We continue with our discussion of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Today we look at lust.  Lust and love are two different things.  When we love someone we care about their needs.  We do what we can to help them because we understand them to be a “person” with a special dignity given by God.  We love someone for who they are, not what they look like.

Lust, on the other hand, is largely based on physical traits.  In lust, we look at the other person, not as a person, but as an object.  The object is mainly a means to achieve sexual pleasure as a physical act.  We can “lust” for a person and still love them.  Often, it is some one’s physical traits that initially attracts us to them.  It becomes lust when the physical is all we are concerned with.  When we act out lust, we are failing to treat the person as a person with dignity who deserves to be loved.

Lust can dominate our actions and lead to sins of adultery and fornication.  Sexual intercourse is meant to be between two people in a loving and committed relationship.  Does lust control your actions?  Ask yourself, “when you meet a new person (or just hanging out with friends) do you think about about their physical traits (i.e. how nice a body they have) or do you interact with them on a deeper level of conversation talking about who they are and what is important to them?

What’s more important? What’s on the outside or inside?  If you only think about the “outside of a person” then you need to learn to control your lust.  When we see a beautiful person, it can be natural to be attracted to them.  But we must control our thoughts to focus on the person, not just as an object, but as a child of God.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff 

Continuing our look at the Seven Deadly Sins, I turn to greed and envy.  I put these two together because they both seek to have things we do not have. 

Greed is to seek what we do not have.  It is not directed towards any person.  It is excessive desire to have material things or power.  I say “excessive” because it is natural to want something like to have a nice home and a nice car.  Likewise, power itself is not bad if the power is used for the good of others.  Our human nature leads us to need someone to be in charge.  Power becomes a problem when a person uses their power for their own gain, material or in name (pride). 

Material things are (generally) not inherently bad.  There is nothing wrong with seeking the things we need.  For example, we all need a place to live.  But when the desire moves from a simple home to a big “fancy” mansion and that desire controls all our actions we commit the sin of greed.  Where do your priorities lie?  Are you more concerned about spending your time with your family or do you spend all your time at work to “get more”?  Remember we are not talking about trying to make enough money to have basic food, water, and shelter.

What about envy”  While greed is directed at ‘things’ or ‘power’ envy is directed at an individual person or a group of people.  To have envy is to desire what someone else has.  It could be have their home or their car or another ‘thing’.  Envy can also be to want to have the good family or life they have.  We should all want to have a good family or good life.  The problem is when that dictates our actions or clouds our judgment.  One might, in a passing thought or initial reaction, say I would like to have that car that my friend just got.  The passing thought is not so much the problem  but again when we dwell on it.  For example, do you think about it every time you see the person?  Do you bring it up in conversation or do you think about it another time? 

Sometimes envy can blind us to the real situation.  For example, a person whose marriage has failed and is going through divorce might start to think that a friend has “that perfect marriage” but that may not be the real situation.  Their friend might have the same problem.

Envy violates the Ninth and Tenth Commandment to covet what is not yours.  Greed may violate the Seventh Commandment is “You shall not steal.”  Greed may not seem like stealing. but if we have more than we need, it could result in someone else not having what they need.  In that case, we have taken from them (steal) what they need.

The Church believes in the right to private property but it also believes in the Universal Destination of Goods; meaning that God has given all that we have not just for our own good but for the good of all.  We have a right to what we need.  Beyond our need we are called to share so that all may have what they need.  There is nothing wrong with having a some fun or vacation.  But the question is always is it the focus of our life or just something we do to relax.

Are your actions governed by love as Jesus calls us to love or by greed or envy?  Remember, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Is pride always a sin?

We are to be happy when we do good things.  But what is our attitude when we do good work?  Do we take all the credit without acknowledging those who helped us or without thanking God for helping us?

When we have done good work we should be pleased.  We should also give thanks to anyone who has helped us (share the credit).  We should thank God for the gifts he has given us to make it possible to do good.

