“Catholic Guilt” is a term used to describe the belief that all Catholics to some degree suffer from guilt that is above and beyond normal guilt. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Guilt is something everyone with a conscience experiences. Excessive guilt is an indication of depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Our Catholic faith teaches simply: repent, confess serious sin pronto (minor mistakes can wait), and move on. No ruminating allowed.
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal put it bluntly. “When you fail through cowardice or infidelity, be not disturbed, make no reflection, humble yourself in meekness and confusion before God, and then lose no time in rising up again…”
Quote from the Selected Letters of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Translated by the Sisters of the Visitation, Harrow). London: RT Washbourne, Ltd., 1918).
Thank you for this.
I’m so tired of this Catholic guilt “trip”. I do think though I’ve had a wonderful upbringing I the Church and domknow many who had very upsetting experiences with the Church.
It seems to me the problem is more about where you grew up and what kind of parish and priests you were exposed to than a failure of the Catholic faith.
I used to wonder why we had so many different experiences growing up with different places we would attend Mass. It wasn’t until my very early teens we really settled on going to out local parish. I now think it’s because my parents took us places that we very pro Vatican 2 with liberal faith communities.
There are churches I go to today that I feel very uncomfortable on and won’t go back to. That’s really not how it should be but I know there are many who share my feelings.
Forgive my typos!
I hear ya. I think this is a non-Catholic phrase that many Catholics have adopted to poke fun at confession, perhaps even to justify not going. It is certainly an area of confusion among mental health therapists and I’ve had to occasionally correct colleagues who bring it up when I tell them I’m Catholic. So, thought I should clarify in a post. Thanks for your thoughts here.
“Excessive guilt is an indication of depression…” I wish someone had told me that fifty years ago. Might have saved a lot of grief in my life.
So true!!