In this generation it seems that there's a lack of faith. Recently the other day I heard a guy say, " I don't understand why you would have faith, it doesn't make sense to me", he later went into saying both how if something doesn't make sense to him he will be skeptical about it, and how many times people have done very wrong things because of their faith to something. He used the example of mass murders, and mass suicides because the people committing them had faith that what they were doing was right. What he needs to understand is that the faith that these people had is difficult to decipher, all one could say is that it is not faith that caused this to happen but ignorance.
This kind of mentality is souring in today's world. The if I don't see it or if it doesn't make sense to me I won't believe in it. If you think about it, it makes sense why this mentality is normal in today's world. First you have a lot of products and services being sold in the market which makes big promises. People become skeptical about this. The second reason is that we are living in a practical world. People have gotten used to thinking scientifically, practical and mathematically. This is not something wrong, and it can be very useful, but the problem is that many have gotten used to only what makes sense, or what they have seen with their own eyes.
The problem with living in a world where we only allow ourselves to believe in what we see, or what makes sense to us is that many times we need faith that something is real or that something works, without seeing. We need to get out of the I believe only what I see mentality. The second thing is that we are in essence putting limitations on God, when we say that miracles and unexplained things can't happen because it doesn't fall under logic. It is true to say that there are scientific and mathematical formulas for stance, but these are limitations that only humans and worldly beings are subjected to. God is beyond what is created, as he is the creator. This makes God immune to all this.
It is time that we take notice of this observation, and realize that having faith doesn't have to make sense to us, at least not right now. It is like believing that an idea or an Epiphany works. We don't have to fully understand it right now, or at least not right now. Just have faith, and maybe it will make more sense later on.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Combating Scrupulosity
As a sufferer of scrupulosity I decided to make this blog to help others dealing with this same problem. I will describe my advice that I would give others who suffer from this same problem. I will describe what I have learned, and what I have seen work for dealing with this type of problems. I will also write down some websites and publications that will help people learn a little bit more about scrupulosity.
What is Scrupulosity?
Scrupulosity is a psychological disorder, usually involving a neurological problem or chemical dysfunction. It usually involves a pathological guilt of moral or religious issues. It is a form of anxiety and stress for Catholic faithfuls. Scrupulosity is usually considered to be a form of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD).
A scruple is described in Latin as a pebble or stone, and in English it is describe both as a weight, and as a doubt or hesitation about a moral course of action. Scrupulosity makes sense if you put all the definitions together. A person with scrupulosity tends to doubt whether they committed a sin, or not. People with this problem also take in all the small details as small as a pebble, and they weight them to try to see if anything was done wrong. They will take all the smallest of details into context. The problem with this is that it may make a person with scrupulosity feel as if they committed a sin when they did not. If a sin was committed it may make a person with scrupulosity over-exaggerate the gravity of the sin committed.
People with scrupulosity have a hard time evaluating between a venial and mortal sin. Many times they will see sin when it doesn't even exist; as previously mentioned. People with this problem are encouraged to see a psychologist or a spiritual adviser. These professionals can really help guide people with this problem.
Another problem that scruples have is that because of all the small details that they evaluate, they might start a prayer such as the "Our Father" and begin to go through it half way and soon find themselves repeat parts of the prayer multipe times before finishing the prayer. This is because they feel that the prayer wasn't said right the first coupe of times.
People with scrupulosity have a hard time when confessing. Many people that go to confession give themselves a harder time that they ought to. For the reason that many of the people that suffer from scrupulosity tend to feel really bad about the sins they committed, or atleast about the sins that they feel they have committed, they feel that the priest didn't give them a harsh enough Penance. They may feel that the priest just doesn't understand the gravity of the sin they committed, or they may even feel that the priest is too liberal. The reality is that the person with scrupulosity is just taking it too hard on themselves.
One of the hardest problems with a person suffering from scrupulosity is the fact that they suffer from unwanted thoughts or rather "intrusive thoughts". Many times these types of thoughts occur in the most random times. They usually occur when praying, when looking at a crucifix, or when looking at any sacred object, or image. People that get these thoughts feel like they are somehow perverted or " not normal". This is simply not true. What must be done is simply to acknowledge that the person having these thoughts don't want them, nor are they consenting to the thoughts, thus given the name unwanted thoughts. We get random thoughts throughout the day, thoughts that are not logical, or thoughts that we would never want to think about. Yet when we have this thoughts we simply ignore them. This is what one must do with unwanted thoughts about sacred things as well. Many of the most devout Catholics who try their best to not sin, or to think bad thoughts usually get these thoughts; as do I. The best analogy to use is, Suppose I told you not to think about carrots for a day, what is the first thing you are going to think about? Carrots right? For this reason people who suffer from scrupulosity, or any Catholic doing their best not to think about these type of thoughts will most likely get an unwanted thought. Just as with any random thought you might get during the day, the best thing to do is simply to ignore them. Unwanted thoughts have been described as an annoying mosquito in your ear. All one must do in this case is to slap it out. This is the same when it comes to these unwanted thoughts.
