“When the sense of smell in one’s soul is healthy, then we can immediately perceive the stench of our sins.” St. Augustine
As someone who at times has struggled with scrupulosity, I find St. Augustine’s analogy of the sense of smell to be a helpful one.
Your sense of smell might be underactive or overactive.
For the scrupulous person, it might be more overactive. Sure, you perceive the stench of your sin, but you start to imagine that stench in other places, that might not actually be sin.
On the flip side, and what Augustine’s really getting at, is when someone’s sense of smell is underactive, meaning that they don’t sense sin, they don’t recognize sin for sin. They walk around in the wastewater treatment plant and say, “I don’t smell a thing.”
Now how do we develop a healthy sense of smell, making sure it’s not overactive or underactive? There are probably several different ways that can help but I think the one that is indispensable is the sacrament of Confession. It is in the confessional that we can turn to Christ through the person of the priest and ask Him to heal us, to set our senses right. We turn to Him to help us recognize our sin for what it is, and wipe it out.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, You offer us Your grace in the sacrament of Confession. Help us to turn to You, whether it’s been one week, or 50 years. In Your name. Amen.
Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.
