S I N

BRUEGHEL, Jan the Elder
The Original Sin
1616
Oil on wood, 52 x 83,5 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

~*~*~*~

i want to talk about sin in our lives.

there is a reason other than my own nosiness curiosity. i want to know about how it affects you so i can present it to my RCIA class this evening.

i know some are reluctant to talk about it, and even more reluctant to admit that they actually do it -- is there such a thing as casual sin? what would fall under that category? to a Catholic, there are (for lack of a better word) categories of sin, which i will explain at the outset as a fracturing of our relationship with God (venial) or a complete break in our relationship (mortal). in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which is incredibly readable and full of wonderful information and you should not be the least bit intimidated by it...):

Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law." CCC 1849

sounds simple, but as humans, we need to complicate things. further, in the Catechism:

1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."

that's a pretty good list of things not to do. yet we do them. it is in our nature to do them, but how often do we fall back on the old "i am a fallen person" excuse for our behaviors?

mortal and venial sins - no we did not just make that up because we wanted to feel better about the sins we commit (gee, that was just a venial sin...i am off the hook!) it is biblically-founded in 1 Jn 5:16-17. however, is this to say we should not take all sins seriously? All unrighteousness is sin, right?

do not the smaller sins lead to bigger sins? and do we not become de-sin-sensitized when it comes to our commission of same in that when it becomes easier to do, it becomes a habit and once a habit, can lead to becoming a stronghold and thereby beginning as a fracture and leading to a possible break in our relationship with God?

Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:
- by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
- by protecting evil-doers. CCC 1868

then i would like to discuss the difference between sins of commission and sins of omission - comission being the sin we should not do, like stealing. we know that is wrong and that is bad, but we may decide to steal anyway. sin of omission is when we fail to do something we should do, i.e., looking the other way when someone is in need but it is inconvenient for us to help at that time.

* what can lead one to sin?
* what can we do to avoid sin? (boy do i know that one!!)
* should the media -- television, internet, billboards -- accept any of the responsibility for putting things out there that can lead one to the near occasion of sin?
* does everything truly rest with you?

i need to present this to a group of very sharp folks and don't want to dumb it down, but cannot necessarily go too deep as i may lose some...

Whoever accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. ~~Martin Luther King

your thoughts most welcome :)