Confession/Sin Issues

[nsper7]

So I went to Confession today. One of the things I confessed was possible sloth since I am not working currently and have pretty much given up on finding a job in the short term (in Sept/Oct, I plan on heading to Los Angeles and then Latin America as part of a long-term missionary work with the Comboni Missionaries). I think I told the Priest that I have had no luck finding work and that I have pretty muchg given up in the short-term, although I will be moving ahead with the Combonis. Shortly after Confession, I worried that I had somehow lied/misrepresented to the Priest, although I am not honestly sure how I did so, but I worried about it anyway.

Then, at services (the Good Friday celebration), I started to feel angry and angry/hateful thoughts. For example, during the Gospel reading, an angry/hateful thought toward Jesus crossed my mind and it was like I got irritated at His words to the High Priest and then Pilate and it was like it crossed my mind that I wanted Him to suffer. It really disturbed me. Then, because of these issues (i.e. Scrupulosity and bad thoughts), I started to get angry and more angry and hateful, possibly even resentful, thoughts crossed my mind towards God and in general. Its like I feel like that ever since coming to faith all those five or so years ago, my OCD (or Scrupulosity) has really peaked sometimes (esp. now that I am becoming Catholic and go to Confession a lot and I have mortal sin to validity of my Confessions to obsess about) and I feel like my faith journey has been so motivated by sheer fear of Hell (the proverbial gun to my head as it were) that it sometimes angers/upsets/frustrates me. And then, in the pew behind me was a baby that got noisy sometimes, so that added to my irritation and frustration and angry thoughts (i.e. towards the disruptive baby) and stuff. Now I am worried that all these thoughts and thiss stuff constituted mortal sin.

I was able to quickly speak to a Priest afterwards (he is sort of my Confessor) and he said that, in his opinion, there is not an objective reason for me to go to Confession and, in general, he seems to take the stance with me that unless I was intending to act on a thought or there was some act of the will involved (i.e. I was harboring/maintaining the thought, but then I worry what does that really mean), it is probably not sinful. Still, it worries me, especially since my Confirmation and 1st Communion is tomorrow and I do not want to receive Communion unworthily, but I also know I will get a lecture if I go to Confession a day after another Confession.

 

[Indyann]

Hi Nsper,

I recognize some signs of scrupulousity (takes one to know one).

I have found these “Ten Commandments for the Scrupulous” to be very helpful

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupulosity.htm

Also. after reading some of the newsletters, and Q&A articles, I found nearly all of my doubts and questions answered.

I have acquired much peace after reading these articles. I have been scrupulous in regard to confession nearly all my life. I only wish I had access to “Scrupulous Anonymous” many years ago.

Hope this helps.

 

[nsper7]

Also, another worry that just came into my mind was lying:

A few days ago, a family member was sort of pestering me to do something (not for them, but just something in general), and I said I would do it the next day. Well, the next day, I did not do what I had said and now it crossed my mind did I lie. It was not my intention to not do what I said, I think I just forgot (but now I doubt did I really forget…).

EDIT: And, yes, I do suffer from Scrupulosity. When I was younger, I dealt with OCD issues (i.e. washing hands too much, etc.) and now it plays out with religion (i.e. going to Confession a lot and worrying that I have comitted a mortal sin).

 

[Dchsknight]

Also, another worry that just came into my mind was lying:

A few days ago, a family member was sort of pestering me to do something (not for them, but just something in general), and I said I would do it the next day. Well, the next day, I did not do what I had said and now it crossed my mind did I lie. It was not my intention to not do what I said, I think I just forgot (but now I doubt did I really forget…).

Hey, bud if your heart and head are giving ya that much trouble go to confession. Get it out, get it done and move on. Christ did not die for us, so that we can go around and be thinking did i do this wrong or not. He died for us to be free, if there is anything that causing you not to be free in anyway shape or form, confess it, do the penance and stop worrying about it. Because Worrying in it self is a sin. I should know, i worry all the time an i think POOP! i am not trusting God. Slap my Forehead and go to confession. That is the beauty of Confession Even if it is not a sin, but your that troubled, You can go to Christ through the priest. now if you dont feel like going to a priest or if you think you are bothering him, Talk to God. we can do that too. Confess, Required, but we can still talk to our Father in heaven, who listens with an unshakable ear… Stop fretting, get to confession, take care of your heart and mind, and get over it.

