Hey everyone. I’ve never had this issue before, but recently I’ve become horribly scrupulous. It’s paralyzing in a way and it just makes you feel terrible all the time. There’s also the fact that many of the consolations and signal graces I had been receiving have become much less frequent, which makes me question myself even more. I would appreciate a few prayers. Thank you very much.
I have never suffered from Scrupulosity but from what I have read it is a terrible affliction so you have my sympathy and prayers. But I see this is wonderful advice from the saints on this. If it were me I would read St Francis De Sales he was a wonder Director of Souls. One thing , I think has kept me safe from scruples is that I am such a huge, huge sinner that I have had to, in a way, totally give up on myself and my own efforts and throw myself completely into the arms of Mercy. I can;t worry about the little sins, nor even the huge ones. There were so many,. I can;t even begin to consider that I might raise myself up. I have to depend utterly on grace. I know I am a Great Sinner l but I also know I have a Very Great Saviour. https://littlestsouls.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/an-infallible-cure-for-scrupulosity/
Thank you for your honesty and a fabulous, very helpful, post. FiliMariae, I tend to be scrupulous. I offer it up. I also have found St Philip Neri very helpful (he says of scruples to ‘treat them with contempt’). P.S. : Console yourself with the thought that you have the fear of God in you, even if it’s a bit out of shape. The fear of God is, as it is said, the beginning of the wisdom that Padraig has expressed. I used to miss a lot of Holy Communion out of not wishing to hurt Jesus. Now, I try to invert this by not missing Holy Communion because of not wishing to hurt Jesus.
I think the consolations and signal graces are very much Our Lotd's gifts when we give ourselves to Him in the beginning. It is like a honeymoon. A wonderful glory from moment to moment. And then He seems to withdraw and we have to start walking in raw faith and that is so hard. We begin to question ourselves and then Temptations of scrupulosity rush in. I have certainly suffered from this but I find it helpful to repeat small prayers of trust. "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus i believe in Your love for me and in Your Mercy which is greater than all the sins I have committed or ever could commit." Reading/praying the psalms is immensely helpful. Psalm 27 and 16 are two of my favorites. Just throwing yourself on His mercy with the prayer of surrender like a little child. " Jesus You take care of everything." You can also rebuke these temptations in Jesus Name and send them to the foot of the cross. ( probably should do this every time you are in the midst of the temptation.) A lot if us have been through this. It comes and it goes. Cling to the Rock of Truth and disregard the feelings. You are loved. You are forgiven. You are a child of God. Scripture says it. Whatever the enemy throws at you " hold up the shield of faith to extinguish the fires darts of the devil ...stand fast in the evil day." God bless!
Will keep you in my Divine Mercy intentions this afternoon. Perhaps you can find one holy confessor and follow his advice? Peace
Thank you everyone for all the prayers! I went to confession and talked to my confessor (who is really great) about the sin I was concerned about and he said that it certainly wasn’t mortal, only potentially venial. He also told me to consistently pray for everyone involved in the situation and also to maintain peace of mind. Thank you for these kind words and for the prayers. I said some of these (or at least an approximation) after confession today. I felt a bit of consolation at Communion today. I think another thing that Jesus is trying to tell me is that I can’t revolve my faith around these interior experiences, instead I need to walk by faith. Once again, thank you everyone. I believe that with this advice it will be easier to ward this off in the future.
It sounds mad, but I think the root of scruples is pride. It is the same thing with being shy. If we are shy we are thinking everyone is looking at us. They are not. The same thing with scruples. We think God had nothing else to do but look at us. He has not.
No, Padraig, you’re definitely right. It’s pride. I’m thinking too much of myself and too little of others when I’m concerned about this.
St Francis had a lovely prayer. Little brothers let us being today. We are always at the very begining of the begining Let us begin today
I have often thought of pride being at the bottom of it. I wonder what Fr Ripperger would say? I think he has a talk on it. I will look it up.
I agree about it perhaps being pride. Looking at the fruits, one spends more time with one's eyes on oneself than looking at God.
Pride seems to be at the root of most, if not all, of our troubles. Those who suffer from scruples can take comfort in the fact that St. Therese herself suffered from them for a while. We all struggle with pride in one way or another. But God is so gentle with us...So merciful, faithful, and understanding. And He looks at our hearts and our will, while we tend to look at our failures.
I think pride is at the root of most of our issues which arise in our walk with the Lord. If we take a look at all the ways we try to be on the road to perfection in our relationship with the Lord and with others.
Having been habitually a sufferer of scruples, I can confirm ‘pride’ as a source, but it strikes me that this explanation might itself have its basis in scrupulosity. The scrupulous person is very quick to take the blame. In my own case, it is justified by my knowledge of my own previous sinfulness. But, in those earlier times of my life when I cared nothing of the concept of sin, but was surely more prideful and selfish than, hopefully, I am now, I wasn’t in the least bit scrupulous. Conscious of my previous sinfulness, I am now inclined to see sin where it isn’t at all. It does have the side-effect of forcing one’s thoughts into oneself, but I think a person with these thoughts would prefer not to be in that position. They are a torture, when they occur, and I offer them up. I have the suspicion that scruples, for me, reflect a desire for certainty, which can lead one to admit guilt for something ‘just in case’. This way of thinking is a mistake, because it can lead to self-accusation of just about every sin imaginable and lends one an appalling self-image as a great sinner. To attribute such conclusions to ‘pride’ is perhaps a tad simplistic. Padraig’s advice above of throwing oneself into the Mercy of The Lord is the best approach. We simply can’t save ourselves, only He can. And, from what I’ve described about scruples, I think Philip Neri is right on the money when he says to ‘treat them with contempt’.
This is best description of scruples i have heard. You nail it accurately on every point imho. At least in my experience. I have chalked it up to the after effects of serious sin. There is residual horror at those sins even though we know we are forgiven. Sometimes the closer we grow to Jesus the more enormous those residual effects become. The best thing to do (in my experience)is to admit that you now see deeper into the pain you caused Our Lord and make acts of love and trust. It is a terrible anguish to get caught in and one must throw oneself on the mercy of Christ immediately.
My 7 year old daughter sometimes suffers from scruples. Obviously in her case, it isn't the result of great former sin... I believe with her that it is a misunderstanding of God's love. When you are a parent, you know that no matter what your child does, if they come to you and throw their arms around your neck and tell you they're sorry and they love you, you can't even remember what they did anymore. Your love for them, and seeing their love for you, trumps all. It is true that our smallest sin is a most terrible offense against God, but it is also true that our greatest sin is a tiny drop of nothingness compared to the ocean of God's merciful heart. God doesn't expect perfection from us. He's looking for love. Love covers a multitude of sins.
