- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Hello! :) I am a Christian too (raised a Pentecostal, but currently going to a Baptist church). I too struggle with religious OCD. It’s so tough!! That’s interesting that you felt as if you want to trust Mary too. I am wondering if perhaps the desire to trust in Mary as well as God might be because you often feel as if God is angry/strict/judgemental etc., and Mary seems like she might be more warm, caring and compassionate (as many women/mothers are). For years I have struggled with the idea that God can be angry/unpredictable/judgemental etc., but I believe my OCD reinforces this idea, as well as a bad experience with my own dad. I do not TRULY believe that God is like this - and I want to believe that he is so warm, loving and safe. I’m not sure that I would encourage you to put your trust in Mary (or pray to her etc)., BUT if you have warm feelings towards Mary, and the simple desire to trust in her, that’s okay!! OCD will often tell us that is it bad to even FEEL certain feelings. I think feelings are okay! Does this make sense? :)
- Date posted
- 6y
Instead of thinking of that experience as a theological shift, why don’t you consider it an option. You could identify with some Catholic principles as well as some Protestant (Baptist) ones. But explore it more! You don’t have to feel guilty/existentially fearful for considering different aspects of the Christian religion. God has a lot of other things to worry about- he won’t mind
- Date posted
- 6y
That sounds like some religious OCD rhetoric! It’s not God talking- it’s your OCD
- Date posted
- 6y
As others have said, God won’t hate you. Turning to Mary, however, is wrong. God chose everyone that He works through to do a different task. I won’t deny that Mary fulfilled an important role, but her role was not more important than anyone else doing God’s work. All of our work is equal in value when we work for the King. God says we are to have no other gods before him. That includes other people that He has chosen to do His work, like Mary. I’m not saying any of this to be judgmental of you. I’m just trying to help you clear this up❤️
- Date posted
- 6y
There are people who are in more than one denomination. My dad calls himself a "Bapticostal Catholic" because he finds truth in baptist, Pentecostal, and Catholic traditions. God will not be mad at you for having a reverence for Mary. There is a difference between reverence and worship.
- Date posted
- 6y
And I'm unsure what you mean about "trusting" Mary... trusting her for what? Salvation?
- Date posted
- 6y
Hello again!! I’m so glad that this made sense to you. I’m sorry that you feel this way about God... I can relate!
- Date posted
- 6y
It just keeps telling me “he’s gonna hate you for it because you’re technically leaving him for Mary.”
- Date posted
- 6y
GOD =\= OCD your OCD is putting those worries in your head. god is different for everyone; i’m jewish and i see god differently than people such as catholics and christians so i really can’t say i understand. however, like Hazelnut said, it’s not god who’s speaking to you. it’s your ocd thinking god has an ability to hate people / engage in these things. to me, god chose mary for a reason. it is unlikely he would hate you for such a decision.
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes, but reverence in that manner is a form of worship because Mary would be fulfilling a role that only God is to fulfill. The Bible tells us to trust God, but it never tells us to go to anyone who has died for help. If Mary was alive we could speak to her as a sister in Christ, but she’s not.
- Date posted
- 6y
Omg thanks guys
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes, you took the words out of my mouth. I just didn’t know how to express it, Mary seems not judgmental and understanding and like...I can tell her anything, but sometimes with God I fear he’ll judge my struggles or...punish me for having certain opinions about him and what he does. But with Mary I feel like I wouldn’t have to deal with that because Mary is just a Saint, she doesn’t have power like God does. And also I think it’d be better for me because she was a human before. So she’d understand my problems, even though Jesus was human he had powers, real humans don’t have powers, we don’t have angels that can help us like he did
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
I've been doing more research on the ins and outs of Catholicism, and man are the guidelines very strict. They're not bad in any sense, and following them makes for a good person, but with ocd these guidelines seem near impossible to properly follow. For example, it's a mortal sin to have an impure thought, and commiting a mortal sin puts you in a state of sin. This means you cannot receive the eucharist (body of Christ) at mass, which is a way to connect closer to God. You have to confess in order to be free from mortal sin. This is fine and all, but this means in my case I'd have to confess almost every week, which can be so tiring. I'm not trying to bash on my own religion, but these guidelines make it so incredibly difficult for me to feel good about myself. Knowing I'm committing one of the worst forms of sin everyday. Intrusive thoughts are a constant thing, does that make me a child of sin? I even skipped mass today because I feel guilty about being in mortal sin, but skipping mass is also a mortal sin! I feel absolutely terrible about myself right now, and feel as if my connection with God has been cut and it's entirely my fault...
- Date posted
- 18w
Hi! I have been struggling with ocd for many years of my life, however, I have recently been struggling with religious ocd. Currently my ocd has been putting thought into my mind like, “you shouldn’t go to that party, because “God” doesn’t what you to” or “don’t do this or else it’s going to make “God” mad.” These thoughts have been overall causing me so much anxiety, and truly I don’t know what to do. I’ve been struggling to identify it’s actually Gods voice or not. Also, my ocd has been also making my prayer a very stressful part of my day, which is not how it should feel at all. Now finding peace in prayer feels more like a chore, than a conversation. Does anybody else have ocd like this? If so, any tips?
- Date posted
- 22d
I joined a worship fellowship group with friends at my community college it’s not a extracurricular thing but it’s someone just putting a thing together. but i can’t tell if this is my ocd. but i’m having thoughts of “what if i’m not believing God anymore?” or “what if this isn’t my ocd” or “what if i’m lying to myself and i don’t trust God and this is real” “what if this is real and i don’t wanna be close to God anymore” it’s like triggering because i’m a new christian and still learning about a lot of stuff since i just joined a group because i’m trying to get into more of Gods word. but i get scared of opening because i sin and i tend to be so hard on myself or if i see others like be christian and cuss and i’m like all suprised but idk i think im afraid of opening up in this type of stuff around christian’s that know a lot as i’m still learning… and sometimes i think my ocd will be like “ugh we have to talk about God all the time” and i’m like no no i want to… i’ve had ocd for a year now and my therapist has been in the hospital and i need to sit with it but it’s so hard bc i’m trying to figure if it’s real or not or if i’m lying to myself but i have a current second therapist rn and she’s teaching me about how rumination works and how to stop it. because i struggle with it ugh. i’m so scared this is real. i believe in God i do i just hate these thoughts why does it feel real
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