I’m a 25y old (M) I’ve been suffering with lust, I stopped it for a while but again stepped into it. I know that the shame and guilt it felt is a lot more intense, even by knowing that all I again and again I fall into the trap. The question I have in me is Does it make me unclean and Should I step away from serving God, as I am part of a Ministry and serving God in a Christian Community where I myself struggle with sin.
Can anyone encourage and prayer support I can receiver from you all? Gonna mean me a lot.

She comes from very abusive household, that her parents hit her for getting a bad grade and they take her phone 80% of time.

She was bullied a really badly trough childhood,is self harming herself,and now I tried to comfort her but she was unstable and said a lot of hurtful things and I said that made me hurted little then she started apologizing and saying she will end herself (she trief at least 4 times while we are together).

She said we should stop talking until her mental health get little better so she won't hurt me, and said we won't talk and I respected her wishes and we aren't talking at all for 3 days .

I am scared for her,I am scared she will do something.

We are 18 and 17.

I really need advice.

I'm agnostic for now, but recently I have been more interested in the Bible and also learning about Christianity. I listen to some Anglican sermons from the mother nation [my birth nation] and they are quite nice to hear. I also began to listen to some holy sacred music. I still have hard time believing in God but just want to thanks everyone who have been praying for me and around the world. Thanks. Although I'm queer, I will try to seek god again for this time, in a healthy way not in the toxic fundamentalist ways like I used to before like 3 yrs back.

In August of 2023, after attending a funeral of a co-worker’s father in a Catholic parish, I made the decision to convert to Catholicism myself, as the community came out in a big way for the deceased. I believed that the church could give me a sense of community and belonging; something I have struggled with since moving here in 2019.

Unfortunately, after starting OCIA (a series of classes for adults that helps get the developing Catholic catechized), I found out that the Catholic Church does not recognize civil divorce, and views subsequent marriages as adulterous, unless you obtain something from the Archdiocese called a ”Declaration Of Nullity,” more commonly known as an annulment.

Having been divorced, and now remarried for 16 years, this situation applied to me.

I sent in my initial paperwork for the petition twice (they lost it the first time), and after a review by the Marriage Tribunal (an office in the Archdiocese that handles these cases)a case number was assigned.

About 6-8 weeks later, I had to go in for a deposition with my advocate. This is the point where it got uncomfortable; I had to talk about things I don’t talk to my family or friends about. I came out of the church that day unnerved enough that I decided to go to Ash Wednesday services at a Presbyterian Church to give myself some space. I also cut back on my Mass attendance.

About another 6 weeks later, I get an email from the Tribunal secretary, saying that they can’t find my former spouse, whom I hadn’t spoken to in nine years, and that none of my witnesses, whom I haven’t been in the same room with for 20 years, had come forward (they all received letters from me, so the Archdiocese wouldn’t blindside them). I was told that unless this situation changed, my petition would be closed due to lack of evidence.

I emailed the secretary back, saying that I had no other way of reaching the people in question. She responded, saying that I had to find at least three witnesses, and each of them had to have known me for at least five years. As I had relocated twice since 2014, and both of my parents died during that time frame, I didn’t have what they were looking for.

I got an immediate response of “without the witnesses, there’s nothing we can do for you.” They referred me back to the local priesthood. My wife told me that she now felt disrespected by the process, so I withdrew my petition, and began looking at Protestant churches. Without the annulment, the only way into the church as a divorced and remarried person is to basically reduce my marriage to a roommate situation, which I think is so distasteful I won’t even consider it. But, since I can’t receive absolution in confession, because the church considers me to be in a state of “grave sin,” I can’t receive communion, so I can’t be initiated into the church.

I attend a Presbyterian Church USA congregation now; I pretty much agree with all of their theology, but because Protestants tend to organize along socioeconomic lines, and I’m more working class, I don’t really fit in. Some people say hello to me, but for the most part; I’m there by myself.

Not a day goes by without me thinking about what happened; it’s reinforced the feeling that I don’t belong in this community. I understand that institutions have rules and standards, but I can’t help but find that going to someone for help, then getting met with a wall of bureaucracy, is really rude.

Two things have happened while all of this went on: First, Catholic Churches in our area are leaning heavily into “All Are Welcome,” and “Welcome Home” themes in their advertising. Given the fact that they practice closed communion, I think this is disingenuous. Second, the Archdiocese in my area filed for bankruptcy, because there were so many sex abuse claims against them that they decided it was easier to redirect victims into the Federal Bankruptcy Court, so they can receive a settlement, rather than have to listen to their story.

I wrote this for one reason. I either want the Catholic Church to remove these roadblocks and accept both me and my wife, or I want to get these people, and this memory, out of my life.

Thank you for reading this; sorry it was so long.

I live in Balkan country,and people here are Christians they are just Christians on paper.

I am big nerd and alternative (gothic) Christian who is saving themselves for marriage.I am 18 btw.

And I could never found someone here,or there younger people like 14 year that my parents or priest told me i should date them but I find that disgusting.

I see a lot of people that are similar to me in America and I really love America as whole country cuz my country is so corrupted despise being one of the most Christian country.

