I have been reading along and you are doing well sweetie.
Catholic guilt...I know it well. It was my friend for a long part of my life. It still lingers there, under the surface, waiting for a chance to rear it's ugly head...but I do my very best not to let it most days.
There is no need for the guilt to linger. Once you ask for forgivness from Him and it is granted, there is no need for the guilt to stay. It is the Church's way of maintaining control over it's followers. Not God's way...
Let it go Irish. Fight it at every turn. As you can remove it as a prevalant part of your belief system, you will find that forgiving yourself becomes much much easier.
We allow ourselves to forgive others, it is part of what we are taught. But we hold onto that guilt and never truly forgive ourselves. Reteach yourself Irish.
I wish I could tell you how, but I can't. It is up to you to evaluate what you have been taught from the Church and decide what you believe and what you can say is some human's rehetoric to keep the religion going.
Religion and faith are two very different things in my mind. What do they mean to you?
"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is and there's got to be a way through it."--Michael J. Fox
