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Distressed Diana wrote:

Hi, guys —

I need help and spiritual healing.

I have been having such dark, blasphemous, intrusive thoughts lately about the Holy Trinity and Mother Mary. I'm reading the Holy Bible (though very little, now) and praying but the thoughts still are not stopping. I have messaged many others but some haven't replied or just tell me to read the Holy Bible. I'm afraid I have committed the unforgivable sin. I need the Holy Ghost in my life. I have been praying that, but I don't know how He can enter me.

Please help me, I feel so lost. Please pray for me too. I'm always praying that I wish Jesus could be visible so I can talk to Him about my problems, or hug me. But a big part of me thinks He's mad, and I am going to Hell.

I have spoken with my priest but he says that these are from the devil. I have searched this and some say this might be religious OCD or scrupulosity but I am still scared.

Now days, I feel so numb that I don't even feel guilty or my mind will want to say something blasphemous. I don't know what to do now. I have watched videos about Hell and the Rapture,
and I am scared that I am going to Hell and won't be apart of the Rapture.

Please help,

Diana

  { Can you pray for me and give me advice on handling the blasphemous thoughts I'm receiving? }

Paul replied:

Dear Diana,

The first thing you need to do is relax. From what you wrote, there is no sin on your part. For one to be guilty of sin one must will the thoughts, intentionally conjuring them up on your own in order to take delight in them. That is not what is happening with you.

Actually, what you speak of is quite common. We all have stray thoughts, that go through our heads on a regular basis, that we don't choose — thoughts that are sometimes good but often evil.

All you need to do is ignore them. Whether they come from the devil or somewhere in our subconscious mind is irrelevant to the fact that they have no power of you unless you let them.

If we do not choose to put these thoughts into our heads we are not sinning. We must know this, and try to ignore them whenever they pop up. Be confident in God's love for you.

Again, these evil thoughts may momentarily distract us, but they get the better of us only if we allow them to hinder us, or if we choose to deliberately entertain them once they're there. It seems apparent that they are not your choice. Again, remember that one is not guilty of the sin if one doesn't freely choose what is happening to them.

So keep praying, and relax in God's love. I bet He's proud of the way you're rejecting the pestering thoughts that you are not choosing.

Peace,

Paul

Diana replied:

Hi, Paul —

I want to first say thank you so much for replying to my question.

You have no idea how calm I have become because of your message.

I do sometimes get scared of relaxing because I am afraid that I will become indifferent to this, and maybe some day I will not care about these thoughts, which will result in my heart being such a hard stone.

Thank you for that kind message and your kinds words, plus your wisdom. Glory be to God and God bless you. I'm still trying to understand that God loves me, despite all of this, but this is a struggle. I have repented, and make sure many of the things I am watching, reading or listening bring glory to God. I am fasting now, and plan to finally accept the Holy Eucharist after I had my Confession last Sunday.

Again, thank you so much! You have gone out of your way to help me.

God bless you forever, Paul!

Diana

Diana followed up later:

Hi, guys —

I again have come here because I need desperate help.

Recently I e-mailed you talking about my intrusive thoughts.

From lots of encouragement from other people, I was able to not feel as guilty and scared. Soon after, I started having dark, arrogant thoughts.

These thoughts were telling me that because God forgives everything, I should commit blasphemy. I tried to rebuke them but these thoughts and urges kept on coming. I then said something bad in my head about the Holy Spirit and prayed for forgiveness but these arrogant thoughts were still there.

As I was sleeping, again I thought about committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and it happened.

Now, I feel completely numb and not scared and that is what scares me the most. I feel like I might have a heart of stone. For some reason, this deep arrogant feeling has entered my body. I feel so empty and apathetic too. I asked online about this and some people said I need an exorcism which really scared me. I prayed again and read some of the Holy Bible. I also called the 700 Club hot line and we prayed together but I still feel so numb.

  • Could you please pray for me and give me some advice?

I felt like I was becoming better but now new worse urges have come.

Thank you and God bless,

Diana

Eric replied:

Diana,

Intrusive thoughts can be a symptom of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), or they can be demonic.

If you can, I encourage you to first speak to a doctor and see if these thoughts respond to medication. That can be very helpful.

If the cause turns out to be demonic, something that can be helpful is to get a (important!) blessed St. Benedict medal and wear it around your neck. (A St. Benedict medal has an exorcism prayer printed on it. (Buy one) If you are suffering from demonic obsession, the demons flee from a blessed object used in faith, especially a St. Benedict's medal (recommended by exorcists). (This is not a talisman or a charm; rather, it depends on your faith in God and is a tangible prayer that you are making. It's like an aid to prayer; St. Paul says pray constantly but that's not easy, so the engraved written prayer is there to assist you in praying constantly.)

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is final impenitence, that is, refusing to repent and accept God's Mercy unto the point of death. As long as you repent, you have not committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Just saying something bad about the Holy Spirit is insufficient to commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, especially if it is not deliberate and willful (i.e. if it is transient and involuntary).

All of us have nasty, even blasphemous thoughts that pass through our heads from time to time. The important thing is to just ignore them, not to dwell on them, and ride them out. I don't think you need to be scared of them.

They are all bark and no bite.

Whenever you feel apathetic, just pray,

"Lord, give me passion and fervor for You."

Whenever you feel you have a heart of stone, pray,

"Lord, give me a heart of flesh burning with love."

Whenever you feel an arrogant feeling, pray,

"Lord, grant me humility."

There is a prayer called the Litany of Humility (See below) that you can pray.


Litany of Humility
(EWTN)

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,                 Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,                 Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,                       (refrain)
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,

From the fear of being humiliated,                 Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,                    (refrain)
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.                                                      (refrain)

That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
                                                                     
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Charity

Charity is patient, is kind; charity does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices with the truth, bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

(1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

To have Charity is to love God above all things for Himself and be ready to renounce all created things rather than offend Him by serious sin.

(Matthew 22:36-40)

 


It may be helpful.

Eric

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