{"id":153426,"date":"2022-08-16T09:30:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T13:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-willful-distraction-during-prayer-a-serious-sin\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T14:54:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T18:54:42","slug":"ask-a-priest-is-willful-distraction-during-prayer-a-serious-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/ask-a-priest-is-willful-distraction-during-prayer-a-serious-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"“Ask a Priest: Is Willful Distraction During Prayer a Serious Sin?”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Q: Is willful distraction during prayer grave matter? I sat down to pray the rosary with a podcast and was going to put my watch in the charger and noticed that I needed to walk around for a minute (fitness rings on Apple Watch). Since I often pray while walking around the neighborhood, I didn\u2019t think this would be a distraction. But it turned into one, and instead of just forcing myself to go sit down, I finished the minute and started the rosary over from the top. Now obviously I consented to the distraction, and that is disrespectful to God and Mary so it was sinful. I struggle with scrupulosity due to the fact that while living a bad Catholic life, I actually thought I was living my faith appropriately. I never had a properly formed conscience, and I don\u2019t trust it when it says, \u201cYou are probably OK,\u201d because history has proven that false. So here I am, one and a half hours before Sunday Mass and I don\u2019t think I can go to communion because I am stupid and cared about my stupid watch. I don\u2019t want to fall into a lax conscience situation, but neither do I want to abuse the sacrament of confession by being in there every other day, since venial sins are forgiven in communion. \u2013 S.R.<\/address>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC<\/em><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0Distractions in prayer are common. Willful distractions, as you say, aren’t very respectful of God.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, unless there was special malice in your intention, it doesn’t seem like a grave sin in this case. If, on the other hand, you habitually give in to distractions to the point of neglecting prayer altogether, that could be a serious fault.<\/p>\n

Prayer, like the spiritual life in general, can be a battle. One way we progress is to recognize the potential pitfalls in our life, and to adjust accordingly.<\/p>\n

In this case, if you know the phone will be a distraction, consider leaving it in another room when you pray.<\/p>\n

It might also be good to step back and see how you can detox from phones and smart watches and media, etc., during the day. Constant exposure to screens and images can cripple our interior life and sense of recollection, and make prayer much more difficult.<\/p>\n

At a deeper level, it would be good to find a regular confessor who can help you deal with any tendencies toward scrupulosity.<\/p>\n

Going to the same confessor who knows about your struggles with scrupulosity helps him to teach you basic rules and principles for evaluating these situations, and he will hold you accountable to them. He might also help you identify whether something psychological needs to be addressed too.<\/p>\n

You mention that you previously didn\u2019t have a properly formed conscience. One way to form your conscience is with a steady diet of solid Catholic books.<\/p>\n

This can range from the Catholic Bible (especially the Gospels), to the Catechism (and its Compendium<\/a>), to books on the spiritual life (see this list<\/a>, for instance).<\/p>\n

And when you have a genuine fall, don\u2019t despair. Get up, seek forgiveness, and move forward.<\/p>\n

God wants you to be a saint \u2013 and you can become one with his grace.<\/p>\n

Keep learning more with <\/span>Ask a Priest<\/a><\/p>\n

Got a question? Need an answer?<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type your question HERE<\/a>,\u00a0and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything \u2013 liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events\u2026 Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Edward McIlmail, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/485147bd811c2a8642adf1f1806f85f0adef2b00ef8ccabc9b46f8420af19e16?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC"},"description":"Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, taught theology and Scripture at the then Mater Ecclesiae College in Rhode Island and is now a part-time chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Greenville, R.I. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine and an editor of the Zenit news agency\u2019s English edition. He has written for\u00a0SpiritualDirection.com\u00a0and\u00a0ePriest. Fr. McIlmail also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest, and the South\u00a0and assisted with mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to\u00a0Ask A Priest\u00a0questions and sharing his insights in our\u00a0Weekly Newsletter.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/emcilmail\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153426"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=153426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}