 

[Indyann]

Also, another worry that just came into my mind was lying:

A few days ago, a family member was sort of pestering me to do something (not for them, but just something in general), and I said I would do it the next day. Well, the next day, I did not do what I had said and now it crossed my mind did I lie. It was not my intention to not do what I said, I think I just forgot (but now I doubt did I really forget…).

EDIT: And, yes, I do suffer from Scrupulosity. When I was younger, I dealt with OCD issues (i.e. washing hands too much, etc.) and now it plays out with religion (i.e. going to Confession a lot and worrying that I have comitted a mortal sin).

You are torturing yourself for no reason. Please explore the Scrupulosity site. It is written by Redemptorist priests. As far, as I know they are very faithful to the Church. The ones who write the articles are trained to minister to the scrupulous.
I wish you peace of mind and soul.

 

[Dchsknight]

And keep pressing on Brother/Sister. God has the Victory, he already beat death. dont worry, let God worry about it, i know it sounds cliche and it is, but the Cliches are sometimes so true. God is SO BIG, he can hold the universe together atom by atom and still have time and patience to deal with us. He can handle your worry and your heart worries and your head worries. Just go to him. AND STOP WORRYING!

 

[NHInsider]

Scrupulosity can be very challenging, and it does go with OCD.

It’s also possible that you are experiencing some spiritual attack as you approach your initiation - Satan’s last ditch effort to convince you that you are “not worthy.” (Of course, NONE OF US is worthy, that’s why Jesus had to come for us!)

As you are re-forming your mind according to the mind of Christ, there will be moments when your nature rebels. These will be less frequent as time goes by and the Spirit works in you, but chances are they will not completely disappear.

Understand (and insist to your scrupulous mind) that feelings, even nasty ones, and fleeting thoughts are not in themselves sinful. Choosing to dwell on them would be (this is what your confessor was suggesting). If you can find a way to divert your thought that would be a good thing. Perhaps you can find a short prayer which you can offer quickly each time you find yourself assailed by these angry thoughts.

We have a concept in the Church of “offering up” ones sufferings as a gift for others (Galatians 6:2 - bearing one anothers burdens - we can do this because we’re joined in the Communion of Saints.) Most often you hear “offer it up for the souls in purgatory” but it is also possible to ask God to accept your undeserved suffering as a gift for someone living - an unrepentant sinner, for example. If you were to make this a habit you could turn the recurring troubling thoughts into recurring fervent prayers for someone else’s salvation, which would be awesome.

Know that there are many here who are praying for you. Have a very blessed Easter and welcome to the family!

 

[Monica4316]

Hi, I think this is an attack, cause almost the SAME thing happened with me yesterday and I’m also receiving my first Communion today at the Vigil. I went to my first Confession on Thursday, and it was so great, and I felt so clean inside afterwards… but yesterday, I started being tempted with all these horrible thoughts, all of a sudden!! I think what matters is: what we choose… once you realized you’re having these thoughts, did you try to stop them? or did you know they’re wrong but kept on thinking that way?

the devil might be trying to discourage you, or trying to get you to sin.

Go to confession if you feel you did a mortal sin, but if you’re not able to find a priest or something like that, then perhaps that’s God telling you that there’s nothing to worry about. When you’ll receive the Eucharist, just trust in God’s mercy and don’t focus on yourself, but on His love for you, because He loves us despite all our misery.

 

[Highwayhound]

So I went to Confession today. One of the things I confessed was possible sloth since I am not working currently and have pretty much given up on finding a job in the short term (in Sept/Oct, I plan on heading to Los Angeles and then Latin America as part of a long-term missionary work with the Comboni Missionaries). I think I told the Priest that I have had no luck finding work and that I have pretty muchg given up in the short-term, although I will be moving ahead with the Combonis. Shortly after Confession, I worried that I had somehow lied/misrepresented to the Priest, although I am not honestly sure how I did so, but I worried about it anyway.