When people tell us we have done a good job, we should be gracious and thank them for the compliment.  It is not true humility when we try and make it seem like we didn’t do that much.  I know because I do this.  When people give me a compliment I try to downplay the significance of what I have done; perhaps saying something like ‘oh it didn’t take that much.”  God created the world in six days and on the seventh day he rested and appreciated the good work he did.  We are to follow God’s example.  When I receive a compliment now I try to offer a thank you and say I am able to do it only because of the grace of God.

Pride becomes a problem when we take ALL the credit ourself and build an ego where we claim we did it on our own and then cut ourselves off from God and others.  Then, when we try to do by ourselves, we find out just how much help we need from God.  We try to do it our way rather than God’s way.  We come to think we know better than God.

At times, when I read the Letters of St. Paul in the New Testament, I feel like he had a big ego because he talks a lot about the good work he has done.  But then we read in 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

God gives us each different gifts in different ways.  It is when we acknowledge that we can’t do it all ourselves that God makes up for what we cannot do ourselves.  It is when we acknowledge what we can’t do that God helps us, making us strong.

Do you have too much pride?  Do you acknowledge God’s help?  Do you acknowledge the help of others?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Continuing our discussion on the seven deadly sins, we turn to anger.  The gospel for tomorrow (Friday, February 26, 2010) speaks of angry.  Jesus refers to the commandment “You shall not kill” and takes it further.  Not only should we not kill, we shouldn’t even be angry with people.

That’s tough!  Isn’t it natural to get angry sometimes.  Even Jesus got angry (Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-18, John 2:13-18).  If people wrong us, shouldn’t we be upset?  We agree that it is wrong to kill because we are angry.  In fact, no physical violence is justified by anger.  We should never act out our anger physically but it’s a natural reaction isn’t it?

Yes, it can be a natural reaction.  We can’t always control the thoughts and emotions that came into our head.  We can control what we do with the thoughts and emotions.

Paragraph 2302 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says

Anger is a desire for revenge. “To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit,” but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution “to correct vices and maintain justice.” If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, “Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.”

Anger becomes a problem when it dictates our actions.  When we lose control of our anger, we might act out not just to the person we are angry with but to anyone.  When we hold onto anger in our hearts, we shut out love.  We can shut out not just from the person we are angry with but any one’s love.

People like to cite the passage “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Leviticus 24:20) to justify their angry actions.  Jesus addresses this in Matthew 5:38-42

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’   But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.  If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well.  Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.  Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

Jesus tells us to let go of our anger.  The greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor.  Anger keeps us from loving.  Anger can lead us to sin.

To think of it another way, when we sin, does God have a reason to be angry with us?  Yes, but we could on God not acting out his anger towards us.  We want to be forgiven.  We must do the same.  It is the Golden Rule “Do unto whatever you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

May God help us let go of our anger.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

We don’t talk much about sin anymore.  The pendulum swung from frequent Confession to occasion, or never, going to the sacrament.  However, sin has not gone away. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sin as

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.” (1849).

More simply, sin is when we do something that offends God.  Sin is a failure to do good.  There are three criteria given in the Catechism for sin to be mortal (serious)

For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.” (1857).

Grave matter is outlined in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1017 or Deuteromony 5:15-21).  To be held accountable for sin we must have knowledge that it is sin and consent to the act.  If we are forced against our will to do something, we have not sinned in doing it.

There are sins that can lead us to further sins (Catechism, 1865).  Among these are what we call “The Seven Deadly Sins.”  They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth (Catechism 1866, Compendium 398); more commonly called pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth is perhaps most easily understood as laziness as it relates to not doing good works and fulfilling God’s plan for us out of laziness.

In the coming weeks I hope to write on each of the seven deadly sins.  Be sure and check back.  For now, you can check out the definition of each at www.catholicreference.net. 

Peace,

Fr. Jeff