Eggs, Milk, Scrupulosity

[TwoNames]

I don’t eat breakfast.
Today I ate spagetti for lunch and when I got home 5 hours later, I had 4 eggs and 1 piece of bread. About an hour and a half later I made myself a cacao drink (with milk). I really like cacao. About an hour later, I made myself another cacao.

That adds up to a bit less than 1/2 liters of milk (I have somewhat big cup. There was a bit left from the 1/2 liters which I gave to my dog - she likes milk).

I know that you can’t commit a mortal sin without knowing it. But when I was making a second cup, I was like ‘in your face scrupulosity’, because I know this may cause me a scrupulosity attack (that I think I am having right now). I gained some weight in the last 7 months (after I quit smoking). I think its mainly because I crave sweets and chocolate. But for the last 2 months I am also on zoloft (that I had to start taking, because scrupulosity made me act really weird and was diagnosed with ocd).

I went to confession today - morning. I really hoped and believed that tomorrow I will go to Holy Communion without going to confession first. That will be the first time after about 2 months. I’m never brave enough to trust myself that I don’t have a mortal sin on my soul, so I just can’t go to the Holy Communion without confession first. But this time, I was very optimistic- that was probably the reason for my ‘in your face scrupulosity’ when I was making the second cup. But I didn’t make the second cup for that reason, but because I really like cacao and I wanted another one.

Is this a mortal sin? I am very very sorry for such a long ramble. I thank you all for your thoughts. God bless you all.

 

[Inquiringperson]

My advice is this. Find a good, holy priest that you trust and set up an appointment with him by calling the parish office. One priest that you stick with is what’s necessary for you to be able to deal with your scrupulosity in a healthy manner. He will tell you when you should refrain from receiving communion along with how often you should be going to confession.

 

[porthos11]

Sorry.

*What *would be mortal sin?

Drinking milk, eating eggs and chocolate?

 

[TwoNames]

Gluttony

 

[porthos11]

Gluttony

*Why *would you even suspect yourself of gluttony? Two cacaos?

I would echo the poster above. You need help.

Find a trusted confessor to whom you will give unquestioning and unconditional obedience. Otherwise, you will never find relief for your scrupulosity.

 

[TwoNames]

Thank you for your replies. I am really grateful. I am looking for the way out of the mess I am in. I am sorry prothos11 that you suffer from scrupulosity as well. Know that I pray for us all(who suffer from scrupulosity) pretty much every day. May God repay you for all the good you do. And I ask the same for Inquiringperson and (name removed by moderator).

 

[porthos11]

Thank you for your replies. I am really grateful. I am looking for the way out of the mess I am in. I am sorry prothos11 that you suffer from scrupulosity as well. Know that I pray for us all(who suffer from scrupulosity) pretty much every day. May God repay you for all the good you do. And I ask the same for Inquiringperson and (name removed by moderator).

Thanks. I have it and can inflame at times too, although I have had some relief in recent months.

One way I keep it under control is that I never ask “it is a sin” here.

 

[goout]

Thanks. I have it and can inflame at times too, although I have had some relief in recent months.

One way I keep it under control is that I never ask “it is a sin” here.

You’ll find out more about sin than you should probably know.

 

[Della]

The reason you are over-filling yourself at lunch isn’t gluttony, it’s hunger. Eat breakfast and you won’t feel like eating so much at lunch. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you are not eating breakfast, for whatever reason, it’s a bad idea. Your body needs those calories to get you going and to sustain you throughout the day. It’s a fact that if we deprive our bodies of their proper meals our bodies will hang onto fat. You’re telling your body that you are starving, which is why you want to eat more at lunch. Eat breakfast and you won’t want to eat so much later in the day.

 

[pianistclare]

Yes, definitely.
Do it. You will feel much better and have a better spiritual life.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would be very hesitant to say what’s “overeating” and what isn’t.

I recall a now-deceased aunt of mine who complained to me that she spent a good part of the day hungry. She worked every day as an insurance agent, despite the fact that she was in her seventies, so that was a real hardship for her. I suggested that she eat a better breakfast. She was used to just eating toast and drinking coffee on the fly on her way to work. She was pretty well off financially, so I half-jokingly suggested that she eat a rib eye steak for breakfast, along with an egg and toast.

