Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Being Scrupulous

St. Therese

UPDATE: Catholic Warrior has a very helpful tips based on personal experience.

Many saints were scrupulous. One that comes to mind is St. Therese, the Little Flower. She struggled with scrupulosity in her younger years. I believe it was with the help of her dear father, that she was able to overcome it.

Recently, a few friends and I were discussing the topic of scrupulosity. It was therefore, very providential that I found a homily by the late Cardinal O'Connor regarding this subject.

Are You Scrupulous?

The following are excerpts from the homily. To read the homily in its entirety, click above:

..."If you think in terms of such an obsessive-compulsive disorder but add to it a spiritual and, most particularly, a moral component then you have what we call 'scrupulosity'."

..."Scrupulosity is so-called because the Latin word scrupulus means a sharp little stone. Everyone knows what it is like to have a little sharp stone in a shoe. It can be the most expensive pair of shoes in the
world, but that little stone ruins everything. You might be able to walk for miles, but it is killing you all the time. It is like having a tiny little speck in your eye. It's a scrupulus, a tiny, little, sharp stone. Those who experience scrupulosity experience this tiny, little, sharp stone, as it were, in their consciences, in their very beings, which keeps them constantly anxious, constantly concerned and, above all, constantly afraid..."

..."Those of us caught up in scrupulosity honestly believe that forgiveness is impossible for us; God himself can not forgive us despite the crucifixion of his Son. It is quite conceivable that not one single person in this cathedral, at this moment, needs a reflection on scrupulosity. If so, count your blessings because as any
confessor, any clinical psychologist, any psychiatrist can tell us, there are a huge number of people in our culture, even in this highly permissive, highly promiscuous culture, who suffer the terrible burden of scrupulosity. It is quite possible that there is someone here who knows instantly what I am talking about..."

..."Scrupulosity always involves fear: fear of dying without
being able to get to confession, fear of not being forgiven by Almighty God, fear of going to hell. If anyone needs an awareness of the mercy, the gentleness, the love, the forgiveness of Almighty God it is a scrupulous person..."


The following are what some scrupulous people experience:

" 'I worry excessively about breaking the Communion fast. When I receive Communion, I worry about particles of the Host remaining on my hand. I worry about bad thoughts. I worry about breaking the Church law about the Sabbath. These concerns take the joy out of my life.' "

" 'When I go to Mass, I must be perfect. There must be no rips in my clothes. I worry if the priest or deacon does his job right. Is it a valid Mass? The dismissal prayers cause me concern. I worry that the deacon forgot to say "The Mass is ended" or said the words in the wrong order.' " [To some perhaps these might sound like foolish fears. To others, as the title of the book says, these are "frightening fantasies."


As I wrote in the beginning, many saints were scrupulous:

..."This is not limited to those of us who are ordinary people. A number of the saints had problems with scrupulosity: the great St. Catherine, St. Alphonsus of Liguori, even St. Ignatius who founded the Jesuits..."

The Cardinal concludes his homily by speaking about the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well:

...This story is the great reminder that God is love, that love drives out fear. If there be any here who are afraid, whether victims of the spiritual disease of scrupulosity or not, if there are any here who are afraid, it is our Divine Lord himself who says to us as, in essence, he would say to the Samaritan woman, "Be not afraid. God is love. God drives out fear. Come to me for my mercy. Come to me to be bathed in my love."

Note: For more help, subscribe to Scrupulous Anonymous offered free by Liguori Publications.

8 comments:

  1. Very interesting post. So is scrupulosity, then, like a spiritual anxiety disorder?

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  2. Esther, I am glad you posted this, as I have been meaning to put something on my blog about this soon too.

    Rosemary, as a previously scrupulous person, yes, scrupulosity is a spiritual anxiety disorder. Though that can seem a bit of an understatement for some, as scrupulosity can affect some people to the point that they cannot carry on everyday tasks without thinking they have fallen into sin and becoming anxious. It's a terrible condition, and one should not think it's a sign of holiness to be scrupulous, but rather an obstacle in one's spiritual journey (though it's not a sin to be scrupulous). God Bless!

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  3. Wow, that was really good Esther. Thanks for posting this. It's very informative and helpful.

    Blessings,
    Denise

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  4. You're welcome Denise and thanks for the link.

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  5. Anonymous11:50 AM

    "When I receive Communion, I worry about particles of the Host remaining on my hand."

    This problem is completely avoided by recieving God directly from the consecrated hands of the priest on to our tongue.
    We should not be touching Him anyhow, unless you are a Catholic Priest or ordained Deacon.
    God bless.

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  6. Anonymous6:23 PM

    DAN HUNTER WROTE: "This problem is completely avoided by recieving God directly from the consecrated hands of the priest on to our tongue. We should not be touching Him anyhow, unless you are a Catholic Priest or ordained Deacon."

    - This is exactly the kind of thinking that can actually CAUSE scrupulosity in the first place. There is absolutely no requirement for Roman Catholics to receive Communion only on the tongue. This is something only taught in super-strict Traditionalist Catholic Churches, many of which disobey the Pope, and several of which are heretical in nature. It is important to know the difference.

    Those worried about finding "particles of the Host remaining on (their) hands" during Communion should know that there is nothing sinful in this. Confessors who minister to the scrupulous have consistently advised that you should simply go about your ordinary business if you find yourself in such a situation. You can easily just wash your hands and forget about it. There is no sacrilege in this. No sin at all. Perfection on our part has NEVER been a condition of God's mercy, forgiveness, or love. It is stressful and pointless to believe otherwise. This is not Catholic teaching at all.

    There is a website called "Scrupulous Anonymous" for questions like this. It is run by the Redemptorist Order of the Roman Catholic Church, and is specifically set up to help those Catholics suffering from an unnecessary fear of sin. The information there is very accurate and precise. The format is deliberately non-threatening. It can certainly be very useful in calming various fears.

    You can read more about this on the Scrupulous Anonymous website, here:

    http://mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/SA_1108.pdf

    And here:

    http://mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm

    Much of the anxiety of the scrupulous arises because they often have a rigid intolerance for any sort of imperfection, and an exaggerated sense of sin. The very worst thing for such a person is to converse with others who also have extremely rigid and harsh beliefs about sin. It will only make the condition worse. Every scrupulous person out there should read Scrupulous Anonymous. It has helped thousands to recover from the painful and completely needless condition.

    http://mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupanon.htm

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  7. Dan, I appreciate the comment and links.

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