Then, at services (the Good Friday celebration), I started to feel angry and angry/hateful thoughts. For example, during the Gospel reading, an angry/hateful thought toward Jesus crossed my mind and it was like I got irritated at His words to the High Priest and then Pilate and it was like it crossed my mind that I wanted Him to suffer. It really disturbed me. Then, because of these issues (i.e. Scrupulosity and bad thoughts), I started to get angry and more angry and hateful, possibly even resentful, thoughts crossed my mind towards God and in general. Its like I feel like that ever since coming to faith all those five or so years ago, my OCD (or Scrupulosity) has really peaked sometimes (esp. now that I am becoming Catholic and go to Confession a lot and I have mortal sin to validity of my Confessions to obsess about) and I feel like my faith journey has been so motivated by sheer fear of Hell (the proverbial gun to my head as it were) that it sometimes angers/upsets/frustrates me. And then, in the pew behind me was a baby that got noisy sometimes, so that added to my irritation and frustration and angry thoughts (i.e. towards the disruptive baby) and stuff. Now I am worried that all these thoughts and thiss stuff constituted mortal sin.

I was able to quickly speak to a Priest afterwards (he is sort of my Confessor) and he said that, in his opinion, there is not an objective reason for me to go to Confession and, in general, he seems to take the stance with me that unless I was intending to act on a thought or there was some act of the will involved (i.e. I was harboring/maintaining the thought, but then I worry what does that really mean), it is probably not sinful. Still, it worries me, especially since my Confirmation and 1st Communion is tomorrow and I do not want to receive Communion unworthily, but I also know I will get a lecture if I go to Confession a day after another Confession.

One thought about confession. One does not need to have a mortal sin on one’s soul for confession to do some good. For example: every once in a while a table needs to be dusted or wiped clean. Not because it is a sticky mess, but merely to keep things in order. Some people fear confession i.e. my high school students that I teach. Confession is a cleaning and brightening experience, not something to be feared. Find a good examination of conscience, sit down and go over it. Here are links to three:

beginningcatholic.com/cat…onscience.html
catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild.html
theworkofgod.org/Library/examine.htm

and I feel like my faith journey has been so motivated by sheer fear of Hell

A thought about fear when it comes to faith. A lot of people have this in their life. As I have seen it there are three phases people go through with their faith.

1. Fear of God and lightning bolts; be good or go to Hell.
2. Doing good because it is good.
3. Love of God and understanding that we can love God only because he loved us first.

So, keep praying and going to confession. When you get to #3 you will see it is all worth the time and struggles. There will be a greater peace in your life. By the way priests are required to go to confession once per week. That might be a helpful guideline for you to use in regards to how often to confess.

God bless and have a Holy Easter

 

[justagirl]

One thought about confession. One does not need to have a mortal sin on one’s soul for confession to do some good. For example: every once in a while a table needs to be dusted or wiped clean. Not because it is a sticky mess, but merely to keep things in order.

By the way priests are required to go to confession once per week. That might be a helpful guideline for you to use in regards to how often to confess.

With all respect, I do not feel this is appropriate advice for someone who struggles with scruples. Someone who is scrupulous should generally avoid confessing venial sins and should avoid very frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Scrupulosity is just like OCD–so, for the table example, it would be like someone cleaning a perfectly clean table over and over again, “just in case” it’s dirty! That person would need to learn how to recognize when the table actually needs cleaning and otherwise set a schedule to only clean the table at X time. To bring this back to Confession, it is vital for the OP to have a regular Confessor who knows that you struggle with scruples. Next time you go to Confession wit him, talk frankly about your scrupulosity and OCD past. He will give you guidelines and advice. This will likely include information on recognizing true sin from imaginary sin, recognizing mortal sin, and a guideline for how often you should go to Confession. Someone who is scrupulous is generally advised to not go to Confession weekly (or even every other week!). So, keep a regular Confessor, talk to him, and do everything he says!

Keep in mind that you cannot sin by accident or when the sin is against your will.

 

[Indyann]

With all respect, I do not feel this is appropriate advice for someone who struggles with scruples. Someone who is scrupulous should generally avoid confessing venial sins and should avoid very frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Scrupulosity is just like OCD–so, for the table example, it would be like someone cleaning a perfectly clean table over and over again, “just in case” it’s dirty! That person would need to learn how to recognize when the table actually needs cleaning and otherwise set a schedule to only clean the table at X time. To bring this back to Confession, it is vital for the OP to have a regular Confessor who knows that you struggle with scruples. Next time you go to Confession wit him, talk frankly about your scrupulosity and OCD past. He will give you guidelines and advice. This will likely include information on recognizing true sin from imaginary sin, recognizing mortal sin, and a guideline for how often you should go to Confession. Someone who is scrupulous is generally advised to not go to Confession weekly (or even every other week!). So, keep a regular Confessor, talk to him, and do everything he says!

Keep in mind that you cannot sin by accident or when the sin is against your will.