Case LXVII: Scrupulosity

A young man of about thirty came to a confessor and confessed, with every sign of contrition, many grievous sins, especially many very serious ones contra VI. The confessor heard him patiently, asked the necessary questions, warned and admonished him suaviter, pointed out the consequences to body and soul, and then absolved and dismissed him. Some weeks later the penitent returned to the confessional and thenceforth came frequently, showing himself to be completely changed. The priest's exhortations had sunk deep into his "heart, and the grace of God worked a miraculous conversion. Yet at every confession he said: " Father, whenever I think of my past life, I am filled with fear; I never have a happy hour, I have no peace at all." Quid respondendum?

If the confessor is satisfied that his penitent has confessed all the formal mortal sins that he remembered, after a careful examination of conscience, — if there is moral certainty de validitate of his previous confessions, and if any that were not valid have been made good, he should begin by telling the penitent that his disturbed state is the work of the devil. Our adversary does all in his power to drag a soul that he considered his own back from the right path, and in order to discourage a poor mortal, and shatter his confidence in God, he has recourse to disturbance and anxiety of mind, and tortures him with doubts as to God's mercy. The confessor ought to urge his penitent to pray earnestly, and he should strive to strengthen his confidence in God.

None of us, not even the most pious priest, knows whether he is worthy of love or hatred (Eccles. ix, 1), and even the Apostle of the Gentiles had to acknowledge: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not thereby justified; but He who judges me is the Lord" (1 Cor. iv, 4). It is actually a dogma of our holy religion, that no one knows with certainty that he is justified (Trid. sess., VI. cap. 9, in Denzinger, n. 684). Therefore we must be satisfied with more or less moral certainty, which varies in degree according to our power of ascertaining whether we have complied with all the requirements and conditions imposed by God. We have much reason to thank Him for this incertitudo; it preserves us from carelessness and reckless presumption, and sets a barrier to our self-confidence and boastful self-complacency.

After a penitent has done his best to obtain reconciliation with God, he should set aside all disquieting thoughts and look with confidence to the future.

To elucidate the point under discussion as far as possible, I may add that, in making the preceding statements, I have had in view a sinner who has committed unusually grievous sins during a period of many years, and now, in spite of having confessed them, enjoys no peace of mind. If he is incessantly troubled by fears ob confessiones peractas, and questions their validity, or if he is in constant dread of sinning, the regulae pro scrupulosis of course hold good for his confessor.—Prof. Gspann.