Scrupulous about confession

[Ciciera]

Hi there. My name is Ciera and I’m relatively new to the Catholic faith. I was raised protestant and got confirmed in March. I am super happy to be receiving the Sacraments frequently, but worry that maybe I’m going to confession a bit too much. I am having difficulty discerning between venial and mortal sins on my conscience. Just today I watched a Vatican Catholic video (the infamous schismatics) that said Pope Francis was an antipope. I listened to what they said, considered it, then thought: what they’re saying makes sense, but realized that what I had just thought was blasphemous in itself to deny the authority of the Pope. Would I still have to confess to that? Denying what the church teaches is a heresy, and I considered what they said for a solid five seconds but didn’t realize until after I had the thought that it was wrong. Please help me!! Also advice for scrupolosity, and discerning between sinful thoughts and temptations + venial sins would be a load of help for me!

 

[GospelOfMatthew]

Welcome to the forums! We actually aren’t suppose to give advice about scrupulousity because it can actually make it worse

So I will say a prayer for you and ask that you speak with a Priest!

 

[otjm]

You are certainly welcome to discuss this with your confessor, but as a new Catholic, You have much to learn about the Faith (which is not to say there are not a lot of cradle Catholics in the same position).

You have not denied anything half so much as you have wandered into a schismatic site which, for the uninitiated, makes good sounding arguments. You might also speak with your confessor (and I would suggest doing this outside the confessional, at a time when you can meet with him) to go over what you might consider appropriate websites, so you can avoid such problems.

EWTN is a good place to start; so is National Catholic Register.

You might also purchase a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as it was published under the guidance of Pope John Paul 2. References are to paragraph numbers. It can be a bit dense at times, but it is a good way to see what the Church teaches (and why).

As to scrupulosity, you need to speak with your priest (preferably outside confession) about the problem (not what you perceive to be sins - jut that you have a problem with scrupulosity) and ask him if he as a confessor has dealt with this issue, or if he could refer you to another priest who does.

Then listen to that they say, follow it, and don’t go asking others the same set of questions (e.g. this forum). It can be a difficult burden, but you need to put your trust in the priest and follow their advice.

 

[Kima]

Just today I watched a Vatican Catholic video (the infamous schismatics) that said Pope Francis was an antipope. I listened to what they said, considered it, then thought: what they’re saying makes sense, but realized that what I had just thought was blasphemous in itself to deny the authority of the Pope. Would I still have to confess to that?

It seems like you are unessecary stressing about this. To put it in a perspective; in my family we are currerenly three Catholic converts, and my brother which is one of them considers conversion to Orthodoxy. We are very much interested in talking about the Faith. Due to these conversations we may at sometimes, especially when looking at the pope reflect on different views. I believe that it´s healthy as long as you don´t walk into calling him “anti-christ” . There are enough cases on which I´m not on the same page as the pope, but what he has said and how he has acted on these topics are non-binding since he didn´t do it ex-cathetra (which practically means that as far as he doesn´t do something while claiming to be unfalliable, we don´t have to approve for it).

I would want to give you information on how to know the difference between mortal and venial sins, but in addition to not helping your condition grow, I would rather advise you to speak with your priest about this.

 

[po18guy]

Don’t stress. Confess! Keep it simple. It is the devil who complicates things.

 

[jesusmademe]

. I am having difficulty discerning between venial and mortal sins on my conscience

I was told by a Priest that many people have this issue. It was not that important to figure it out. You just had to go to Confession and confess your sins. Then of course, the Priest never really talked about being scrupuloys which is another issue that one might have to deal with. If you are scrupulous you might need yo seek psychological help.

 

[HisSparrow]

Try reading the The Spiritual Exercises, Discernment of spirits by Father Timothy Gallagher.

 

[awesomecatholic]

Welcome home! For something to be a mortal sin, it has to be a grave matter,a person has to know what they are doing,and give full consent to it. Mortal sins destroy our relationship with God. A venial sin is something less serious that would just put distance between us and God. You don’t need to confess temptations,because you have not acted on them. I would seek advice from a priest about scrupulosity.