Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
November 8, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Scrupulosity

In last week’s Spiritual Ponderings we began to look at the problem of scrupulosity. This week and next I would like to share with you from Fr. Santa’s C.Ss.R book: Understanding Scrupulosity: Questions, Helps, and Encouragement something he calls The Ten Commandments For the Scrupulous. They were written by one of his mentors Fr. Don Miller C.Ss.R. I will list each commandment and then add my thoughts and reflections.

1. You shall not repeat a sin in confession when it has been confessed in a previous confession, even when there is doubt that it was confessed or a doubt that it was confessed in a sufficiently adequate and complete way.
It is very important here that we do confuse liturgy and Sacraments with witchcraft. Witchcraft is ultimately the idea that I can make God or the divine do something if I recite the right words or perform the right actions. Liturgy and Sacraments are more about relationship. By coming to God and asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation we are not forcing God to do something that He does not want to do. Rather we are allowing God to do something that He deeply desires and that is love us. Sometimes I think in the confessional that we treat God as if He is more like the older brother in the story of the Prodigal Son and not like the loving Father Jesus reveals Him to be. Relax and let God love you.

2. You shall not confess doubtful sins in confession, but only sins that are clear and certain.
Remember sins are not something that just happens. We must choose to sin. Sometimes we do this directly in the case of sins of commission and other times we choose to sin by omission by choosing not to do the good but we can never sin without choosing to do so.

3. You shall not repeat your penance after confession or any of the words of your penance because you feel or think that you had distractions or may not have said the words properly.
I am surprised at how many people do not realize the true purpose of the penance is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We say that the penance is medicinal and not punitive meaning that the purpose of the penance is to help us avoid the same sins in the future they are not in any way obligatory. God’s love and forgiveness is unconditional and we cannot earn it. Instead our penances are supposed to help us get back on the correct path. This is why a penance can seem so insignificant compared to the amount of damage we have caused. This is also why some of the best penances are prayers.

4. You shall not worry about breaking your fast before receiving Communion, unless you actually put food and drink in your mouth and swallow it in the same way a person does when eating a meal.
I was camping with a group of friends and just as we were about to begin Mass a fly flew into one of my friend’s mouths and he swallowed. After a few moments of laughter, I realize that my friend was now worried about receiving Eucharist because he had broken the fast in his mind. I assured him since he did not intentionally do it that he was fine. There is a major difference between swallowing a fly on accident and downing a beer before going to Mass.

5. You shall not hesitate to look at any crucifix or at any statue in church or at home or anywhere else because you may let bad thoughts in your mind and imagination. If such thoughts occur, they carry no sin whatever.
From time to time, we have to remind ourselves that we have a real opponent in the devil and that the devil desires our downfall and for some reason God allows the devil to produce images in certain people’s heads when they look at religious items. I think three things need to be remembered. The first is that God does not allow us to be temped more than we can handle and so while these thoughts and images can be very disturbing they are above all an opportunity to turn toward God and rely on Him. The second is thing to remember is that these dreadful images are being produced by the devil and he is doing so in order to ruin your relationship with God. Therefore if the devil wants you to go left you should go right. If the devil wants to cut down your prayer time, pray longer. If the devil does not want you to look upon a certain image look upon it more. Finally remember to call upon God and ask Jesus to defend you.

The following is a prayer written by someone who suffers from Scrupulosity:
With a strong faith in God, much can be done, from fighting a war, to seeing it won. To bearing a hurt that can never be cured to finding a way where vision was blurred. Yes, battles are won, and loneliness fought and sickness is cured, where God is first sought. And remembering this saying Whate’er you shall do, “Take one step toward God and he’ll take two toward you.”