"In my work as a spiritual director and in deliverance ministry as well as in my own experience of personal growth, it has become very clear to me that there are common patterns of distorted thinking that disrupt spiritual growth and cause distress and disorder. These cognitive distortions lead one to misinterpret or overanalyze the data of the world and to live in a kind of unreality or an exaggerated reality.
"But of course holiness and wholeness presuppose what scripture calls a 'sober mind' (cf 1 Thess 5ff; 1 Peter 1:13, 4:7, 5:8; Titus 2:2ff). Romans 12 exhorts us as follows:
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you (Romans 12:2-3)."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish,
Washington, DC) reflected on the effect of "distorted thinking" on one's spiritual life.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: Don't Believe Everything You Think - A Consideration of Distorted Thinking and the Spiritual Life (15 MAR 16)
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