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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Eradicating What-If thoughts once and for all...	Matt	Monday, June 4, 2007
Question: Brother, I'm sooooo sorry to keep plaguing you with all of my mental issues, but allow me to explain myself more in depth so you're more aware of the types of things i struggle with and can better help me in the future. As i've told you before - i do suffer from Obsessive-compulsive Disorder. Let me give you an example...there is a book that came out a couple of years ago by Michael Baigent called "The Jesus Papers." It just scares me. I didn't read the book but came across an MSNBC interview with Baigent that said the following... "Baigent says there is revealing information on the walls of Sauniere’s church that suggests this curee'— or abbe— believed Jesus survived the crucifixion. James: You believe that the abbey was leaving a clue in this picture of what his view was about the crucifixion? Baigent: That’s the only conclusion I can come to. This picture is one of a series of friezes illustrating the story of Jesus’s final hours, or the Stations of the Cross. While the friezes are identical to others found in southern France, he believes the priest himself added an incongruous detail—a detail so innocuous, yet so important it can’t be overlooked. At Station 14, this familiar tableau shows three people carrying Jesus’s body after he’s taken down from the cross. James: What’s different about this Station of the Cross? Baigent: Station 14 traditionally is them carrying Jesus into the tomb having died on the cross. But as you can see, the night sky, the moon has risen, Passover has begun. So they’re not carrying the body into the tomb. They’re carrying it out of the tomb. Out of the tomb? That’s not in any traditional Bible story. And neither is the full moon— a clear sign of nightfall. Baigent: The moon has risen. There’s a very clear distinction made between these two times of day. And I think that’s important. Important because Jewish law dictated a body needed to be buried before sundown and before the start of Passover. Baigent: In the New Testament, it stresses that they had to get this body into the tomb before the Passover began. And anyone touching the dead body would be ritually unclean. I'm sure you know the whole story about all of this, but WHY am i so bothered by these things? They scare me so much, i keep hearing over and over "What-If?" "What-If?" every time i'm at Mass or in a Church and it ruins everything. Even if i do what you told me to do and tell myself STOP, the counter voice continues to say "But what if it really is true? What if this Abbe' really did hide these clues?" Brother, is this the voice of Satan? These temptations to think about these things? Then i feel like God is upset at me for even becoming worried about these things, i feel like it is a lack of faith or something. Please help Brother, thank you, (i promise not to bother you too much in the future, but you're very good at assisting me and i really appreciate it.) God Bless. Matt
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Matt: I appreciate the additional information, but you need to know that chances are if you post a followup in a few months that I will not remember anything you have said before. I have medical conditions that play havoc with memory, so I cannot assure you that I will remember anything in the future about your situation. Plus, I talk with hundreds of people and answer hundreds of questions so it all becomes a blur to me at times. Anyway, you need to continue with the STOP routine. Plus try to divert your thoughts elsewhere, divert your attention to something else. What is CRITICALLY important for you to do is to stay away from the "near occasion" like an alcoholic needs to stay aware from a bar. For example, the book by Michael Baigent. You have no business reading that book, looking at the cover of that book, reading a review of that book, or listening to an interview of the author of that book, or a discussion about the book. You are asking for trouble. You should avoid such things as an alcoholic would avoid a bar. It is just plain asking for it to indulge yourself in these things that are counter to the faith and which may get you "thinking" obsessively "what if." If that means never watching MSNBC then so be it. You are not missing anything. If you are watching TV and an advertisement comes on promoting a movie that says Jesus was married or some such nonsense, turn off the TV immediately or change the channel. DO NOT watch the advertisement. Do the same when something like the interview with Baigent comes on as soon as you realize what it is. Also consider some other "what ifs". What if the Church is what it claims to be? What if Jesus is who he claims to be? What if the Church really is the Bride of Christ? What if it is true that the Church is God's appointed protector of the Faith? What if what the Church says is true? What if these books and movies that propose things contrary to the Faith are a bunch of bull? What if you didn't listen to the bull? What is you focus on only that which builds you up in the Faith? OCD is a disorder of the brain. You may not be able to control obsessive thoughts. Medication hopefully will help that. But since you are vulnerable to obsessive thoughts you MUST control what you allow into your brain. If the TV is too much of a temptation to cause you to obsess on improper thoughts then throw it out. Which is more important, the TV or your peace in Christ? If magazines or newspapers give you too much information about unChristian ideas, then stop subscribing to them or buying them. It is like the story of the man who comes in to the doctor and says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor replies, "Then stop doing that!" Instead, read only devotional material, lives of the saints, the Bible. Watch only wholesome videos about the saints, or other wholesome topics. Never watch TV, watch only carefully selected videos. Ignatius Press has a bunch of great videos. Perhaps the obsessive thoughts are not totally in your control right now, but whether or not you watch TV or read books, or read magazines is in your control. Start exercising prudence. Read, watch, listen to only those books, magazines, movies, documentaries, videos, radio, etc. that is uplifting to your faith, and avoid the news and ideas of the detractors of the faith. You will not be missing a thing. I wish I could limit myself to only Godly material. But my job assignment requires I be informed about all such things. BUT, if I had an OCD problem like yours, I would have to simply be assigned another job. If I did not ask for another assignment, my Superior, in protecting me, would reassign me anyway. Although this was not about an OCD problem, my Superior has, in fact, ordered me to no go back into places like Yahoo Catholic Chat because that place and chatrooms like it are snakepits of the devil that were affecting my soul. No assignment is worth destroying my peace in Christ, or worse, jeopardizing my faith. Pay attention to your vulnerability. Do not go to places, watch programs, read material that may exploit your vulnerability and cause yet another episode of obsessive thoughts. You have enough problems as it is, do not fuel the fire. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Eradicating What-If thoughts once and for all...