A few days later, she reported to me that she had taken my “advice”. She was now eating two rib eye steaks and two eggs for breakfast along with toast and coffee. She kept up that diet for years. Never gained an ounce and died at age 94.

But she was one of those people with racing metabolism. You could just tell it by the way she did things…always in a hurry, talked nonstop, worked at pretty demanding things.

I also remember once having strep throat. Couldn’t eat for a couple of days. Woke up the third morning feeling better and went to the store. Cooked and ate every bite of two minute steaks, four eggs, three toasts, and didn’t feel a bit full.

I have a grown daughter who can easily put away two big steaks at a sitting, along with side dishes. She’s not overweight in the slightest. Just has a really high metabolism and does a lot of “brain work”. She can read a highly technical book faster than I could read a novel, and remember everything in it.

So, as I said, I never judge the quantity of what anybody eats. There is surely such a thing as compulsive eating, but I think most of the time, people just simply need what they eat.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I don’t eat breakfast.
Today I ate spagetti for lunch and when I got home 5 hours later, I had 4 eggs and 1 piece of bread. About an hour and a half later I made myself a cacao drink (with milk). I really like cacao. About an hour later, I made myself another cacao.

That adds up to a bit less than 1/2 liters of milk (I have somewhat big cup. There was a bit left from the 1/2 liters which I gave to my dog - she likes milk).

I know that you can’t commit a mortal sin without knowing it. But when I was making a second cup, I was like ‘in your face scrupulosity’, because I know this may cause me a scrupulosity attack (that I think I am having right now). I gained some weight in the last 7 months (after I quit smoking). I think its mainly because I crave sweets and chocolate. But for the last 2 months I am also on zoloft (that I had to start taking, because scrupulosity made me act really weird and was diagnosed with ocd).

I went to confession today - morning. I really hoped and believed that tomorrow I will go to Holy Communion without going to confession first. That will be the first time after about 2 months. I’m never brave enough to trust myself that I don’t have a mortal sin on my soul, so I just can’t go to the Holy Communion without confession first. But this time, I was very optimistic- that was probably the reason for my ‘in your face scrupulosity’ when I was making the second cup. But I didn’t make the second cup for that reason, but because I really like cacao and I wanted another one.

Is this a mortal sin? I am very very sorry for such a long ramble. I thank you all for your thoughts. God bless you all.

There are many illogical posts on scrupulocity on these forums but this one confuses even me. You need help.

We cannot dispense medical advice here, nor can we bind and loose. You need both medical and spiritual advice. These forums cannot help you.

 

[tawny]

Agree.

 

[jaimeleglise]

Not a mortal sin.

 

[Xantippe]

How about a meeting with a nutritionist, too?

I notice that fruits and vegetables don’t seem very prominent in your diet.

 

[brian_custer]

is OP worried about breaking the “1 hour fast rule” i can’t really tell:

i am trying to be helpful

eat whatever you like (in moderation)

just take a fast 1 hour before you receive communion

 

[Arizona_Fat_Gir]

Scrupulosity is a strange thing. Worry about past sins is hard because priests tell you you’re scrupulous and won’t listen … I guess they figure they are not the person’s confessor and they will never come back to them because the priest is a traveling missionary. That is why one needs a regular confessor, and I just found that out recently.

I wonder if scrupulosity takes a good hold on someone because of unpleasant conversations with a cantankerous priest. Telling someone they will go to hell is, after all, very terrifying. I was told that when I was a kid and I took it to heart.

OCD shows up in many ways: needing to do laundry, even when it isn’t necessary at that time. Putting a blouse in the hamper, only to obsess over when it can be laundered. Worry that the necklace doesn’t look right with the dress, and if people will notice. Going over lists of things to do and carefully drawing a line through each thing. Worry that certain things won’t be done soon enough. The list goes on and on.

Not everyone takes what a priest says about going to hell very seriously. They usually try to avoid sin, but often realize the priest is just stressing a point. Tell a scrupulous person they will go to hell, however, and they might truly believe that will definitely happen.

