SCRUPULOSITY
When Being Perfect Punishes

This is a practical guide for spiritual directors, confessors, and the millions of people who are afflicted with the life draining condition of scrupulosity. Drawing upon psychology and spirituality, Sister Riley approaches this subject with the careful analyses that it deserves. She defines it and guides the listener through a self-evaluation that pinpoints for the individual when scrupulosity is dominating the person’s life. She gives practical spiritual exercises that are designed to help the person live in the moment, let go of past events, accept the forgiveness of God, and to finally be forgiving to oneself. She also presents invaluable resources available on the Internet and groundbreaking books on the subject. She explains when and why medication is sometimes necessary to deal with this condition and shows how her simple exercises can complement the medical treatment of this illness. Knowing how scrupulosity works, Sister Riley right from the start gives the listener permission to rejects anything she says that would feed rather than alleviate the individual’s compulsions. This is a simple guide to help people find the freedom that comes from being a child of God and it gives clear guidance to spiritual directors, confessors and counselors on how to help people that are caught up this terrible affliction. She relies on the wisdom of the Church and the spiritual masters of the past, especially Ignatius, in dealing with this topic. She is convinced that many of the mystics had to personally overcome this problem and people suffering from it in the present have the potential to be great saints in God’s service.

Scrupulous Anonymous by Rev. Thomas M. Santa, C.Ss.R.. A Redemptorist publication can be reprinted with permission of Liguori Publications, Liguori, MO 63057-9999. No other reproduction of this material is permitted.