Forgiveness, Sin, and Reconciliation

Forgiveness and Sin

Core Concept

  • God forgives us.

Vocabulary

  • Mortal Sin: A decision to turn away from God by doing wrong things.
  • Venial Sin: A choice we make that weakens our relationship with God and with other people.
  • Grace: The gift of a relationship with God given to us without our deserving it.
  • Virtue: A disposition of the human soul developed by grace and practice to do good.
  • Reconciled: Ways of being reconciled with God:
    • Sacrament of Reconciliation
    • Praying an act of contrition
    • An act of penance
    • The Eucharist
  • Eternal: Lasting or existing forever without end or beginning.
  • Contrition: Repentance, which is sorrow for and disgust of sin committed and the strong intent to sin no more.
  • Confession: Confession of our sins to the priest with a commitment to repair the harm caused by the sin.
  • Conscience: An inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongfulness of one's behavior.
  • Prediction: Hinting at what will happen.
  • Concupiscent Sins: People are weakened by original sin, and it deeply wounds us. We stay drawn to it on behalf of others.

Healing and Faith

  • Remember how the Israelites were healed by their snake bites.
  • God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it where people could see it.