Matt

Monday, June 4, 2007

Question:

Brother,
I'm sooooo sorry to keep plaguing you with all of my mental issues, but allow me to explain myself more in depth so you're more aware of the types of things i struggle with and can better help me in the future.

As i've told you before - i do suffer from Obsessive-compulsive Disorder. Let me give you an example...there is a book that came out a couple of years ago by Michael Baigent called "The Jesus Papers." It just scares me. I didn't read the book but came across an MSNBC interview with Baigent that said the following...

"Baigent says there is revealing information on the walls of Sauniere’s church that suggests this curee'— or abbe— believed Jesus survived the crucifixion.

James: You believe that the abbey was leaving a clue in this picture of what his view was about the crucifixion?

Baigent: That’s the only conclusion I can come to.
This picture is one of a series of friezes illustrating the story of Jesus’s final hours, or the Stations of the Cross. While the friezes are identical to others found in southern France, he believes the priest himself added an incongruous detail—a detail so innocuous, yet so important it can’t be overlooked.
At Station 14, this familiar tableau shows three people carrying Jesus’s body after he’s taken down from the cross.

James: What’s different about this Station of the Cross?

Baigent: Station 14 traditionally is them carrying Jesus into the tomb having died on the cross. But as you can see, the night sky, the moon has risen, Passover has begun. So they’re not carrying the body into the tomb. They’re carrying it out of the tomb.

Out of the tomb? That’s not in any traditional Bible story. And neither is the full moon— a clear sign of nightfall.

Baigent: The moon has risen. There’s a very clear distinction made between these two times of day. And I think that’s important.

Important because Jewish law dictated a body needed to be buried before sundown and before the start of Passover.

Baigent: In the New Testament, it stresses that they had to get this body into the tomb before the Passover began. And anyone touching the dead body would be ritually unclean.

I'm sure you know the whole story about all of this, but WHY am i so bothered by these things? They scare me so much, i keep hearing over and over "What-If?" "What-If?" every time i'm at Mass or in a Church and it ruins everything. Even if i do what you told me to do and tell myself STOP, the counter voice continues to say "But what if it really is true? What if this Abbe' really did hide these clues?"

Brother, is this the voice of Satan? These temptations to think about these things? Then i feel like God is upset at me for even becoming worried about these things, i feel like it is a lack of faith or something.

Please help Brother, thank you, (i promise not to bother you too much in the future, but you're very good at assisting me and i really appreciate it.) God Bless.

Matt

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Matt:

I appreciate the additional information, but you need to know that chances are if you post a followup in a few months that I will not remember anything you have said before. I have medical conditions that play havoc with memory, so I cannot assure you that I will remember anything in the future about your situation. Plus, I talk with hundreds of people and answer hundreds of questions so it all becomes a blur to me at times.

Anyway, you need to continue with the STOP routine. Plus try to divert your thoughts elsewhere, divert your attention to something else.

What is CRITICALLY important for you to do is to stay away from the "near occasion" like an alcoholic needs to stay aware from a bar.

For example, the book by Michael Baigent. You have no business reading that book, looking at the cover of that book, reading a review of that book, or listening to an interview of the author of that book, or a discussion about the book. You are asking for trouble. You should avoid such things as an alcoholic would avoid a bar. It is just plain asking for it to indulge yourself in these things that are counter to the faith and which may get you "thinking" obsessively "what if." If that means never watching MSNBC then so be it. You are not missing anything.

If you are watching TV and an advertisement comes on promoting a movie that says Jesus was married or some such nonsense, turn off the TV immediately or change the channel. DO NOT watch the advertisement. Do the same when something like the interview with Baigent comes on as soon as you realize what it is.

Also consider some other "what ifs". What if the Church is what it claims to be? What if Jesus is who he claims to be? What if the Church really is the Bride of Christ? What if it is true that the Church is God's appointed protector of the Faith? What if what the Church says is true?

What if these books and movies that propose things contrary to the Faith are a bunch of bull? What if you didn't listen to the bull?

What is you focus on only that which builds you up in the Faith?

OCD is a disorder of the brain. You may not be able to control obsessive thoughts. Medication hopefully will help that. But since you are vulnerable to obsessive thoughts you MUST control what you allow into your brain.

If the TV is too much of a temptation to cause you to obsess on improper thoughts then throw it out. Which is more important, the TV or your peace in Christ?

If magazines or newspapers give you too much information about unChristian ideas, then stop subscribing to them or buying them.

It is like the story of the man who comes in to the doctor and says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor replies, "Then stop doing that!"

Instead, read only devotional material, lives of the saints, the Bible. Watch only wholesome videos about the saints, or other wholesome topics. Never watch TV, watch only carefully selected videos. Ignatius Press has a bunch of great videos.

Perhaps the obsessive thoughts are not totally in your control right now, but whether or not you watch TV or read books, or read magazines is in your control. Start exercising prudence. Read, watch, listen to only those books, magazines, movies, documentaries, videos, radio, etc. that is uplifting to your faith, and avoid the news and ideas of the detractors of the faith.

You will not be missing a thing. I wish I could limit myself to only Godly material. But my job assignment requires I be informed about all such things. BUT, if I had an OCD problem like yours, I would have to simply be assigned another job. If I did not ask for another assignment, my Superior, in protecting me, would reassign me anyway.

Although this was not about an OCD problem, my Superior has, in fact, ordered me to no go back into places like Yahoo Catholic Chat because that place and chatrooms like it are snakepits of the devil that were affecting my soul. No assignment is worth destroying my peace in Christ, or worse, jeopardizing my faith.

Pay attention to your vulnerability. Do not go to places, watch programs, read material that may exploit your vulnerability and cause yet another episode of obsessive thoughts. You have enough problems as it is, do not fuel the fire.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.