Holy water, scruple

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kathrin
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kathrin

Guest
I think I resisted a scruple.
Can somebody tell me it was ok? 😉

I may have forgotten to cross myself with Holy Water before leaving church today. I did after mass, but I went back in to ta^lk to somebody, and then I may have forgotten…

I was tempted to go back to the church to make up for it. I then told myself I could still do it on the way home.

Later during the day I forgot.

Now when I was on the way home I remembered, but it would have been a ways back through the rain… I told myself God wouldn’t want me to go back just to cross myself with holy water because of a scruple…

Was it good I resisted?

Kathrin
 
In reading your post, I kept thinking about what the priest says after the Lord’s Prayer: “…protect us from all anxiety.”

You seem to have acknowledged that you struggle with scrupulosity. In your post I could not see where you did anything wrong. So, I simply wish you peace and the ability to let things go.
 
Philomeena said:
In reading your post, I kept thinking about what the priest says after the Lord’s Prayer: “…protect us from all anxiety.”

You seem to have acknowledged that you struggle with scrupulosity. In your post I could not see where you did anything wrong. So, I simply wish you peace and the ability to let things go.
Click to expand...
I heartily second this.

To the OP: You did nothing wrong - there is no requirement to cross oneself with Holy Water on leaving a church, anyway. We cross ourselves with Holy Water on entering a church to remind us of our baptism.
 
Kathrin said:
I think I resisted a scruple.
Can somebody tell me it was ok? 😉
Click to expand...
Yep, it’s okay.

The holy water is there for our benefit, not to make us scrupulous.

Incidentally, if you received Holy Communion, Holy Communion had already done for you in spades what the holy water would have done, and much more besides.
 
Yellow_Belle said:
I heartily second this.

To the OP: You did nothing wrong - there is no requirement to cross oneself with Holy Water on leaving a church, anyway. We cross ourselves with Holy Water on entering a church to remind us of our baptism.
Click to expand...
And even on entering, it’s not something we have to do. A good thing to do. But not a necessary thing to do.
 
Was it good I resisted?
Click to expand...
Yes, what you describe is symptomatic of scrupulosity. And yes, it’s good you resisted. Do you struggle with this sort of thing often?
 
Yes now I am very glad I resisted.
I learned that with compulsive things, resisting them makes them weaker and YOU stronger, while giving in makes them stronger.
Oh yes I have struggled with this kind of thing for a long time. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I had a very good conversation with a priest on the phone just today again.

Thank you everybody who encouraged me that it was good to resist. 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top