because I suffer from depression and anxiety with OCD as well I have used the catechism looking for black-and-white answers to my spiritual questions regarding sin because of my lack of understanding of the catholic teaching I found the catechism to be like a book of rules having no backing ground training in the faith and not understanding the how the catechism was developed it created more stress and questions than answers I found it to lack understanding of human frailty for the OCD person I find Fr tom Santa talks very helpful In helping me to understand how OCD works on the mind the thing I find most about youtube is so many different speakers will have many points of view about the same subject I find fr tom Santa talks have clarity and understanding speciality for people like me I ask God to bless your ministry in this area I now no longer look for different speakers and have stopped reading so many books looking for answers thank you Fr Tom Santa
This was very useful information. Thank you. I had no idea that it was not intended for lay people on its own. This was the same with the Trent Catechism which was only meant for preachers. I would say that I have personally found it helpful at times with my scruples simply because it would put to rest doubts I had when reading the bible. However, this was in combination to other things. I would usually look up a video or article from Catholic Answers or some other useful resource, and they would explain the entire teaching while referencing the catechism. There are also several companion books to the catechism that give deeper insights to questions. My reasons for finding it helpful is because I came from a Protestant background and was already scrupulous about the bible. But I never considered that relieving one scruple could lead to another. That being said, I do find the question/answer format to be much better and soothing to any question that I have. There are multiple catechisms of that style available - such as the Pius X Catechism, but the Baltimore is probably the most popular. From now on, I will stick to these formats when possible with catechisms intended for lay people.
Should a scrupulous person with ocd read or not read articles by rigid priests and other authors? Your videos and articles are very helpful to me Father Tom.
You should carefully monitor your reading. Try to avoid anything that is on the margins, one way or the other. If reading is a consistent trigger for you, this suggests that you should suspend your reading for an extended period of time and see how you feel. If there is a marked improvement, then that is a very good indication that you need to stay away from introducing even more material into your life. You probably have more than enough content to sustain you.
I disagree with the summary of this expressed opinion. You are not looking in the wrong place! You would only be looking in the wrong place, if you then did not investigate further, especially if your specific question was not addressed fully. Of course the catechism does not answer specifically every single question imaginable, it’s a summary of guidance for goodness sake.
People with Scrupulosity generally don't benefit from reading the catechism. They will read the catechism and they will get more questions and more questions and they will never be a satisfactory answer even if they spend all their time doing research upon the questions that they get from reading the catechism. This turns into a very bad suffering oftentimes. You need to understand that. Somebody with a normal conscience might very well benefit from the catechism but someone with scrupulousity would not. You must understand that with the scrupulous conscience, There is no end to the questioning There is no satisfactory answer. One answer brings up a dozen other questions and a dozen fears. It also wouldn't do a scrupulous person any good to read a list of sins for example because they will always start accusing themselves and having doubt as to if they are guilty of these various sins and if they have properly confessed them etc therefore the best thing for a scrupulous Catholic would be to stop gathering new content to spend time thinking about and worrying about.
because I suffer from depression and anxiety with OCD as well I have used the catechism looking for black-and-white answers to my spiritual questions regarding sin because of my lack of understanding of the catholic teaching I found the catechism to be like a book of rules having no backing ground training in the faith and not understanding the how the catechism was developed it created more stress and questions than answers I found it to lack understanding of human frailty for the OCD person I find Fr tom Santa talks very helpful In helping me to understand how OCD works on the mind the thing I find most about youtube is so many different speakers will have many points of view about the same subject I find fr tom Santa talks have clarity and understanding speciality for people like me I ask God to bless your ministry in this area I now no longer look for different speakers and have stopped reading so many books looking for answers thank you Fr Tom Santa
I wish I had watched this video years ago. It took a while to understand that the Cathechism wasn't doing any good for me with my scrupulosity.
These videos are such a blessing, thank you :)
Thank you, Fr. Santa. -ERP and good pastoral care have been helpful for me
☺️
This was very useful information. Thank you. I had no idea that it was not intended for lay people on its own. This was the same with the Trent Catechism which was only meant for preachers. I would say that I have personally found it helpful at times with my scruples simply because it would put to rest doubts I had when reading the bible. However, this was in combination to other things. I would usually look up a video or article from Catholic Answers or some other useful resource, and they would explain the entire teaching while referencing the catechism. There are also several companion books to the catechism that give deeper insights to questions. My reasons for finding it helpful is because I came from a Protestant background and was already scrupulous about the bible. But I never considered that relieving one scruple could lead to another.
That being said, I do find the question/answer format to be much better and soothing to any question that I have. There are multiple catechisms of that style available - such as the Pius X Catechism, but the Baltimore is probably the most popular. From now on, I will stick to these formats when possible with catechisms intended for lay people.
As a convert the Baltimore Catechism really is essential to my personal growth in the Faith. It is easy for me to use and understand.
Should a scrupulous person with ocd read or not read articles by rigid priests and other authors? Your videos and articles are very helpful to me Father Tom.
You should carefully monitor your reading. Try to avoid anything that is on the margins, one way or the other. If reading is a consistent trigger for you, this suggests that you should suspend your reading for an extended period of time and see how you feel. If there is a marked improvement, then that is a very good indication that you need to stay away from introducing even more material into your life. You probably have more than enough content to sustain you.
I disagree with the summary of this expressed opinion. You are not looking in the wrong place!
You would only be looking in the wrong place, if you then did not investigate further, especially if your specific question was not addressed fully.
Of course the catechism does not answer specifically every single question imaginable, it’s a summary of guidance for goodness sake.
People with Scrupulosity generally don't benefit from reading the catechism. They will read the catechism and they will get more questions and more questions and they will never be a satisfactory answer even if they spend all their time doing research upon the questions that they get from reading the catechism. This turns into a very bad suffering oftentimes. You need to understand that. Somebody with a normal conscience might very well benefit from the catechism but someone with scrupulousity would not.
You must understand that with the scrupulous conscience, There is no end to the questioning There is no satisfactory answer. One answer brings up a dozen other questions and a dozen fears. It also wouldn't do a scrupulous person any good to read a list of sins for example because they will always start accusing themselves and having doubt as to if they are guilty of these various sins and if they have properly confessed them etc therefore the best thing for a scrupulous Catholic would be to stop gathering new content to spend time thinking about and worrying about.