Sin and Our Faith

Sin and our Faith

On Sundays to prepare ourselves to participate in the Holy Mass, we acknowledge that we are sinners and pray the “Confiteor” during the penitential rites. We say:

What exactly is a sin? Sin is any deliberate action, attitude, or thought that goes against the will of God. In the Confiteor- we confess “sins of commission”, the wrong things that we have done as well as “sins of omission”, the things we should have done but failed to do. Our sins stain our souls and upset our relationship with God. The Celebrant at the liturgy offers us a general absolution.

The Church teaches that there are 2 main categories of sin: Venial and Mortal. The venial sins are smaller in kind and do not necessarily break our friendship with God. 1 John 5:17 tells us “…All wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly”. Some sins are listed in the Bible under Proverbs 6 and in Galatians. Pope Gregory I compiled a list of mortal/deadly sins that go against the love for God, love for our fellow man, and love for our bodies, the temple of God. Mortal sin can be defined as the sins against the Ten Commandments and carries 3 conditions. The sin is serious. The offender knows that it is a sin and still chooses to commit it. Mortal sin ruptures our relationship with God and separates us from the table of the Lord until we obtain absolution through the sacrament of reconciliation. That is we are not to receive Holy Communion when in the state of mortal sin.

THE FOUR SINS CRYING TO HEAVEN FOR VENGEANCE

1. Willful murder (including abortion, euthanasia): And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10).
2. The sin of Sodom: Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me.” (Genesis 18:20-21).
3. Oppression of the poor: “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.” (Exodus 21-23)
4. Defrauding laborers of their wages: “You shall not exploit a poor and needy hired servant, whether one of your own kindred or one of the resident aliens who live in your land, within your gates. On each day you shall pay the servant’s wages before the sun goes down since the servant is poor and is counting on them. Otherwise, the servant will cry to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty. (Deut 24:14-15)

THE SIX SINS AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

1.Presumption of God’s mercy.
2. Despair.
3. Impugning the known truth.
4. Envy at another’s spiritual good.
5. Obstinacy in sin.
6. Final impenitence.

NINE WAYS OF BEING ACCESSORY TO ANOTHER’S SIN

1. By counsel.
2. By command.
3. By consent.
4. By provocation.
5. By praise or flattery.
6. By concealment.
7. By partaking.
8. By silence.
9. By defense of the ill done

Sins that should be confessed before receiving Holy Communion

1) Missed a weekend or Holy Day Mass without a valid reason

2) Having sex outside of marriage, with yourself (masturbation) or someone else

3) Desecrated the Eucharist

4) Haven’t been to confession in a year

5) Use artificial birth control – condoms, pills, patches, IUD’s, etc

6) Sponsor or help in any way with an abortion or any destruction of an embryo

7) Murder

8) Hate/Anger

9) Lust after someone

10) Pride, Greed, Sloth, Envy

Scripture tells us that the just person sins at least 7 times A day. We sin by thinking evil, speaking, or acting in an evil manner. All of us have issues in our lives that need healing and liberation. Let us identify those areas that need a little more work, bring them to Jesus. Come into our Lord’s presence – in the sacrament of Reconciliation – knowing that our Lord is able to:

• Forgive
• Heal
• Set Free