God is given the name Logos in the scriptures for a reason.
What part of choosing to sin, the will to sin, is a sin which is basic Catholicism do you not understand?
One sins in thought, word, and deed - And the first is right there.
If you enter into a near occasion of sin, at the least it is negligently culpable, but normatively because you -know- you will usually sin there it is worse.
Not only is willfully entering into near occasions of sin a sin, you are **not allowed to be absolved **by a priest if you continue to do so. He is forbidden to absolve you because you are not repentant and it would blaspheme the sacrament. Sorrow is not sufficient to be absolved, you have to repent and show firm resolution in that regard.
The traditional act of contrition which you say after every Confession contains the promise: To avoid the near occasion of sin.
There are different kinds of occasions of sin: remote, near, and necessary. The remote is basically everyday, what is all around us but does not normally cause us to fall though it is possible, it is far from us. The near is the person, place, or thing that we usually or always sin upon encountering. The necessary occasion of sin is one we cannot escape for some extraordinary and grave reason, and so it is not our fault for entering into.
Baltimore Catechism:
Q. What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily?
A. To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must do five things:
- We must examine our conscience.
- We must have sorrow for our sins.
** 3. We must make a firm resolution never more to offend God.**
- We must confess our sins to the priest.
- We must accept the penance which the priest gives us.
- Q. What do you mean by a firm purpose of sinning no more?
A. By a firm purpose of sinning no more I mean a fixed resolve not only to avoid all mortal sin, but also its near occasions.
“Fixed.” Not for a certain time, but for all the future.
207. Q. What do you mean by the near occasions of sin?
A. By the near occasions of sin I mean all the persons, places and things that may easily lead us into sin.
“Occasions.” There are many kinds of occasions of sin. First, we have voluntary and necessary occasions, or those we can avoid and those we cannot avoid. For example: if a companion uses immodest conversation we can avoid that occasion, because we can keep away from him; but if the one who sins is a member of our own family, always living with us, we cannot so easily avoid that occasion. Second, near and remote occasions. An occasion is said to be “near” when we usually fall into sin by it. For instance, if a man gets intoxicated almost every time he visits a certain place, then that place is a “near occasion” of sin for him; but if he gets intoxicated only once out of every fifty times or so that he goes there, then it is said to be a “remote occasion.” Now, it is not enough to avoid the sins: we must also avoid the occasions. If we have a firm purpose of amendment, if we desire to do better, we must be resolved to avoid everything that will lead us to sin. It is not enough to say, I will go to that place or with that person, but I will never again commit the same sins. No matter what you think now, if you go into the occasion, you will fall again; because Our Lord, who cannot speak falsely, says: “He who loves the danger will perish in it.” Now the occasion of sin is always “the danger”; and if you go into it, Our Lord’s words will come true, and you will fall miserably. Take away the cause, take away the occasion, and then the sin will cease of itself. Let us suppose the plaster in your house fell down, and you found that it fell because there was a leak in the water-pipe above, and the water coming through wet the plaster and made it fall. What is the first thing your father would do in that case? Why, get a plumber and stop up the leak in the pipe before putting up the plaster again. Would it not be foolish to engage a plasterer to repair the ceiling while the pipe was still leaking? Everyone would say that man must be out of his mind: the plaster will fall down as often as he puts it up, and it matters not either how well he puts it up. If he wants it to stay up, he must first mend the pipe-take away the cause of its falling. Now the occasion of sin is like the leak in the pipe-in the case of sin, it will very likely cause you to fall every time. Stop up the leak, take away the occasion, and then you will not fall into sin-at least not so frequently.
“The persons” are generally bad companions, and though they may not be bad when alone, they are bad when with us, and thus we become also bad companions for them, and occasions of sin.
“The places,” Liquor saloons, low theaters, dance halls, and all places where we may see or hear anything against faith or morals.
“Things,” Bad books, pictures, and the like.
