Hello everyone, I have a question about making vows to God. If you are faced with obsessive thoughts, impulses to promise something to God, etc., should you avoid the triggers of these things under the threat of a binding vow to God? For example, sins committed while drunk are considered mortal precisely because of the voluntary nature of the reason. Could the same be true with a vow?
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I think that vows should be made only after serious consideration and with guidance. I made my wedding vows, for example, only after marriage preparation in the Church and with the approval of our pastor. I would guess that thoughts and impulses would be best dealt with by simply asking God’s assistance.
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In Catholicism, one is not supposed to make promises except in the initiation of the Sacraments and renewal of vows and which are all obviously of Divine origin. And Holy Orders. You can say that you fully intend to do this or that. For example, someone says, “Promise to be there on Saturday”. You don’t oblige; rather, you say in return, if you don’t take issue or you even agree with said-individual’s request, “I was intending to be”. If they pressed you for a promise then you could say, “No, because anything can happen between then and now - I could die, for instance. Where is my promise, then.” Words mean something and so treat the word ‘promise’ as sacred…because it is. Such questions are a reason as to why it is important to dip into the Bible when you can, as all things are covered.
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Dr. Scott Hahn talks about vows in his book, “A Father Who Keeps His Promises.” I highly recommend it.
We should not get drunk, but when we were Baptized a vow was made. When we enter into Holy Matrimony, we also make a vow before God. Will we as fallen human beings fall short of our vows, highly likely, but do we then conclude that we should not adhere to such a vow? No. The vow is the mark by which we aim. We do not chuck out the target simply because we suck at archery.
And not to mention, Jesus raised the bar so high that no human being can reach the bar of his own accord. We need Jesus to help us.
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I must admit that I find some of what is being asked in the question vague (i.e. it’s not clear if you are asking whether your should swear a vow or whether you are asking that you should act as thought you are under a vow or whether you are worried that you have taken a vow because you have ab obsessive thought about making vows).
Here is my advice to try and cover all possibilities:
- Do not take vows in relation to these obsessive thoughts.
- Do not interpret these obsessive thoughts as putting you under a vow. It seems likely that these thoughts are not voluntary. If you must ascribe any voluntariness to them, merely judge them to be good intentions you have (not vows).
I should also mention that drunkeness impairs the will. While someone who has had a couple drinks as “liquid courage” may be fully responsible for his acts, someone who is actually impaired may not be fully culpable for his sins. (I am assuming the person did not purposely get drunk in order to commit these sins. I’m thinking more of someone who is inexperienced with alcohol, got carried away, and said/did things out of character for him.)
If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you find a regular confessor or director who can help you with such things.
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Thank you very much for your reply. It’s a great relief to me to know that things aren’t that bad. I use intoxication as an example. As far as I know, if a person puts himself in a situation where he can sin, then this sin becomes mortal due to the fact that the point of awareness and voluntariness no longer applies. I am trying to compare the responsibility for sin and for a vow. My question is this: if, say, a person gets drunk (or not making anything to avoid another trigger for an impulsive, obsessive, etc. vow), does this mean that he is obligated to fulfill it? But what if he impulsively not only intends to make a vow, but mentally promises (says the words of a vow to God in his thoughts)? Is it possible to make a vow without having a sincere intention (even if this situation is voluntary)?
Important distinctions need to made here:
- We are pretty much always in a position to commit venial sin. We cannot extract ourselves from that completely, though we may be more or less prudent. When we are supposed to avoid the near occasion of sin, we mean near occasion to mortal sin.
- If someone unwittingly or through grave need puts himself in a near occasion of sin (or even a situation where he may be sorely tempted to commit mortal sin), he has not necessarily committed mortal sin, but he must pray for grace.
- If someone knowingly and deliberately puts himself into a near occasion of mortal sin without a grave reason, that is sinful.
- To use the drunkenness example, if someone were to consume alcohol because he wants it to help him commit a mortal sin or because he wishes to use that as an excuse (e.g. he is feigning ignorance), that person would be responsible for the mortal sin. HOWEVER, it is not because “awareness and voluntariness no longer applies”, but because he already made the deliberate choice to sin before his drunkeness. (Note that this is different from someone who unintentionally gets drunk and then does something out of character. That person never made a deliberate choice to commit mortal sin. Deliberate choice is needed because we cannot turn away from God apart from a deliberate act of the will to commit mortal sin.)
I am confused by the wording here, especially by what is in brackets.
But I will answer the following: is a vow made in a state of drunkenness binding? The answer (following from what I said above) is no. The vow is not binding.
It is certainly possible (especially for someone with a scrupulous conscience and/or OCD) to think words of a vow in their head, but for it not to be a binding vow.
If you are troubled by this, I encourage you to bring this up in Confession with your parish priest.
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Thank you very much for the explanation. Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. I have one more question (sorry for the complicated wording): if a person believes that some event is the result of an unwanted vow to God (also known as impulsive, obsessive, etc.), Should a person cancel the result of such a supposed vow to God? Example: A man during a running competition thought several times that if he did not slow down he would make an unwanted vow to God. This fear arose several times, but the man did not slow down and won the competition. He didn’t refuse the winnings, does that mean he approves of the vow?
The fear that a vow would be made in this and related examples would be an irrational fear.
Acting with the irrational fear that you are making a vow (an irrational fear that comes from intrusive thoughts) does not bind himself to a vow.
One of the necessary elements to make a vow binding is an internal intention to make a vow. If the runner’s intention is to maintain his speed, but it is not to bind himself to a vow, then he has certainly not made a vow.
This is all the more so if the person in question suffers from OCD or a scrupulous conscience. It is important for that person to resist intrusive thoughts. It is good for such people to resist irrational fears about putting themselves under vows.
Once again, I counsel you to speak with your parish priest if this is something you are worried about.