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Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 7, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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It's great if you have a friendly priest, but IME a lot of them are overworked, tired, apathetic, uneducated, and/or unorthodox. In those cases, a good Catholic friend is probably your next best bet. The Catechism is good, but since it's just a book, it won't give you an answer tailored to your specific circumstances that takes into account mitigating/aggravating factors, your intent, your history, etc etc.

I used to be more scrupulous about small infractions and I would get stuck wondering whether or not doing something was strictly allowed, but these days I just try to recall what I've studied and apply the general principles to my situation to the best of my ability in the moment. It's always good to reflect at the end of the day to check where you succeed and where you failed ("examination of conscience") and then do further reading if needed. It helps calibrate your sense of right and wrong without you overthinking in the moment and falling into analysis paralysis.