Dear Martha,
Thanks for the question.
Perhaps you are being led by the Holy Spirit to address these issues to purify your soul for this next chapter of life, which will sooner or later lead to your death. (We are all dying; for some of us that is sooner than later.) You should take this to Confession and receive absolution so that your conscience will be clear. This Sacrament was given to us by Our Lord so that we do not have to take these burdens to the grave — wondering whether we will be forgiven or not. God wants us to have a clear conscience and to be reconciled with Him before we stand before Him on judgment day. This is a great gift, for we all have a tendency to carry around a lot of garbage, and sadly, the devil uses these memories to assail us and make us despair and believe we can't or won't be forgiven. He wants us to fail and to despair. Bringing this to Confession, will take away his ammo, and you will feel free. There is great healing in this Sacrament and grace will flood your soul and give you something you did not expect, perhaps even great joy!
We will be praying for you to have courage, for sometimes it is awkward and embarrassing to bring up old stuff like this, but trust me, every priest has heard it all, so you simply can't shock them. God bless.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
|