The 10 commandments of scrupulosity

[DaneClark]

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupulosity.htm

I have a question about the 8th commandment.

"You shall believe and act accordingly, so that whenever you are in doubt as to whether or not you are obliged to do or not to do something, you can take it for certain that you are not obligated. "

When they say “obliged to do something”, do they mean being obligated to go to confession, and that your not obligated to go to confession when you’re not sure if you’ve committed a mortal sin?

 

[IntegraCatholic]

It could mean any number of things (e.g., thinking one is obliged to admonish the sinner in a given circumstance, to give to the poor in a certain circumstance). Scrupulous souls often make obligations out of things that are not obligations at all (e.g., striking one’s breast when saying a prayer incorrectly–while this can be a very good thing to do, scrupulous persons will often think they have committed some sort of sin in omitting it–this is especially true of clergy and religious while reciting the office). Wise directors, for example, may forbid a religious from doing this, even when saying the office privately. I believe St. Ignatius Loyola, in order to remove the scruples of one of his subjects, required him to say his entire office in a given time (I think it was an hour) so that he would not believe himself obliged to say the prayers so slowly. These and like examples abound in the soul of scrupulous souls.