Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy

Women and Men Seeking Holiness as the Answer to Abortion

  • Welcome
  • Seeking Holiness
  • Membership
    • Directors
    • Special Prayer Partners
  • Sacraments
    • Holy Mass
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    • Frequent Confession
  • Prayer
    • Morning Offering
    • Devotion to Mary
    • The Holy Rosary
    • Lectio Divina
    • Chaplet of Divine Mercy
    • Examination of Conscience
    • Annual Retreat
  • Mercy
  • Patron Saints
    • Our Lady of Mercy
    • St. Augustine
    • St. Margaret of Cortona
  • Resources
    • Articles from other websites
      • Horror of Sin & the Mercy of God
    • Recommended Books
    • Brief Quotes from Saints
  • Contact
  • Prayer Requests
You are here: Home / Spiritual Teaching / Spiritual Works of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful

Spiritual Works of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful

July 15, 2015 by Fr. Ben Cameron Leave a Comment

counsel the doubtfulThe second Spiritual Work of Mercy is to Counsel the Doubtful.  What does this mean?  How can we live this work of mercy?

Many people today are confused.  They might be looking for meaning in their lives, for answers to the biggest questions (Why do I exist?  Is there a purpose for my life?  What is my calling in life?, etc.).  Sometimes, a person simply needs someone that they can talk to, that they can “bounce ideas off.”  If we are willing to listen, we have the first tool for living this work of mercy.

But being a good listener is not enough.  It is also important that we understand the context of a person’s questions.  Where are they coming from?  What was their childhood like?  Do they are a strong family support system?  Do they have a religious background?  Do they currently practice their faith, and is it the Catholic Faith?

All of this is important if we are to be able to provide good counsel.  Why does it matter?  Because we have to know where a person IS, if we are to help him to find the way to where he is GOING.  Our goal in life is to get to heaven, to spend all eternity in the presence of Almighty God:  All Joy, Peace, Love, Happiness, Friendship is ultimately found in union with Our Lord Jesus Christ — beginning in this life, and being fulfilled forever in eternal life.  The ultimate goal of “Counsel the Doubtful” is to help the person who we are counseling to find Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  When they find the Lord Jesus, and embrace Him and His Teachings as the Way, they will find the real meaning and purpose in life.

In what practical ways can we counsel the doubtful?

  • Be a good listener and provide counsel to our own children, and other children within our circle of family and friends.
  • Be a good listener to those struggling in their marriages, and encourage them to seek to base their marriages more perfectly on Christ.  A good resource for this is The Alexander House Apostolate and the book Marriage 911.
  • Be a good listener to those who are struggling with unplanned pregnancies, and help them to see their unborn child as a blessing from the Creator, rather than as a burden to be eliminated.
  • Be a good listener to those struggling with various emotional struggles, and help them to turn to the Lord Jesus for healing of their emotions.  It helps if we understand the way our emotions are supposed to work.  I would recommend the writings of Dr. Conrad Baars (healing of neurosis) Dr. Theresa Burke (healing of emotional wounding from abortion) and Dr. Joseph Nicolosi (healing of homosexual attractions).

Above all, when we are seeking to practice the Spiritual Work of Mercy of Counsel the Doubtful, we need to pray to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, so that we may be open to His Guidance — so that the Holy Spirit can speak through us to give guidance to those in need of good counsel.

Filed Under: Spiritual Teaching, Works of Mercy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

Reflections on Grief, following the death of my father

On October 8th of this year, I lost my father (Walter Eugene Cameron) to lung cancer. It was the second great grief of my life, the first being the death of my brother, Matthew, to lung cancer four years ago. Granted, I have felt grief at other deaths both before Matthew’s passing, and since then, […]

Special Grace of Divine Mercy Sunday

In the Diary of St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Lord Jesus said that He would give special graces on the Feast of Mercy, the Octave Sunday of Easter.  On that day, Our Lord promises that those who have been to the Sacrament of Confession (and, of course, made a good confession of […]

A Priest working in Rachel’s Vineyard

Our Spiritual Director, Fr. Ben Cameron, CPM, was interviewed by Kevin Burke from Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries about how he became involved in post-abortion healing, his ministry in Rachel’s Vineyard, and how it has impacted his priesthood.

Thoughts on the March for Life 2022

St. Helen Youth group at the Lincoln Memorial Last week, I was blessed to accompany five teenagers (and another adult chaperone) from our parish Youth Group (St. Helen, Glasgow & Our Lady of the Caves, Horse Cave, Kentucky) to the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. Due to the pandemic, it had been two […]

Blogroll

  • Testimony from a Woman Healed from Abortion
  • The Power of God's Mercy to Heal even the Deepest Wounds
  • Women of Grace: Part one of interview with Fr. Ben Cameron

Devotional Links

  • Chaplet of Divine Mercy
  • How to Pray the Rosary
  • Miraculous Medal
  • The Green Scapular

Post-abortion healing

  • Entering Canaan Retreats
  • Hope After Abortion – Project Rachel
  • Rachel's Vineyard – International Site
  • Rachel's Vineyard Kentucky
  • Rachel's Vineyard Kentucky Facebook page

Religious

  • Fathers of Mercy

Posts: Listed by Topics

  • Art in Honor of the Unborn (2)
  • Latest News (29)
  • Liturgical Prayers (2)
  • Prayer requests (1)
  • Radio/TV interviews (3)
  • Reflections from Saints and Holy Persons (34)
  • Spiritual Teaching (77)
  • Testimonies (4)
  • Uncategorized (5)
  • Works of Mercy (17)

Post Archives: By Month

Copyright © 2022 Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy · All Rights Reserved · Website built by Spears Marketing · Admin