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I think my priest doesn't like me after confession

I went to confession at my church last Sunday and confessed a sin I know was serious. I didn't want to go anywhere else or confess to any other priest, this church is practically my second home, and I'm very happy there. Since then I've had the feeling that the priest doesn't like me anymore. He didn't say anything harsh or give any sign of disapproval; it's just my own thought. I'm taking the sin very seriously, praying and repenting over it.

30 opinions in the discussion 17 participants, 15 replies to each other The opinion with the most support You're overthinking it. He's probably heard it before. Read the discussion
49 comments at the source Original on Reddit

Discussion Β· 30

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  • opinion#2784

    You're overthinking it. He's probably heard it before.

    • opinion#2799

      Yeah you're right, thank you and God bless you.

  • opinion#2785

    I'm pretty sure I've confessed some really bad and rare sins myself, and my confessor still likes me fine. Don't overthink it!

    • opinion#2800

      lol I'm a champion overthinker, thanks for this comment and God bless you.

  • opinion#2786

    If I were a demon, I'd try to convince you that your priest doesn't like you anymore and that you should stop confessing. Actually you shouldn't even go to Church. What's the point? Just chill, you deserve it.

    • opinion#2801

      I just wrote something similar (after you, but before I saw your comment). I completely agree. I head off a lot of thoughts like this by recognizing them right away for what they are.

    • opinion#2802

      Yes, I do need to chill out lol, thank you my friend and God bless you.

  • opinion#2787

    Please don't worry too much about it. Our priority should be fighting our passions and sins, not wondering whether people like us. Say the priest really doesn't like you, would you stop repenting and stop going to church and seeking God? I hope not. Pray for your priest too, since they're also men who struggle.

    • opinion#2803

      You're absolutely right! God comes first of course. I just go every Sunday and don't want to ruin anything, those guys are like family to me at that church.

  • opinion#2788

    The most important words in your post are "I'm just thinking this." You said yourself that your priest neither said nor did anything to suggest he dislikes you. Sometimes our guilt and shame make us imagine others see us the way we see ourselves. 1 John 3:20: "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." Don't mistake your own fearful thoughts for your priest's feelings. You went to confession seeking repentance and healing, not condemnation. God bless you.

    • opinion#2804

      Thank you for this, God bless you as well πŸ™πŸ»β˜¦οΈ

  • opinion#2789

    I agree with the replies here, it's unlikely he doesn't like you now. But what if he actually judges you, dislikes you intensely, and is disgusted by the sight of you? Would that really be your problem? Or would the priest himself have some serious sins to confess? My point is it doesn't matter either way as far as your own path and salvation go. You did the one thing you must do: repent and confess. Or the two things. That's what saves and points you in the right direction.

    • opinion#2805

      You're right, church is about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I just felt bad, that's all. Thank you for the comment and God bless you.

  • opinion#2790

    Don't worry about others. If he really does dislike you, that's his problem, not yours. Keep doing good and stay righteous.

    • opinion#2806

      Also don't dwell on it too much, your thoughts could be wrong too. Be humble.

      • opinion#2813

        Yes I've been thinking about it a lot, thank you, and God bless you.

  • opinion#2791

    What you're feeling is the shame coming out tied to the sin, and shame is one of the lowest emotions there is. So it's dragging you down and you're being deceived. So don't overthink it, just be happy and hand over to God whatever you can't carry.

    • opinion#2807

      Wow, you're right. When I did that sin I was DEVASTATED right afterward and went straight to confession last Sunday. Anyway, thank you for the kind comment, God bless you.

  • opinion#2792

    Confession isn't a popularity contest. It's reconciliation, healing, and moral clarity.

    • opinion#2808

      Yes, when I confess it's only about God, you're right. Thank you, God bless you.

  • opinion#2793

    The more you open your heart and mind to your priest, the more he loves you. Never think otherwise.

    • opinion#2809

      Thank you so much for this comment, God bless you and your family.

  • opinion#2794

    I think this might be projection, OP. The demons hate it when we confess the hard stuff. HATE IT. They'll retaliate and mess with you however they can. Guard your thoughts.

  • opinion#2795

    My priest told me he forgets what people tell him... on purpose. If your priest ACTUALLY feels that way, that's a serious problem - for him. Honestly, I'd be more suspicious of whatever is putting those intrusive thoughts in your head. If I were a demon, I'd say exactly this kind of thing to Christians all the time. "Even your priest thinks you're worthless and irredeemable" type of lies. Try not to beat yourself up <3

    • opinion#2810

      Yeah, he's been trying to get into my head a lot since I started going to church and growing my relationship and love for Christ. God bless you, thank you.

  • opinion#2796

    I don't even know you and I'm 99% sure this is just in your head. Priests are trained to see passions as things that parasitize a person, not as part of their nature. A priest disliking you over a serious sin is like a doctor disliking you because you had a particularly big tick or tapeworm.

    • opinion#2811

      Yes, sin is an illness and the church is the medicine. Thank you for your comment, God bless you.

  • opinion#2797

    This is a helpful letter from Saint Ephraim of Arizona on confession to one of his spiritual children: "This confession of yours gave my soul much joy, because God and the angels, who were awaiting it, rejoiced. You succeeded in putting the devil to shame, who greatly rejoices when someone hides his thoughts from his spiritual father. When a snake leaves its lair, it rushes to hide somewhere because it feels as if it will be struck - the same thing happens with a diabolical thought, which is like a poisonous snake. When such a thought leaves a person's mouth, it disperses and disappears, because confession is humility, and since Satan cannot even bear the smell of humility, how could he possibly remain after a humble, sincere confession? My child, I wish you a good beginning and cautious progress. Don't be ashamed before me. Don't see me as a man, but as a representative of God. Tell me everything, even if you have a bad thought about me, because I am experienced with demonic influences, and I know how the devil fights man. I know that spiritual children have simple hearts and that if evil thoughts come to them, it is due to the devil's malice and the spiritual child's ego, who is permitted to fall and have such thoughts against his Elder, so that the spiritual child may be humbled more. Therefore, don't worry. I will always rejoice when you speak freely and sincerely to me,…

  • opinion#2798

    You do know confession was invented by the Roman church so they could "get info and an upper hand" on their subordinates and use it in their favor if needed, right? So confession should only be done to God, because people can't be trusted, even if that person is a priest.

    • opinion#2812

      You posted this in a sub full of people who don't answer to Rome and have been confessing to priests for two thousand years. The Orthodox, the Copts, the Ethiopians, and the Assyrians all do it, and some of them split from Rome before there was a Roman papacy as you picture it. If Rome invented confession to get leverage over subordinates, it's odd that churches Rome never governed have the same practice. Even Luther kept private confession and called it a gift. The Augsburg Confession says it shouldn't be abolished. If you hold to Scripture, start with John 20:21-23. The risen Christ breathes on the apostles and says whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained. You can't retain sins unless someone has been given the authority to judge whether to forgive them. Matthew 18:18 gives the same binding and loosing. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 that God gave men the ministry of reconciliation and made them ambassadors for Christ. James 5:16 says to confess your sins to one another, and Acts 19:18 has new believers confessing openly. Then the early Church. Origen lists confessing to a priest among the ways sins are forgiven. St. Basil's rules have monks opening their sins to those entrusted with God's mysteries. St. John Chrysostom writes that priests hold a power to bind and loose that the angels don't. None of these men were feeding a papal…