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Catholic / Orthodox Fapstronauts

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

  1. Mr. Elsaesser

    Mr. Elsaesser Fapstronaut

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    Hi guys, I feel like I'm total garbage when comes to being disciplined enough to stay chaste permanently. Here is my scenerio, I try to say prayers regularly and never miss the mass. Most of the time I go to school and work in northern Minnesota where most people don't share my faith and most people at school are incredibly anti social. I visit my family every other weekend and my girlfriend (she is also a faithful Catholic and she and both plan on getting married once I have a solid job to support a family) lives on the other side of the country (we visit each other on occasion), the past few weeks my internet and living room electricity has been out, and I have serious loneliness problems. I relapsed and I am getting sick and tired of this stupid cycle where I sin, go to confession, stay clean for a couple of weeks or months and then end sinning again. Even when I am not stuck in this cycle of sin, it gets horribly depressing here with no friends or family to spend time with.
     
    Saskia likes this.
  2. Mr. Elsaesser

    Mr. Elsaesser Fapstronaut

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    That does not include the "friends" who only ever want to smoke pot and go bird hunting.
     
  3. Dhampyr

    Dhampyr Fapstronaut

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    ... 2nd November, All Souls' day ...
    Let's pray for all our beloved departed
    Ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πνευμάτων καὶ πάσης σαρκός, ὁ τὸν θάνατον καταπατήσας, τὸν δὲ διάβολον καταργήσας καὶ ζωὴν τῷ κόσμῳ σου δωρησάμενος· αὐτός, Κύριε, ἀνάπαυσον τάς ψυχάς τῶν κεκοιμημένῶν δούλῶν σου, ἐν τόπῳ φωτεινῷ, ἐν τόπῳ χλοερῷ, ἐν τόπῳ ἀναψύξεως, ἔνθα ἀπέδρα ὀδύνη, λύπη καὶ στεναγμός. Πᾶν ἁμάρτημα τὸ παρ᾿ αὐτῶν πραχθὲν ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἔργῳ ἢ διανοίᾳ, ὡς ἀγαθὸς καὶ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς συγχώρησον· ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ζήσεται καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτήσει· σὺ γὰρ μόνος ἐκτὸς ἁμαρτίας ὑπάρχεις· ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου, δικαιοσύνη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ ὁ νόμος σου ἀλήθεια.
    Ὅτι σὺ εἶ ἡ ἀνάστασις, ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀνάπαυσις τῶν κεκοιμημένῶν δούλῶν σου, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ σοὶ τὴν δόξαν ἀναπέμπομεν, σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ σου Πατρί, καὶ τῷ παναγίῳ, καὶ ἀγαθῷ, καὶ ζωοποιῷ σου Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
     
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  4. That sounds tough. I too feel alienated at school for my faith, even in California where there a lot of people. Could you make friends at church, perhaps? Try what you can, but remember that adversity builds character. Offer your solitude up to God in reparation for sin. After all, that's what hermits do. Use your alone time to build discipline by exercising, getting up and going to bed early (which helps with chastity), and leading an ordered life in general.

    Then, once you have a job and start a family, you'll look back and be glad you persevered. I'll keep you in my prayers. Please do the same for me. :) Stay strong and God bless.
     
  5. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    So I just discovered it is St. Elizabeth's feast day (mother of John the Baptist, cousin of Mary). I ordered a club sandwich for dinner Friday night, after deciding to offer an additional five decades of the rosary as my extra penance for the day (per my pastor's suggestion of "an extra prayer" in the past).

    The last couple of days I did the special rosary for the souls in purgatory, which is included in the archdiocese's prayer book for the month of all souls, and uses the sorrowful mysteries. Today I had already done the sorrowful mysteries during the public rosary after morning mass. So I decided to do the Luminous mysteries, which I forewent yesterday. But then when I got to the first decade, I was torn between Luminous and Joyful. I decided to just go with my heart, but I tried to start a few times and got stuck on the same dilemma. The dilemma came, I realized, from wanting to do both of the mysteries related to St. Elizabeth, those being the second Joyful, and first Luminous (in which her son baptizes Jesus). It dawned on me that I did not actually have to meditate on one set of mysteries or another, but could pick and choose. I don't plan to make a habit of that, or anything. I don't know better than Mary, or St. John-Paul II. But, I had this inspiration to make an exception, and choose the mysteries that felt relevant to my intention today. So here is the 5-decade rosary I prayed, and I would be very grateful to anyone that could say the same rosary today, for the healing of my marriage:

    First decade: The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

    Second decade: The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, by John the Baptist (son of St. Elizabeth)

    Third decade: The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (as I hope the Holy Spirit descends and moves my wife's heart)

    Fourth decade: The agony in the Garden (as I felt like I should include one mystery from each set, and uniting to Christ in our loneliness seemed apropos)

    Fifth decade: The finding of Jesus in the Temple (because, when Jesus, the face of Mercy, seems hidden from us, we worry that death and evil have triumphed, and all is lost, but Jesus is there and in His Father's house all along, and this meditation is always uplifting when I start to feel despair in my situation, and also because I hope for my wife to find Christ anew, or that she already has).

    As usual, on the medal, Hail Holy Queen... and Let us Pray: O God, whose only begotten Son...

