The 9th Commandment for the Scrupulous

[S_V7]

1. If, before you perform or omit an act, you are doubtful whether or not it is sinful for you, you shall assume as certain that it is not sinful and shall proceed to act without any dread of sin whatever.

This commandment is also supported by Saint Alphonsus. In his advice to confessors he says, “Scrupulous persons tend to fear that everything they do is sinful. The confessor should command them to act without restraint and overcome their anxiety. He should tell them that their first obligation is to conquer their scruples. They should act against their groundless fears. The confessor may command the scrupulous to conquer their anxiety and disregard it by freely doing whatever it tells them not to do. The confessor may assure the penitent the he or she need never confess such a thing.”

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupulosity.htm

I’m having a bit of trouble understanding this. From what I get, a scrupulous person who doesn’t know wether an act is sinful or not, should go ahead and do it without fear of sin. I thought one should refrain from doing something if they don’t know wether it’s sinful or not.

I know scrupulous people, such as myself, have many doubts and all, but that doesn’t mean we don’t sin.

any thoughts?

 

[rwoehmke]

What you say is correct. When a normal person thinks something may be sinful there is an obligation to ascertain the truth in the matter.

The point is that a scrupulous person, on the other hand, will go around and around in their mind on an issue and in most case never reach a resolution on an issue of sinful or not. It is probable that in 95 cases out of a hundred it is not and the remaining five are probably not a serious sin. It is also true that a person who commits a grave sin will have no doubt that it is absolutely grave.

I once suffered from scrupulosity and my confessor told me that if I had committed a mortal sin, I would have no doubts or questions about the matter. I would know. Those ten commandments for the scrupulous are most useful for those who suffer from this spiritual malady. All ten of them with no exception.

 

[baltobetsy]

There are two sets of rules. One is for scrupulous people and one is for the rest. Scrupulous people suffer from an irrational fear that keeps them from advancing toward God in love and holiness, and it is their obligation to act against this fear in order to conquer it. Sometimes that means doing something that might possibly be sinful, and that a normal person should investigate first. But the scrupulous person is not normal, and should act in obedience to his/her confessor who has probably ordered the Ten Commandments for the Scrupulous. That’s the beauty and the near magic of obedience. When you obey, the responsibility for deciding about your action falls not to you but to the one to whom you are giving obedience. If it’s a good action, you are both in the clear. If it ends up being a bad action, you are still in the clear, but your confessor may have some 'splaining to do! And no, you are not responsible for your confessor’s sin by your obedience! (See how the circles start?)

So the scrupulous person is not normal, but his job is to become normal. In order to do so, he must do things that would possibly be wrong for the normal person to do, and do them under obedience. When he becomes normal, he must then form his conscience according to the normal norms, and be subject to the normal precautions against committing sin. But not until then!

Your chief job is to get past the derangement of your conscience that keeps you from being able to live a normal moral life. Obedience is the key!

Betsy