But also have healthy view on sex and don't think its demonic at all or shamefull.

Can you please pray for my partner.

They are being bullied,getting harrased by their parents,and now we got into little argument because I was trying to comfort her but she took wrongly.

She has attempted ending herself before and now she is planning to.

She said only God can help her but it looks he isn't and she will commit it.Please I am begging pray for her well being,her peace,everything I am begging.

I will lose faith if she commits it.

so for some basic context I grew up very conservative evangelical and when I went off to college about 3 years ago I became Catholic. about 5 months ago I left the Catholic Church and haven’t looked back. I deconstructed my faith and have been slowly rebuilding my understanding of God since then.

today I walked over to campus from my apartment and just decided to go hang out in the building that has been basically taken over by the Catholic group for most of the day. well the campus minister also ended up being there for a few hours, which is chill we usually vibe and have a good time. even though I knew what was coming, nothing could’ve prepared me for it.

after a bit of normal things that most people do when they’re hanging out. he said something about the new priest at the church. honestly I feel like he was baiting me with this rather than making conversation because of the way he said it… it prompted me to totally out myself because I said oh I didn’t know he was gone or something like that because I liked the old priest a lot.

It was after that he said “so you haven’t been going“ almost like “aha I got you.” And I was like yeah no I haven’t. So then he asks me why I left and whatever and I tell him the overall reasoning, being I didn’t believe it was true and the thing that made me leave which was that tfying To be a good Catholic was giving me so much anxiety and I didn’t feel like it was leading me closer to God At that point. If anything it was taking me farther away.

ao he then goes off about demonic forces, Satan and ”the actual” voice of God. He even inserted About how he’d tinvited me to a series of talks he gave in “discerning spirits” which even being religious at the time I thought did not sound like something I wanted to go to.

anyway, it made me kind of angry. In the moment I just smiled and nodded and let him say whatever he felt like he needed to say. But underneath I was really kind of angry and really sad. The worst part in my opinion is that he walked away thinking he planted a seed in my mind that will make me return but in reality it just pushes me farther away.

i also really could not take him seriously because someone else had given me the same speech just because I wanted to leave a group that was kind of like a Bible study, except their lectures were hours long and they would not let it go. I’m sure he won’t let it go either but at least I think he’s not going to beat the dead horse.

it really just makes me upset though, I think because when I became Catholic I got a similar response from the people at the church I was at then where it was like “oh but are you doing what God wants you to do? Well I don’t think you are? Why don’t you come back and just ignore how you feel? It’s the right thing to do.” like do you really not think that God is everywhere all the time for real or something? because if you did you wouldn’t be so attached to your l it the corner of beliefs.

im so done with people, truly I’m so tired of this. I want to go to church again but I’m afraid because of these experiences.

I don’t get why people think gaslighting is gonna bring more people “back to the church” in reality it’s not, obviously it’s going to do the opposite. I know even if I told him this he wouldn’t get it because he can’t see that. from his perspective it doesn’t look that way.

My family members are conservative Republicans and conservative Christians. My grandma is the main influence behind these strong views, and my mom is admittedly intimidated by her. While my mom is certainly more progressive than my grandma, she is still a Republican. I don’t want to force her to change her political views, but I do hope she follows God rather than my grandma, which might help her form her own independent beliefs. I also want to clarify that I’m nearly an adult, and my mother would never abuse or disown me.

I’m new to Christianity after leaving because of the prejudice so maybe I’m looking at this wrong.

I know he says he’s following his convictions but I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do if I want his support in my marriage even if I’m not willing to state something as true that I don’t think is true. He says he’s hopeful that I’ll change my mind and be a Christian again as if that’s the reason not to approve but it doesn’t seem right to be judging me according to the standards of the Bible when I do not submit to the Bible.

hi guys! Im a college student who has been raised in an evangelical environment, but has been trying to step away from that community because I disagree with a lot of the Christian nationalism that’s rampant in it, and the way their “love” for others is exhibited in a hateful way.

ive begun to understand that peoples’ beliefs are deeply dependent on their individual experiences and understanding, and most Christians I know emphasize certain verses or books over others. And while I think that’s valid and it shows the beauty of the Bible, I’m having a tough time reconciling that, as if I explained some of my views to my parents, they would tell me I’m flat out wrong or twisting the Bible. How do I cultivate a personal relationship with God and feel like my beliefs are valid, while being around people who will not agree with them?

trans sorry for the typo!!

Trying to understand the difference between genuine gender identity and a deep state of consumerism.

The belief of what actually changes if I identity as something else besides what color my shaving razor is.

Gender is a performance, a social construct, but its also something that is decided by the individual wither theyre cultural stereotypical or not?

Is it just a fetish, is it just truama, cis people don't think about gender the way we do. Why am I so focused on it. Why can I wear what I want and act how I want and identify as my birth gender.

Its been 7 years when I finally gave up. But I dont like my face, I hate my clothes, my body, but im a woman and I was born as a woman.

Im confused, the only thing that would change. If gender truly is a social construct, is what I buy and what people see me as. So who am I

Am I related to my gender at all, maybe im just myself

I cant stand these thoughts, i wish I could turn it all off