Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
November 29, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Scrupulosity

We are now at our last Sunday of the month and our last look at the spiritual illness called scrupulosity. We will focus on the last five commandments of Fr. Santa’s Ten Commandments for Peace of Mind from his book Understanding Scrupulosity: Questions, Helps, and Encouragement

6. Discover and recognize your success and learn to celebrate your effort.
Mother Teresa each night before she went to bed had the practice of thanking God for five things and asking pardon for five things. She said her activity focused on gratitude helped her become of God’s presence and her asking for pardon reminded her that she still needed God’s grace despite all the praise she received from others.

7. When you fail, or feel that you have taken two steps backwards, pick yourself up and try again. Do not give in to feelings of failure.
Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham has this to say about life in their book: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning: “Baseball teaches us, or has taught most of us, how to deal with failure. We learn at a very young age that failure is the norm in baseball and, precisely because we have failed, we hold in high regard those who fail less often—those who hit safely in one out of three chances and become star players. I also find it fascinating that baseball, alone in sport, considers errors to be part of the game, part of its rigorous truth. Francis T. Vincent, Jr. Commissioner of Baseball”
Thomas Merton put it this way… “MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

8. Never underestimate the power of grace.
A priest that I met while studying for a certificate in Spiritual Direction is fond of saying that the devil only has two lies.
The first lie is that "you are not good enough," and the second lie is that "you are alone." All temptations boil down to these two lies. God though has promised that we can do all things with Him and that He is Emmanuel "God with us." Thus making the devil the "father of lies."
Mother Teresa put it this way: “I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.”


9. Pray, pray, pray. Try to live a life of thankful praise.
The following is from Ernest Kurtz & Katherine Ketcham’s book: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning:
“All spiritual teachers have asked in one form or another, “What do you have that you have not received?” That question can lead in two directions. Gratitude responds, “Thank you.” Greed demands “more.”
“No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.
We know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an offering; not to share them would mean to betray them. Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.
…And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. – Elie Weisel”

10. Imagine yourself living free from scrupulosity.
“For me to be saint means to be myself.” - Fr. Thomas Merton.

Prayer for the Scrupulous written by a Scrupulous Person
I cannot dwell forever on things of the past, I cannot hang on tightly for they will not last. I must progress, not only remember, from the first little flicker to the last dying ember. The good of the past is all that remains: May the good of the present blot out is pains. May the Lord give me strength to see it all through as he does when we ask him, through old times and news.