Is Not Observing A Promise To God A Sin?

[ATeutonicKnight]

Today, I had a fear that I was going to die. And since I’m scrupulous, I thought that I was in Mortal sin the moment I thought I was going to (Which I wasn’t). However, out of fear, I told God that if he spared me I wouldn’t eat food for the rest of the day. Must I observe this since it was out of fear, or should I go ahead and eat? I’m not planning to eat much, just some chips or something, but I still want to make sure.

Please, don’t tell me “Just ask a Priest!”, as the only Priests I have to ask are friends, and they are very busy and I don’t want to waste their time with such an insignificant thing as this.

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

Unless you are medically unable, fasting for the rest of the day won’t kill you. In fact, you may find that you like it as a form of prayer.

Just remember that Martin Luther once made a vow to God that if he survived a storm at sea, he would become a priest. Look where that led. So the fasting might just serve as a reminder to be careful what you pledge to God.

However, I don’t think God will hold this against you as a mortal or venial sin, because Our Lord knows you better than you know you, and He knows how scrupulous you are. I have problems sometimes with scrupulosity, too.

 

[AntalKalnoky]

Harming ones body intentionally Is a sin. Overweight people are recommended 1200 calories a day. The Body requires Daily nourishment. Also, your promise was made Under Duress, not free will. Potato Chips are not nourishment, are empty calories of too much fat. Offering a sacrifice of Less, but Nourishing food is a Blessing, to thank God for no harm.

 

[AntalKalnoky]

Unless you are medically unable, fasting for the rest of the day won’t kill you. In fact, you may find that you like it as a form of prayer.

Just remember that Martin Luther once made a vow to God that if he survived a storm at sea, he would become a priest. Look where that led. So the fasting might just serve as a reminder to be careful what you pledge to God.

However, I don’t think God will hold this against you as a mortal or venial sin, because Our Lord knows you better than you know you, and He knows how scrupulous you are. I have problems sometimes with scrupulosity, too.

Martin Luther Kept his Promise; Did become a Priest. He went overboard protesting Some real problems In The Church. He said he would not have begun the Reformation if he would have seen where it led: Calvinism, etc.

 

[1ke]

Today, I had a fear that I was going to die. And since I’m scrupulous, I thought that I was in Mortal sin the moment I thought I was going to (Which I wasn’t). However, out of fear, I told God that if he spared me I wouldn’t eat food for the rest of the day. Must I observe this since it was out of fear, or should I go ahead and eat? I’m not planning to eat much, just some chips or something, but I still want to make sure.

Please, don’t tell me “Just ask a Priest!”, as the only Priests I have to ask are friends, and they are very busy and I don’t want to waste their time with such an insignificant thing as this.

You DO need to discuss this with a holy priest because scrupulous behavior and thoughts are serious, not insignificant.

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

Martin Luther Kept his Promise; Did become a Priest. He went overboard protesting Some real problems In The Church. He said he would not have begun the Reformation if he would have seen where it led: Calvinism, etc.

Exactly so! If he hadn’t made a rash “vow” under duress of fear, he would not have become a priest, and he wouldn’t have been nailing his Thesis to the doors of the Cathedral at Worms under the name of Father Luther.

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

Harming ones body intentionally Is a sin. Overweight people are recommended 1200 calories a day. The Body requires Daily nourishment. Also, your promise was made Under Duress, not free will. Potato Chips are not nourishment, are empty calories of too much fat. Offering a sacrifice of Less, but Nourishing food is a Blessing, to thank God for no harm.

Fasting for one day could hardly be called harming one’s body intentionally. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and we know He was sinless.

This is not recommended for folks with medical issues, as I said. Sir Knight is a young, healthy guy from what he has told us, so if he skips lunch and dinner, he won’t die. For goodness sake, as a child I had to fast from midnight in order to go to Communion the next day.

 

[John21652]

A promise is a promise is a promise.

Keep it and prove you are not a snivelling coward who makes rash promises when the pressure is on and then turns away from doing what was promised when the ‘heat’ is off.

While you are fasting, think about having more faith in God and what He is and not go begging when you feel stressed. Think about doing tough things because they are the right thing to do and not because you want to ingratiate yourself to God (or to anyone else) because you might want something in the moment.

And no chips neither…

 

[timeandeternity]

John21652, I do not mean this to sound like an attack, but you clearly do not understand scrupulosity. I went through intense, severe scrupulosity for about 7 months last year, and it was torture. ATeutonicKnight happens to belong to the OCD/Scrupulosity group on CAF. I’ve encountered him on that group and have read many of his posts. I am VERY careful about labeling people as scrupulous, because I recognize how harmful that can be, but it’s quite evident that TeutonicKnight does fall into this category. I highly doubt that he is being a sniveling coward. It seems quite clear, rather, that this has been another bout of scrupulosity.
All that being said, fasting can be very good for the soul. I just undertook a day of fasting last week, and would highly recommend it to anyone who is able to do this. Teutonic, you could certainly choose to use this as an opportunity to spend some time in more intense prayer. However, please do not feel as if you are committing a terrible sin if you do not fast. In a nutshell: you can if you like, but you are not obliged to.