than books, establish a personal relationship with God from your heart in prayer - casual, everyday speaking with God and giving him your life and wanting to do his will in all things, and you can incorporate formal established prayers as well, as your piety calls you to these. The rest will suggest itself and books will come. Go to a Catholic book store and see whether anything speaks to you from the shelf. I can message you some book titles if you're still at a loss - start a conversation post with me and tell me what you may be looking for in reading material. God bless.
     
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  11. Lightning Man

    Lightning Man Fapstronaut

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    I agree, the rosary is a go to of mine. Mary is really someone I try to lean on when temptation arises.
     
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  12. peregrinnus

    peregrinnus Fapstronaut

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    It's great to see you want to turn back to God ^^ Make sure you get a healthy prayer life going.. It doesn't have to take much, and if you're not sure what to pray or how to pray, just start off with the simple standard prayers, or a rosary even if you're up to it. Be totally open to God, and just offer yourself up to Him. He will do the heavy lifting :)

    I think one of the books that I turned to a lot when I was trying to rekindle my faith would be 'Mere Christianity' by C S Lewis.. He really presents the Christian Faith very well, and it's pretty accessible, if you're willing to read it closely.

    Finally, try and get involved in community life in your church in some way :) If you enjoy music, join a Mass choir if they do have such a thing, or just any kind of small faith-based community to help you grow. It may take a while to be comfortable enough to try joining one, but it will help :)
     
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  13. peregrinnus

    peregrinnus Fapstronaut

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    Today marks 14 days of daily rosary for me. Feeling good about myself and about life. Day 40 of no PMO, and day 4 of no P.

    Praying for all of you guys here. Stay strong!
     
  14. 8BitsOfStuggling

    8BitsOfStuggling Fapstronaut

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    I am going to give you a set of advice that most people involved in this particular thread probably disagree with.

    Go out and explore. Go to mass, go to a "Christian church" (opposed to catholic, I am using it as a general term - Baptist, bible, chapel, Methodist, etc.) Go out and explore and see what is best for you. Mere Christianity is a fantastic book as @peregrinnus has said. But the best way to find out what you truly believe, is to explore what is out there. Best of luck! I hope that you do find what you are looking for. I wont go to in depth as this is a Catholic and Orthodox thread, however, if you want to talk more please PM me!
     
  15. Guster

    Guster Fapstronaut

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    Geesch you guys . . . . let @Newme95 swallow the hook before you reel him in!
    @Newme95 catholicscomehome.org is a great web site with tons of information and great testimonials.


    Hey- prayer is also listening . . . If you listen close . . . . You will hear Jesus say "Come to me . . . and I will show you who you really are." If you hear him . . . . you are mostly there!

    Gus
     
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  16. Newme95

    Newme95 Guest

    Thx guys,this journey is tough.I don't know if you have read my story but Is like that porn poisoned my soul,in day 1 I started questioning everything porn lead me to and I felt sick about it.I hope this weird thoughts will go away.Hope God will save me and bless me with strength to lead a good family in the future...
    I'm thinking about avoiding sex till marriage.what do you think about it?
     
    headedup likes this.
  17. peregrinnus

    peregrinnus Fapstronaut

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    Abstaining from sex till marriage is the best thing you can do! For yourself, for any girl that you might date and unfortunately break up with, and for your future wife.

    From personal experience, sexual contact early on in a relationship doesn't help at all. I grew physically intimate (everything but actual sex) with my ex-girlfriend, even though I felt on so many occasions, when it first started out, that it was a wrong thing to do. She was older than me, though, more experienced, and since it felt physically good I let myself get numb to the guilt over time. I think eventually I stopped wanting to grow together with her emotionally/intellectually, and our relationship kinda just fizzled out in the end, being held together really just by the physical contact, although we were fighting almost every other day.

    My current girlfriend went through a bad phase emotionally in the past, and during that time she got together with a much older man, who then proceeded to coerce her into sex. They were only together for a few months, but that experience left her deeply scarred, and she's still struggling to come to terms with herself over it. It also really affected me, and is still affecting me, negatively - thoughts about her and her ex still surface now and then, and I'm really quite haunted by them sometimes. It's getting better, slowly, but it's still not a pleasant thing to go through. Would it have been different if it was consensual sex in a loving relationship? I'm not sure, but I think I would still have the same reservations, and still have the same feelings of... not-quite-disgust, but significant discomfort, at least.

    I guess bottom line is that God made sex the ultimate expression of love to be reserved for marriage, and He did that for very very good reasons. It's not something that should be taken lightly, unlike what modern society says about it. It's a very, very deep connection between two people, and that bond is one that is very very difficult to break, and has consequences when it's formed casually, or broken off.

    My current girlfriend and I have both committed to being chaste, and abstaining from any sort of physical intimacy beyond kissing, and honestly, having that clear-cut boundary has helped us to grow in so many more important ways - in terms of emotional connection, honesty with each other, openness and communication. I guess since we both kinda know as well how important sex is, abstinence isn't really a sacrifice anymore - it's just something that we acknowledge as not for us, in our current state.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2015
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  18. JoeinUSA

    JoeinUSA Fapstronaut

    I know what you mean and quite agree, but I would rephrase a little ... "sex" isn't necessarily the "ultimate expression of love" - as in, one doesn't have to have sex to express love in its highest expression. But, sex is indeed a great act of love, intimately connected with creation and the creative act, and so reserved for marriage. But, even a married couple can extend to each other a greater act of love than what is extended between them in sex, however great and wonderful that is.
     
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  19. Newme95

    Newme95 Guest

    Ye,hope to find a girl who's willing to commit with me.I've read somewhere there are christian couples who also avoid kissing (with tongue).I don't know about that...
     
  20. headedup

    headedup Fapstronaut

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    Don't worry too much about the proper "limits" on kissing, etc., at this point in your spiritual journey @Newme95 . You will be discouraged by religion if you see it as a set of rules. The best way for you to be considering religion for the time being is as an encounter of the heart. With experience, healing, and education, you will begin to see the positive why behind "restrictive rules" of the Church. If this experience of Christ through his Church is your focus, I think you will have a better experience of considering Catholic practice as an option for you.

    Simply put, the "restriction" on sex outside marriage is identical to our inner desire to quit porn. We know that there is something twisted about porn, something fallen about our desire for a fantasy that does not bear fruit and love. Fornication is identical in its nature, for it is twisted and fallen, and leaves us empty. Unfortunately, our society really rejects the idea that fornication could be bad. Today, people know that porn is "kind of bad" but do it anyway. Thanks to the culture, we (men especially) are even more removed from the idea that sex is fulfilled and purposed for marriage: a committed, socially-explicit relationship that bears children and love. In the Christian context, this natural desire for marriage becomes a supernatural desire for the heavenly marriage with Christ. Marriage on earth can become a symbol and path toward this heavenly marriage, but ONLY ONLY ONLY if we use our sexuality in the way God designed it. Outside his design, it saddens and weakens us, one porn session at a time.
     

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