 

[Della]

I don’t eat breakfast.
Today I ate spagetti for lunch and when I got home 5 hours later, I had 4 eggs and 1 piece of bread. About an hour and a half later I made myself a cacao drink (with milk). I really like cacao. About an hour later, I made myself another cacao.

That adds up to a bit less than 1/2 liters of milk (I have somewhat big cup. There was a bit left from the 1/2 liters which I gave to my dog - she likes milk).

I know that you can’t commit a mortal sin without knowing it. But when I was making a second cup, I was like ‘in your face scrupulosity’, because I know this may cause me a scrupulosity attack (that I think I am having right now). I gained some weight in the last 7 months (after I quit smoking). I think its mainly because I crave sweets and chocolate. But for the last 2 months I am also on zoloft (that I had to start taking, because scrupulosity made me act really weird and was diagnosed with ocd).

I went to confession today - morning. I really hoped and believed that tomorrow I will go to Holy Communion without going to confession first. That will be the first time after about 2 months. I’m never brave enough to trust myself that I don’t have a mortal sin on my soul, so I just can’t go to the Holy Communion without confession first. But this time, I was very optimistic- that was probably the reason for my ‘in your face scrupulosity’ when I was making the second cup. But I didn’t make the second cup for that reason, but because I really like cacao and I wanted another one.

Is this a mortal sin? I am very very sorry for such a long ramble. I thank you all for your thoughts. God bless you all.

I have the opposite problem–I look at food and I gain weight. But I’ve found that if I eat a good breakfast I don’t gain because my body doesn’t feel like its starving. A lot of us gals skip breakfast thinking it will help us lose weight or keep it off. It doesn’t work that way. Your aunt was lucky that she could get away without eating breakfast and not gain weight, but that was her, yes? I envy her and your daughter.

I don’t know if the OP has a problem with weight, but like you aunt discovered, skipping a good breakfast makes you hungry throughout the day, which may prompt eating more at other meals. So, eating right first thing in the morning is the right thing to do, unless a doctor advises otherwise. If anyone is fasting so they can receive communion, he should get up a bit earlier so he can eat something, and maybe eat a little more later, but no one should be skipping breakfast, unless, as I said, his doctor says otherwise.

 

[Bookcat]

For future reference regarding gluttony of eating (when there are such -not saying there was any sin here per se - talk with your confessor):

Individual acts of overeating…intemperance (gluttony in this sense) are ordinarily venial matter for venial sin…

Talk with your confessor…

I will re-post another older post of mine (general information regarding scrupulosity)

A person struggles with scruples - what ought they do?

A person with scrupulosity --ought to have a* “regular confessor” who can direct them --and even give them some general principles* to follow -to apply (principles for them due to their particular scruples -they are usually not for those with a normal conscience).

Thus with their direction they can “dismiss scruples” (in the older language despise them) - “act against them”.

Scruples are to be dismissed ~ not argued with.

To borrow and image from a Carthusian from centuries ago: Scruples *are like a barking dog or a hissing goose -one does not stop to argue with a barking dog or a hissing goose does one? * No one keeps walking.

Such ‘obedience’ to a regular confessor who knows of ones scruples (except in what is manifest sin - such as if he told them it was ok to murder someone or something certain like that) is key. Such is the age old practice.

Also counseling -(especially if one also has OCD) could be helpful depending on the case -but one would want to look for a counselor who can assist one in following the Churches Teachings - not go contrary to them (I have heard CA staff mention catholictherapists.com/)

Here is post from Jimmy Akin of CA that I saw in the Register and saved for those who struggle with such.

ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/6-tools-for-the-scrupulous

 

[e_c]

Gluttony

Gluttony (which was probably not what happened in the incident you described) does not seem to be able to be mortal sin on its own because it is simply a matter of quantitative excess (rather than qualitative). Instead, it has to be attached to some other sin, such as if one were prepared to commit murder to eat some more pie, or if one overeats out of explicit spite for God’s law. (This is the teaching of St. Thomas.)

The scrupulous person is normally aware he is being scrupulous. When you perceive that your judgment is becoming imbalanced, call it what it is and move on.