Concerns on learning more about the faith/sins

[Balaco]

Recently, I’ve been a bit concerned about whether I should be looking more things up about the Catholic faith, mainly regarding sin, even when I feel like I have a genuine understanding of them.

For example, the other day I was thinking about the topic of wrath. I felt genuinely confident in my understanding of it and judgment of how to avoid it, but then I got worried that if I didn’t do further research into it, I would possibly miss out on learning something new about it…and thus not being as strong in my faith as I could be.

If we have genuine confidence (and not cockiness) in our judgment of how to avoid a sin, are we free to trust in that judgment and not have the need to do further research? It seems like that’s the answer, but as I said, I’m concerned that I might miss out on something that I never realized, that would strengthen me in my faith.

I did reassure my understanding of wrath, and it aligned with my prior judgment on it…though I waited until where I felt more comfortable to do so - the next day - instead of as soon as possible. (I did have free time.) My mindset was that I had sufficient knowledge on the topic, and it wouldn’t hurt to simply reassure that later at my leisure. This got me thinking; if I did end up learning something new, would it have been a problem that I didn’t learn how to improve as soon as reasonably possible?

I’m not sure if this comes off as scrupulous…I wouldn’t say I’m obsessing over it, but I want to make sure I’m not hindering the growth of my faith. Obviously God knows if I have the intention of growing stronger in my faith.

 

[1Lord1Faith]

If you would have put it off for a long time, like years, then I would say your not following your conscience; but putting it off for a day?- not so much. You don’t have to rush in to every desire even if it seems beneficial to you.

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

Time spent mulling over things is likely to make you more ready, unless your heart were in an extremely wrong place!

As time goes on you can remind yourself of things you have already come to know, then when you do more reading there is all the more to “hang it on” and compare it to.

 

[ChrissMari]

I am trying to understand the religious (or doctrinal?) basis for the concern with not looking it up straight away or being wrong in your understanding of something as long as you are actively trying to learn and grow your faith.

I ask this because to me. as a more or less neutral outsider, it seems like there’s no big deal in waiting to look it up and if your understanding was wrong–oh well, now you’ve grown in your faith. That’s all any of use can we do because we are humans in God’s image but we are not God.

I am worried about your well-being and that you, are, in fact, obsessing about things that will only lead you to a feedback loop of obsessive thoughts and never doing well enough.