Return of the Prodigal Son by Pompeo Batoni - 1773

Evolution for the Catholic Student

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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Link - Scrupulosity, OCD, and Spirituality


Link – Scrupulosity, OCD, and Spirituality

One rarely discussed difficulty that many Catholics can experience is scrupulosity, an obsessive fear that they have committed some terrible sin, often when no sin at all is really present.  Numerous Saints have struggled with it at times, and it was probably the major impetus behind Martin Luther’s development of the mistaken doctrine of Sola Fide and eventual leaving the Church.

Scrupulosity has more to do with one’s mental state than spiritual state.  At the link below, Benjamin Mann gives an insightful reflection, based on his own experiences, on scrupulosity, obsessive compulsive disorder, and the spiritual life.