Day 248: The Spread of Sin (1865-1876)
It’s Day 248!!
THE PROLIFERATION OF SIN
No one seems to talk about sin anymore
AND YET…
Sin is a VIRUS
It SPREADS
Paragraph 1865 says, “Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.”
Just like love begets love…
Just like virtue begets virtue…
SIN BEGETS SIN!!
Sin makes it EASIER to sin
THIS IS THE TRUTH IN OUR LIVES!!
Because we make certain choices, it makes other choices either more difficult or easier
We are also going to talk about vices and capital sins
We will also talk about sins that “cry out to Heaven” as Scripture says
While sin is a personal act, we have a responsibility for sins committed by others when we cooperate in them
We also have MCNUGGETS
Let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and we ask for your help. In Jesus’ name we ask that you come and meet us, not just to be with us throughout this episode of The Catechism in a year, but also to be with us throughout this day. Lord God, when we experience the conviction of your truth, we are invited to walk in the light of your truth. Help us to not just experience the conviction, but also to be given the grace, be given the power, the courage to not only step into the light, but to walk in the light, to live in the light. Lord God, as you illumine our hearts, we see things there that we wish were not there. As you illumine our hearts, we see things that we know you do not want there. So we ask you, come into our hearts with the fire of your love, with the light of your truth, and dwell in our hearts so that we can dwell in you. Be with us so that we can walk in your light and live in your light. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
Paragraph 1865 says, “Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.”
When I choose sin, it is EASIER TO CHOOSE SIN
Sin clouds our conscience
How many times have we known something was wrong to do, but the more and more we do it, the more we wonder if it’s really wrong? 🤯 🤯 🤯
We can convince ourselves that what we knew was the right thing to do was maybe for someone else and not meant for us
OR…
We know something is wrong but hey, we are modern people now so are we really sure it is wrong?
People who have resisted sin have walked in virtue
We can see people who are choosing virtue and we think they are naive
AND YET…
Are they actually naive? 🤔
Do they not really know how the world works? 🤔
OR…
Are we so BLINDED by our compromises that we make super simple things really complex? 🤯 🤯 🤯
How many times have we been in a situation where we know what the right thing to do is
BUT…
We have such a vested interest in losing something, in it costing something, that we make this simple thing complex when it is not a complex thing?
We complicate things because our judgment has been clouded because we choose to sin
Paragraph 1866 says, “Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sin which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called ‘capital’ because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice [greed], envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.”
If you were asked what is a capital sin, would any of us be able to answer?
I would definitely be able to answer what a capital sin is because of the movie Se7en!!! (WHAT’S IN THE BOOOOOOOOX??????? 😉)
Ok wow how prescient!! I did not even know Fr. Mike was going to refer to this movie hahaha
Ok I don’t know why they are called Capital Sins 😣
What does it say that Fr. Mike’s mom really loved Se7en? Hahahah
THIS IS HOW THE WORLD IS!!
THIS IS THE BROKENNESS OF THE WORLD!!
WE NEED GOD’S GRACE!!
Fr. Mike’s Mom is so right!!
Wow we really spent a lot of time on the movie Se7en today….I did NOT have that on my Catechism in a Year Bingo Card haha!!
Why would we call them DEADLY SINS?
Why would we call them CAPITAL SINS?
Is that because whenever they are present they are always mortal sins?
NO!!
They are called CAPITAL SINS because they are gateway sins
Out of PRIDE come other sins
Out of GREED come more sins
Out of ENVY come other sins
Gluttony can lead us to more sins
Why does Fr. Mike pronounce SLOTH that way??? Is that a Minnesota thing?? 😉
Sloth/Acedia is a slowness to do what we are supposed to do in this moment in the way that God’s will is
How many times have we not done what we are supposed to do and it leads to greater sins?
Think of King David and sloth
In 1 Samuel, when kings went out on campaign and into battle, fighting for their people, King David was back at home
He was supposed to be out on the battlefield with his men but he wasn’t
He’s back home taking a siesta and he strolls around and sees Bathsheba bathing
And he calls her over and commits adultery and violates her sexually
Then there is a child and he has Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah killed
He was not doing what he was supposed to doing
He slowly became an adulterer, a sexual assaulter, and a murderer
So capital sins like sloth lead to other more serious sins
Paragraph 1867 says, “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are ‘sins that cry to heaven’: the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner.”
These sins all cry out to God for justice
When there are people who are violated…
SQUIRREL!! 😉
These sins violate the dignity of the human person who is vulnerable
Paragraph 1868 says, “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.”
Sin is a personal act
I am making a choice
I am responsible for my own choices
BUT…
Because I am responsible for my own choices, I am not responsible for someone else’s
BUT…
I do have a responsibility for the sins committed by others WHEN I COOPERATE IN THEM
So if I participate directly and voluntarily in someone else’s sins, I am cooperating in them
Where might that happen?
Where we might even command someone to sin?
Where we might advise someone to sin?
Or I’ve praised someone’s sin?
Or I’ve approved someone’s sin?
Have I ever counseled someone to sin?
Maybe they were in a bad situation and the way out of that situation was for them to do evil
Then we are GUILTY
Are there certain weddings we as Catholics cannot go to?
Yes, there are
Are there certain celebrations that we as Catholics cannot go to?
Yes, there are
By going to some of these weddings/celebrations, we would be praising or approving of them just by our presence
We can’t do that without cooperating in the sin that is happening
We know there are some places in our country and around the world where the Church knew of abuse and the Church did not disclose
The Church instead protected some people who were committing horrible acts
WE MUST NOT EVER DO THAT!!
If there is a way in which we can stand up for those who are being hurt, we cannot protect the people doing evil even if it costs us something
THAT IS THE HIGH CALL!!
Paragraph 1869 says, “Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. ‘Structures of sin’ are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a ‘social sin.’”
When we permit that to exist in our own world, whether we commit sin, or approve of sin, or praise sin, or participate in sin, or do not disclose sin, or protect evildoers, then we are creating structures of sin
We have to not only resist sin in our own lives
We have to help all people around us resist sin in their lives too
If we can’t, then we have to refuse to participate directly and voluntarily in those sins
We have to refuse to praise or approve of other people’s sins
We have to FIGHT
When we see evil going on, we have to disclose it
We must not protect evildoers
That is a huge responsibility
It is huge enough for us to fight against sin in our own hearts
BUT…
To also guard against the temptation to cooperate with someone else’s sin, we have to fight against that as well
THIS IS HARD!!
AND YET…
IT IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO!!
The people who are the most vulnerable among us need us to be as strong as we can be on their behalf
The God who loves us and poured out His life for us gives us the grace and strength to be the people we need to be for the people around us
We need to fight injustice when we see it
We need to disclose evil when we find it
We need to never cooperate with it in our own hearts or in someone else’s heart
We need to never approve or praise it when we see it
We need to do everything we can to be like Jesus in this world
THAT IS TOUGH!!
IN FACT…
We are not able to do that on our own
WE NEED GOD’S HELP!!
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I will see you when I see you!!