Asking for MORE penance?

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dje101 said:
Could you explain “scrupulosity” please? I’ve heard this term thrown around, but haven’t really figured out what exactly it is referring to.
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Scrupulosity is a religious form of obsession-compulsion wherein the sufferer does not properly distinguish the degrees of sin. In simple terms, he always feels guilty even when there is only venial sin or no sin involved. He keeps wondering whether what this thing or that is mortal sin and whether or not he needs to confess it and then confesses it, remembers something, feels guilty and runs right back. It’s a terrible state to be in. The strange thing is, the sufferer, when in real mortal sin, usually sees it clearly and knows to confess without any doubts.

Part of the cure for scrupulosity is absolute, unquestioning obedience to one’s confessor. No ifs, no buts, no matter what. For the scrupulous, if Father imposes a certain penance, it must be done as is, no negotiations. If Father says, you shall no longer confess this situation as sin ever again, the sufferer must obey that.

More information can be found here: catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/Are%20You%20Scrupulous.pdf
 
porthos11 said:
Scrupulosity is a religious form of obsession-compulsion wherein the sufferer does not properly distinguish the degrees of sin. In simple terms, he always feels guilty even when there is only venial sin or no sin involved. He keeps wondering whether what this thing or that is mortal sin and whether or not he needs to confess it and then confesses it, remembers something, feels guilty and runs right back. It’s a terrible state to be in. The strange thing is, the sufferer, when in real mortal sin, usually sees it clearly and knows to confess without any doubts.

Part of the cure for scrupulosity is absolute, unquestioning obedience to one’s confessor. No ifs, no buts, no matter what. For the scrupulous, if Father imposes a certain penance, it must be done as is, no negotiations. If Father says, you shall no longer confess this situation as sin ever again, the sufferer must obey that.

More information can be found here: catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/Are%20You%20Scrupulous.pdf
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So how does one keep from falling into this state to begin with?
 
dje101 said:
Could you explain “scrupulosity” please? I’ve heard this term thrown around, but haven’t really figured out what exactly it is referring to.
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That is the point. It is in fact thrown around quite a bit on CAF even in situations when there is no scrupulosity. And that is a problem. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’d say the key for you is what EasterJoy said
You’re not under the impression that the penance in some way “pays for” how bad your sin was, right?
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Now if understanding this you feel that the priest should give you more penance because your sins are so great and God will never forgive you…then you start entering scrupulosity land. 🙂
 
Having an especially long confession, i was surprised with the penence given out, and asked.

After everything I just laid out, God only wants that!?

The priest calmly replies…“NO, God wants much more. God does not want you to sin anymore. The prayers are just to help.”
 
I think you need to go back and have spiritual direction with your priest about penance rather than ask for more.

I had nearly bitten off more than I could chew last time as I realised reading the book be the easy part - and that had presented concern when he first gave me it. He knew what my confession was about so had time to search for a meaningful penance.

Actually having read the book and at a later time in a talk I had with the priest anyway he by chance relieved my fear of the book in that the way he phrased it i am able to ‘do’. but the way the book was phrasing it - i understood but found it hard yet all it took was linguistical exercise of changing one word and it fell into place.

don’t ever wish you have more penance. one day you might just get too much.

i am not complaining about my penance at all, don’t get me wrong. and he did give me what he did with insight to help me rather than punish and with me at least he does seem to follow through stuff at appropriate time. The second penance was to rejoin the choir… In procession, he never smiles and keeps his eyes focused on his feet. - I discovered since. (Before I was serving and we all smile but didn’t know what he did till being in the choir - it looks a bit err? actually. A happy serving team coming down the isle then the priest so seriously focused theminute he leaves the vestry but just as friendly etc before leaving the vestry) but the first service I sang at he definately looked towards me and accepted a grin from me and asked me about ‘it’ afterwards much to the interest of the church pianist who was trying to learn something of what I was upto no doubt :D. Its nice when a priest follows up what they have given you because it feels more worth while. He has been the only one to given me tasks. All others been a hymn or something. I prefer a meaningful task that they do follow through with you.
 
vz71 said:
Having an especially long confession, i was surprised with the penence given out, and asked.

After everything I just laid out, God only wants that!?

The priest calmly replies…“NO, God wants much more. God does not want you to sin anymore. The prayers are just to help.”
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Exactly!! If the only thing you’re required to do when you confess is to put on this robe, sit at that table, and let us all be joyful over a fatted calf that you’re back safe and sound, then that is what you do. You don’t get to excuse yourself to the barn for some self-flagellation, instead. Self-flagellation put in place of what the Father has asked for would indulge our pride, not give us back to our Father!

Don’t feel right about that? Do not worry, Prodigal! When we wake up tomorrow morning, there will be plenty of self-forgetting service waiting for us to do! That’s not part of the “coming back.” That is part of living here and making the most of this wonderful life in the house of the Father. Our work, our penance, our almsgiving, our prayer: these aren’t things we do in order to bring about some end that God is powerless to bring about or to make up for “bad acts” in our past. These are the ways in which we open ourselves not just to healing, but to God’s ongoing creation of us. That is the economy of grace: That our love and service for others is how God fashions us into what God intends us to become.

Sin takes a creation project and adds a rehab project to it, but it doesn’t change the end for which we are intended, or the fact that it takes acts of our free will to get us there. In the end, though, the work is all God’s.
 
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