Scrupulous one's ? on occasions of sin discerning

[foolishmortal]

If you want to do something, but you are not sure if it is a venial sin, mortal sin or none at all, the wisdom is to not do it. If you are scrupulous, aided by a difficulty in remembering enough moral theology (Fr. Cass Kucharek wrote a book called “To Settle Your Conscience”, which would seem more helpful than Fr. Santa’s book on scrupulosity if the former’s theology is right) to know if you are worrying too much, should you err in caution and not do it or err in whatever virtue is opposite of scrupulosity and figure avoiding the concern is going to augment your scrupulosity? The latter could even lead one to give up on fighting and pray for mercy upon death. I don’t see myself despairing of salvation. This is not about whether to confess the situation; just if avoidance is necessary in the doubt as to determining an occasion of sin, if any, in a situation facing a scrupulous person.

Thanks!

 

[MrIrish]

If you want to do something, but you are not sure if it is a venial sin, mortal sin or none at all, the wisdom is to not do it. If you are scrupulous, aided by a difficulty in remembering enough moral theology (Fr. Cass Kucharek wrote a book called “To Settle Your Conscience”, which would seem more helpful than Fr. Santa’s book on scrupulosity if the former’s theology is right) to know if you are worrying too much, should you err in caution and not do it or err in whatever virtue is opposite of scrupulosity and figure avoiding the concern is going to augment your scrupulosity? The latter could even lead one to give up on fighting and pray for mercy upon death. I don’t see myself despairing of salvation. This is not about whether to confess the situation; just if avoidance is necessary in the doubt as to determining an occasion of sin, if any, in a situation facing a scrupulous person.

Thanks!

I see no one answered your question, which probably is driving you crazy. The time-honored advice of Fr. Santa and the other good priests at Scrupulous Anonymous is to find a confessor who can help you with your scruples. It is to him that you should pose questions like the one in your message, and not to anonymous strangers on the Internet who may not know what they’re talking about and/or may not have your best interests at heart!

 

[foolishmortal]

I don’t see where on the site, you ask questions.

I don’t depend on others for my conclusion but finding the right info. in books might be like finding some info. on the net, if you don’t have the right keyword, it could take forever.

If asking here would tempt one to answer when he/she shouldn’t and make him/her culpable for any misinformation or answering what he/she shouldn’t answer, I won’t ask these questions again…

Thanks for answering with a post, but I don’t know. Have the Redemptorists, in general, gone too liberal since the 60s? Liguori(an?) Publications seem to have some strange ideas in their help pamphlets. There is a priest in K.C., Mo., that did the Tridentine Latin Mass for the Latin Mass community until the Institute of Christ the King was invited in to do it. They have evening confessions on Saturday. It’s pretty cool of them to have done both. For that reason, I said “in general” and with a ?.

 

[mosher]

I don’t see where on the site, you ask questions.

I don’t depend on others for my conclusion but finding the right info. in books might be like finding some info. on the net, if you don’t have the right keyword, it could take forever.

If asking here would tempt one to answer when he/she shouldn’t and make him/her culpable for any misinformation or answering what he/she shouldn’t answer, I won’t ask these questions again…

Thanks for answering with a post, but I don’t know. Have the Redemptorists, in general, gone too liberal since the 60s? Liguori(an?) Publications seem to have some strange ideas in their help pamphlets. There is a priest in K.C., Mo., that did the Tridentine Latin Mass for the Latin Mass community until the Institute of Christ the King was invited in to do it. They have evening confessions on Saturday. It’s pretty cool of them to have done both. For that reason, I said “in general” and with a ?.

I would take it a step further than just a regular confessor. Sometimes you will not be able to get a hold of that confessor. I think that a good friend that you trust can be a great help when dealing with scrupulosity. Similar to a alcoholic who has a buddy that they call when they are tempted to drink. This person can be one who will help give you a more balanced perspective on an issue.

Scrupulosity at its foundation is not a problem of a lack of knowledge but rather it is a lack of trust. It lacks trust in the mercy of God and it lacks trust in the individual conscience. The only way to adequately work through scrupulosity is to begin to trust another. So, if you find this person who is of good reputation and seems to be balanced himself then you will begin to see that his judgment on an issue will probably be the same as your conscious. As you do this for a while you will begin to trust your own conscious and in turn trust in the mercy of God.

So, coupled with a regular confessor get a person who is a friend to help support you in discerning. It will help you tremendously.

 

[MrIrish]

I don’t see where on the site, you ask questions.

I don’t depend on others for my conclusion but finding the right info. in books might be like finding some info. on the net, if you don’t have the right keyword, it could take forever.

If asking here would tempt one to answer when he/she shouldn’t and make him/her culpable for any misinformation or answering what he/she shouldn’t answer, I won’t ask these questions again…

Thanks for answering with a post, but I don’t know. Have the Redemptorists, in general, gone too liberal since the 60s? Liguori(an?) Publications seem to have some strange ideas in their help pamphlets. There is a priest in K.C., Mo., that did the Tridentine Latin Mass for the Latin Mass community until the Institute of Christ the King was invited in to do it. They have evening confessions on Saturday. It’s pretty cool of them to have done both. For that reason, I said “in general” and with a ?.

Just to clarify, I meant that you should be wary of questions you ask here at CAF, since you should not always necessarily trust the answers that regular posters give you. (I have much greater faith in the apologists, of course!!) Of course this is rather ironic, since I am a regular poster answering your question, but moving on now…

Regarding your second point about searching for information from multiple sources, this is a sign of a scrupulous conscience and will only feed your scruples even more. You will virtually never be able to find the exact answers with all the details your doubting conscience demands. It’s also likely that from time to time you will get contradictory advice and answers. This is why it’s good to find a confessor whose advice you trust and stick with him.

I can’t say whether the Redemptorists have gone liberal. All I do know is that CA has recommended Fr. Santa’s book in the past, and that recommendation is good enough for me. They even carry it in their online store: shop.catholic.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/p-B0361.html?L+scstore+rnys6346ff215921+1162546190

Here’s a post by Jimmy Akin himself regarding SA:
jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/01/scrupulosity.html