Understanding Sin and Reconciliation

What is Sin?

• Main Definition: Rejection of or wrong against God.
• Secondary Definition: A wrong against reason, truth, and right conscience.
• Main Cause: A failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by inordinate attachment to certain goods.
• Forms: A word, action, or desire contrary to the eternal law.

Where do we see sin generally?

• Attitude
• Action
  • Sin of commission
• Failure to act
  • Sin of omission
• Abuse of power

Where do we see sin in our society?

• Everyday actions
• Widespread dishonesty
• Hate and prejudice
• Greed
• Excess consumerism
• Violence

Consequences of Sin

Separates us from…

• God
  • Truth
  • Goodness
  • Beauty
• Ourselves
  • Hardens hearts
  • Weakens intellects
  • Enslaves wills
• One another
  • Jealousy
  • Mistrust

Consequences of Mortal Sin

• Death of true love and charity in our hearts
• Loss of sanctifying grace

Personal vs Social Sin

• Personal Sin
  • Sin committed by an individual that is his or her own responsibility (culpability).
• Social Sin
  • A cycle of sin, violence, and injustice caused by individual sin, often leading to structures of sin in society.

Mortal Sin

Deadly sin, a grave violation of God’s law that destroys love in the human heart and separates a person completely from God. All three conditions must be met for a sin to be considered mortal.

1. Grave matter: Must be serious
2. Full knowledge: The person must know what you are doing is seriously wrong and contrary to God’s commands
3. Complete consent: The person must give full consent of the will

Effects of Mortal Sin

• Loss of Charity/True love
  • Love – willing the good of the other for their own sake
• Loss of Sanctifying Grace
  • Grace – God’s divine life within us
• Loss of friendship with God
  • Our relationship with God is completely broken, and we are in need of reconciliation

Venial Sin

Damages/weakens our relationship with God

Disobeying the moral law…

• In less serious matters
• In a grave matter but without full knowledge or without complete consent

Tiny sins do add up, so strive for virtue (good habits).

What is Social Sin?

• A cycle of sin, violence, and injustice caused by individual sin, often leading to structures of sin in society.
• “Personal sin is freely chosen; social sin is collective blindness. There is sin as deed and sin as illness.” – Theologian Gregory Baum

Social Sin in Left to Tell

• Classification
• Discrimination
• Dehumanization
• Extermination

Spiral of Violence

1. Basic injustice
2. Violent response
3. Violent counter response
4. Escalating violence
5. Violence ends temporarily

How do we contribute to structures of sin?

1. Cause, support, or utilize evil
2. If we could avoid, eliminate, or at least limit certain social evils, but we fail to do so out of laziness, fear, complicity, or indifference
3. Giving excuses
   • “It’s impossible to change the world so why bother”
   • Technically reasonable, but wrong and ingenuine

Hope is here

Sin, evil, and death do not have the final say.

• This is the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel!
• Even though it can seem hopeless, God who is goodness itself, desires our deep and abiding happiness through relationship with Him, our fellow humans, and his creation.
• God provides where we lack.
• Reflect on the areas of your life where you need hope.

Meeting Jesus in Conversion

• We fail -> Jesus offers forgiveness
• Relationships break -> Jesus offers reconciliation
• We experience shame -> Jesus offers truth and love
• We despair -> Jesus offers hope

Reconciling Our Relationship with God

• Sacrament of Reconciliation is a place where our relationship with God is restored
• God gives us his grace, God’s divine life inside of us, which wipes away our sins in the ocean of his mercy.
• Ex: mountain climbing

But Sin Still Exists, and I Mess Up

• We do not have what it takes to be alone.
• We are called to continual personal conversion
• There is HOPE in knowing I can rely on God to provide what I lack.

Wrestling with Social Sin

• This world and its societies will never be perfect on this side of heaven, but what can we do? Follow Christ.
  • Pray
  • Hope
  • Work
  • Love
• The Church teaches and guides us on how to follow Christ’s teaching amidst the challenges of our current world
  • Catholic Social Teaching