Websites and publications that will help
The websites listed below are all helpful for people suffering from scrupulosity. I use most if not all of these websites and publications. Besides this, I urge you to check with a trained professional as well, as they can be of great assistance. The websites are listed below.
Scrupulous Anonymous - Scrupulous Anonymous
Crown of Thorns- Crown of thorns (Good article for unwanted thoughts).
Countering Scrupulosity- Countering Scrupulosity ( Good mp3 audio for understanding scrupulosity)
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
6 Steps for Amending our lives
Amending our Lives
One of the things that all Catholics and Christians should do is to amend our lives. It is one of the things that Our Lady of Fatima talked about to the shepherd children."Men must amend their lives, and ask pardon for their sins. . . . They must no longer offend Our Lord, Who is already so much offended." An act of consecration to the immaculate heart of Mary is a great thing that we should all do.
There are many ways that we could amend our lives so that we don't sin. This are some of the ways that I found everyone could do. Try one each day, each week, or each month. Depending on the difficulty of it, it might require more time.
1. Humility
One of the things that we could all do is to be more humble in everything we do in live. I think that this is one of the most essential things that we should all do. Humility can be done in every aspect of life. Try kneeling before a statue of Jesus or any sacred person more often. I have found this to be effective. Try speaking with a calmer voice when someone asks you a question, this was a hard one for me. Bow down more and act humble more like Jesus when the Pharisees brought forth the adulteress. Jesus knelled down and wrote in the sand. When the Pharisees told Him to cast a stone he simply said " let him who is without sin be the one to cast a stone at her". After he had said this he told the adulteress to go forth and sin no more. He thought and helped in a humble way.
2. Forgive more Often
Many times people offend us, they bump into us, they cut us in line. All this things make us start fights, we get mad, and we get this anger that stays with us. As Christians we need to learn to forgive more often. " Mathew 18:21 "Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times"
3. Listening more than speaking
One of the things that we ought to do is to listen more. Many of us are used to speaking most of the time. We want to take control of the discussion. We want to have the biggest say in the decision making. We need to be able to listen more to people, than have people listen to us. This is hardest to do specially when we think we know the answer, or when we think we know what the best decision is. This may be the case, yet it's an act of humility, and an act of meekness to listen even when we think we know the answer. The other person might be wrong in everything he says, yet it's be polite and respectful by letting the other person stress their point of view.
4. Moderation
Many of us eat a lot more than we should, drink a lot more than we should, and might not feel like we put moral boundaries to the extent that we do things. Everything should be done in moderation. We should try to eat a little bit less that we do, if for instance you feel you eat a lot. Start by taking away just a little bit of something from your meal until you feel you have cut back the over eating. For those who feel that they have consumed more alcohol than you should, then try to limit drinking to let's say Fridays, or Saturdays. Try to limit yourself to one less bottle as well. Any time you do even just a little bit, you have progressed in your quest for moderation.
5. Try not to repeat the same sin again
This one might to be a tough one; as it is for me. The more we do something of whatever it is, the more we are inclined on doing this. Whether it be playing basketball, or video games, or praying, we get more used and attached to this. This is the same when it comes to sin and vices. This is common sense. The more that we make ourselves do something, the more that we train our bodies to be attached to these things. This is why we should make sure that what we do is not sin, but rather things that please God, and things that lead towards personal holiness. We should make sure that what we do become attached to are things that are holy, prayer, God, and Christ.
Whatever sin you have done try to avoid it. This is most likely going to be done by progress, you might not succeed at first, but try again. Whether the sin be big or small, Our Lady of Fatima told us that man have to amend their lives. This to be consist of every aspect of life. Whether it be moderation or living more humble, every amendment to one's life is a blessing.
6. Pray, Pray, and Pray
Praying is one of the best spiritual practices you can do. A lot of people are used to pray only once in the day and once at night. The problem with this is that you leave God out throughout the rest of the whole day. Praying is one of the things that you can do to better prepare yourself for the Christian life. The rosary and the lord's prayer are perhaps the most well known form of prayer. Try to amend your life by adding the rosary into your life. Try praying the rosary daily. The rosary is one of the things that has helped lead me to personal holiness and a better life. It has been said that those who pray the rosary leave sin behind.
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