I have a relative who is suffering from scruples. I am searching for ways to help her. She seems stuck on some issues eg. eating meat on Fridays. I keep telling her todays rules but she’s always reverting to pre-vatican.
Sincerely, Concerned Relative

Dear Concerned Relative,

From what you tell me, I am not convinced that your relative is suffering from scruples. Her commitment to a practice such as Friday abstinence is not contrary to what has come out of the reforms of Vatican II – we are still called upon to practice penance and mortification, but the form that this takes is now left up to the individual Catholic.

Those who suffer from scrupulosity carry a very heavy burden, in that they rarely, if ever, feel free of guilt. They will seek to go to confession constantly, often daily or at least weekly. They confess the same acts, receive absolution, complete their penance, but still feel that they are not forgiven. They suffer from what today we would describe as an obsessive compulsive disorder, but in the moral order. Just as obsessive compulsive people may wash their hands fifty times a day, or never allow their hands to touch anything “unclean”, the scrupulous personality is always fearful of God’s wrath, and lives with the constant belief that they deserve God’s wrath. Does this describe your relative? If not, then I suspect she is not bone fide scrupulous.

As regards her practice of Friday abstinence, I might point out that the Canadian Ordo suggests the following:

“The Church wants new emphasis to be given to the evangelical law that a follower of Christ must do penance. While the heart of penance is hatred for sin as an offense against God, external forms of penance are required to deepen and encourage the internal virtue. /…/ Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, but Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day. /…/ In the Roman rite, including Canada, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and of abstinence from meat. /…/ The law of abstinence from meat binds those who are 14 and older; the law of fasting binds those from 18 to 59 years of age.”

Hope this helps you with your concern for your relative.

aka Archbishop Gerard C.Ss.R.