Bringing you the "Good News" of Jesus Christ and His Church While PROMOTING CATHOLIC Apologetic Support groups loyal to the Holy Father and Church's magisterium
Home About
AskACatholic.com
What's New? Resources The Church Family Life Mass and
Adoration
Ask A Catholic
Knowledge base
AskACatholic Disclaimer
Search the
AskACatholic Database
Donate and
Support our work
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
New Questions
Cool Catholic Videos
About Saints
Disciplines and Practices for distinct Church seasons
Purgatory and Indulgences
About the Holy Mass
back
About Mary
Searching and Confused
Contemplating becoming a Catholic or Coming home
Homosexual and Gender Issues
Life, Dating, and Family
No Salvation Outside the Church
Sacred Scripture
non-Catholic Cults
Justification and Salvation
The Pope and Papacy
The Sacraments
Relationships and Marriage situations
Specific people, organizations and events
Doctrine and Teachings
Specific Practices
Church Internals
Church History

Anonymous Monica wrote:

Hi, guys —

I have a question,

I have a friend who has been struggling with the problem of masturbation and has recently (1-2 months) repented. However, he is still struggling with sexual thoughts.

  • Can he still receive Holy Communion after that?
  • For example, if he indulged in one or two sexual thoughts (out of lots that come by) but managed to not escalate it to masturbation, would there be enough grace that he would be able to receive Holy Communion?

God Bless You!

Monica

  { After my friend has repented, if he struggles with sexual thoughts can he still receive Communion? }

Eric replied:

Monica,

What prevents you (among other things we needn't concern ourselves with here) from receiving Holy Communion is being in a state of mortal sin.

To be in a state of mortal sin, the sin needs first to be grave. That's met here.

Second you need to know it is a sin and know it is grave. That's met here.

But you also need to have full consent of the will. This means, among other things, that it has to be deliberate, and it has to be done with sufficient reflection. Transient consent doesn't count. Entertaining for a few seconds a sexual thought that intrudes on your consciousness would not meet this requirement.

If, on the other hand, a thought came in, and you did not dismiss it but seized on it, and fantasized on the thought extensively having the opportunity to reject it but refusing to do so, that would be another matter. Let's say you fantasized a sexual encounter from start to finish, stubbornly refusing graces to stop. That would likely be a mortal sin.

If your friend is struggling with unwanted, persistent sexual thoughts, he should regularly avail himself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is very helpful. I also recommend an upcoming online deliverance prayer webinar coming up in two days hosted by:

If you are not able to participant in it, check back for other times when they may have similar webinars.

This program has delivered some very powerful, even miraculous fruits.

Eric

Please report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
Suggestions for this web page and the web site can be sent to Mike Humphrey
© 2012 Panoramic Sites
The Early Church Fathers Church Fathers on the Primacy of Peter. The Early Church Fathers on the Catholic Church and the term Catholic. The Early Church Fathers on the importance of the Roman Catholic Church centered in Rome.