    Concluding with this special version of the prayer to St. Michael that I wrote in March, and said daily as part of a novena for several months:

    Saint Michael the Archangel, Defend Elizabeth in battle. Be her protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

    May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

    She may not know to fight, nor know how or what to fight, and I cannot protect her now, so fight in her stead, and guard her soul ever more fiercely, I beg. Please ask our Lord to imbue her Guardian Angel with the greatest strength. Oh Guardian Angel of my beloved wife, I beg you yield never, and not rest until I can add my protection to yours.

    Surround her with your Host, St. Michael. With her Guardian Angel, be her armour, and her strength.

    Vanquish what evils attack her, and ward away those that would try. Let her walk always with a legion of angels, that evil trembles and recoils at her approach. May she be surrounded and filled by the Light of God, and her soul be healed.


    Thank you to anyone who has the time and offers this rather lengthy prayer on our behalf. And thank you to anyone who spends even one second thinking of us in prayer. This rosary was one of the most joyful and exuberant prayers I have ever made. I was just bursting with jubilation!
     
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  6. Dhampyr

    Dhampyr Fapstronaut

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    ... well, mixing up the mysteries sounds a little weird. As I understand it, on thursday you can freely choose to use either the luminous (modern way) or the joyful (old way) mysteries. It is, more or less, as choosing between an (ordinary) modern Mass or an (extraordinary) tridentine Mass: they're both licit, but mixing the two rites is formally forbidden. No doubt that when applying the Rosary to all souls, sorrowful mysteries are the choice regardless of the day.
     
  7. Philip1_6

    Philip1_6 Fapstronaut

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    Hi all, I'm Catholic and am looking to recommit to my recovery. I'm 25 and in my first year of work out of college. I've allowed work to take precedent over my faith and recovery. The last two months have been a struggle with PMO. I hope to find accountability partners. Please send me a message.
     
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  8. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    The Rosary, however, is a devotion, and not a liturgy. Altering it simply makes it a personal devotion, rather than a popular one. The mysteries for each day are suggestions only, as well. You can choose any set of the mysteries on any day. You can also meditate on the mysteries at different intervals than one per decade if you so desire.

    And the Mass actually can be combined, as when Latin/Greek settings (instead of the vernacular) for the ordinaries of the Mass used in the Ordinary Form if the Mass.
     
  9. macscot

    macscot Fapstronaut

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    I have a suggestion, for one and all. Put up some icons/pictures of Jesus, his mother, saints, last supper etc where your computer is, or next to whatever you've been using to watch porn... and see the effect. Can you watch porn with these icons watching you?
     
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  10. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    @macscot good call! My desktop background is a slide show of icons. Sacred & Immacuate Hearts, two St. Michael images (one including the text of the prayer), the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, an image of St. John-Paul II with the text "Be Not Afraid," and photos of Assisi, and a couple of Vatican sites. I've also got lots of icons up around the house. You are spot on. Spot on.
     
  11. September

    September Fapstronaut

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    This thread is so so beautiful! I'm an orthodox SO. May I join you and comment sometimes?
    I'm so impressed by the love to our Holy Mother of God you share here.
     
  12. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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  13. struggler3

    struggler3 Fapstronaut

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    I found this quote to be very powerful:

    Compel yourselves; say the prayer; stop idle talk; close your mouths to criticism; place doors and locks against unnecessary words. Time passes and does not come back, and woe to us if time goes by without spiritual profit.
    Elder Ephraim of Philotheou​

    I feel that my challenges with porn are very linked to other unfruitful activities that waste my time, indulging in useless and meaningless activities.
     
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  14. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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  15. struggler3

    struggler3 Fapstronaut

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    That looks really beautiful.

    Reminds me of an icon in the Orthodox Church, called: Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow.

    Troparion:
    Let us the sinful and unworthy fervently run to the Mother of God
    And fall down crying in repentance from the depths of our souls:
    Help us, O Lady who hast had mercy on us.
    Hasten, for we perish from a multitude of sins.
    Turn not thy servants empty away, for we have thee as our only hope.
     
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  16. Will do. God bless.
     
  17. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    Love you fam!
     
  18. Ambrose

    Ambrose Fapstronaut

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    Hey everyone. It's been a while since I've been here, its been a rough couple months. In addition to the PMO thing I'm having some faith struggles.

    I'm currently on day 3 (I have to fix my counter) anyway I'm going to pray for everyone in this thread today. Keep up the good fight.
     
  19. AllanTheCowboy

    AllanTheCowboy Fapstronaut

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    Well, @Ambrose, be counseled by the experience if your most famous student, Augustine of Hippo! I also cannot say enough about the efficacious intercession of Sts. Jude Thaddeus, Rita of Cascia, Joseph and his Chaste Heart, and of course our Blessed Mother!

    St. Anthony of Padua is patron of lost things, and this does not only mean your keys and glasses. He is patron of lost faith, lost hope, lost joy, lost passion, and lost purpose. You might look up the Litany of the Lost.

    And it goes without saying:
    MOAR ROSARY!
     
    ✙Ora et Labora✙ likes this.
  20. Hello brothers and sisters in Christ!

    I'm happy to be here and start my journey. Please pray for me for the grace of perseverance and to make it to confession as soon as possible!

    Has anyone thought about maybe starting a group novena?
     

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