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PJM
Guest
What is it about Catholicism that you don’t understand?
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Patrick
GBY
Patrick
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Hope_Philomena
Guest
Their crusade against a select few sins that seem to have been deemed as more important than all the others.
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adamhovey1988
Guest
I think you should read 1 John 5:16-17
Seems pretty obvious to me some sins are more serious than others.
God bless.
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Hope_Philomena
Guest
You misunderstand me; I am aware that some sins are mortal, some venial, etc. I mean the prioritization of sins regardless of whether they are mortal or venial.
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tm21
Guest
For example?
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pianistclare
Guest
Sin separates us form God. Every sin is worth attending to.
Some are more obstinate.
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USMC_Convert
Guest
It’s human nature to look at something that is wrong and sinful in your eyes and use that as the pinnacle of all sin. For some it is homosexuality, for others it is pornography, for me it is abortion, and so on, etc… Does it mean that Catholics all believe that liars are the worst thing out there? No it is just something that certain people who happen to be Catholic harp on.
As St Paul tells us, there is no difference between the lie, the excessive drinking, the homosexual act, etc… They are all sins, and, as St Paul tells us again, those who have not sought out God’s Mercy, will suffer from God’s Justice…
Now a caveat, yes there are different types of sins and I’m sure that God views lying as a less serious offense than say abortion, but the point is that while there is a difference between sins, the end result of SIN, is exclusion from God.
Note Adam and Eve didn’t have to have an abortion, commit adultery or become gay or anything else which we now days consider horrific to get thrown out of Eden.
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nuntym
Guest
+JMJ+
It is in Catholic thought that there are “root sins” or the most “basic” of sins that if you let them root in your soul then they will lead to more sins. Therefore it is most effective to find out what is your “root sin” and attack there to vanquish a host of other tendencies to sin instead of trying to fight a lot at the same time.
The Three Root Sins - sensuality, vanity, pride - can be considered as “more biblical”, as it comes from 1 John 2:1: “For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world.” This website gives a great discussion on how to fight sin through this outlook.
The Seven Deadly or Capital Sins can be considered the “more traditional”. They came from Evagrius’ Eight Deadly Thoughts, which were distilled into seven by St. Gregory the Great.
The Deadly or Capital (from caput - head) Sins are called as such because they give birth to “daughter sins.” They are, in turn, opposed by the Seven Lively Virtues. They are
Are you talking of the Seven Deadly Sins and/or the Three Root Sins?
It is in Catholic thought that there are “root sins” or the most “basic” of sins that if you let them root in your soul then they will lead to more sins. Therefore it is most effective to find out what is your “root sin” and attack there to vanquish a host of other tendencies to sin instead of trying to fight a lot at the same time.
The Three Root Sins - sensuality, vanity, pride - can be considered as “more biblical”, as it comes from 1 John 2:1: “For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world.” This website gives a great discussion on how to fight sin through this outlook.
The Seven Deadly or Capital Sins can be considered the “more traditional”. They came from Evagrius’ Eight Deadly Thoughts, which were distilled into seven by St. Gregory the Great.
The Deadly or Capital (from caput - head) Sins are called as such because they give birth to “daughter sins.” They are, in turn, opposed by the Seven Lively Virtues. They are
- Vainglory, which is the inordinate pleasure for honor and praise. Its daughters are “disobedience, boastfulness, hypocrisy, contention, obstinacy, discord, and love of novelties.” The opposing Lively Virtue is Humility.
- Gluttony, which is the inordinate pleasure regarding preservation of the individual (eg. for food and drink). Its daughters are “improper jokes, buffoonery, impurity, foolish conversation, stupidity.” The opposing Lively Virtue is Temperance.
- Lust, which is the inordinate pleasure regarding preservation of the species (sex). Its daughters are “spiritual blindness, poor judgment, impetuosity (of decision), inconstancy, love of self even to hatred of God, and both despair and presumption.” The opposing Lively Virtue is Chastity.
- Avarice or Greed, which is inordinate pleasure for external goods. Its daughters are “treachery, fraud, falsehood, perjury, restlessness, violence, and insensibility to mercy.” The opposing Lively Virtue is Liberality.
- Sloth, which is inordinate sadness. Its daughters are “malice, spite, pusillanimity, despair, sluggishness in regard to the commandments, wandering of the mind after unlawful things.” Its opposing Lively Virtue is Zeal.
- Envy, which is inordinate sadness towards the happiness of others. Its daughters are “hatred, gossip, detraction, joy at our neighbor’s misfortunes, and grief for his prosperity.” Its opposing Lively Virtue is Solicitude.
- Wrath, which is inordinate anger. Its daughters are “quarreling, fits of passion, contumely, clamor, indignation and blasphemy.” Its opposing Lively Virtue is Meekness.
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Redd_Jackal
Guest
I sometimes wonder why my fellow churchgoers raise the kneelers when they rise to stand, only to have to lower them moments later.
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St_Francis
Guest
If you mean why do Catholics speak out about certain sins, such as sexual or financial sins, it is because those are acts widely accepted or even promoted in our society. No one is really promoting murder or agitating for the rescinding of laws against theft.
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Horton
Guest
I don’t know why yours don’t but I attend in a very old church. If the kneelers are down one would have to walk on them to get their seat.
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Hope_Philomena
Guest
The bolded part is an important consideration which I suppose I was addressing. Obviously there are certain sins that are widely accepted and worse than other sins in gravity as others mentioned in their replies to me.
While it is important to emphasize these sins, a common belief in many Catholics that I have come across is that those who commit these sins are somehow more depraved than they are. I’m not sure if this is Church teaching or not, but my understanding is that we are all equal in our fallen natures.
If I am correct, then I am confused as to why so many (Catholics, Protestants, etc.) look at homosexuals, women who have had abortions, etc. and see themselves as above said homosexuals. Of course you are meant to advocate for morality, but this feels inherently wrong to be prideful about not having committed a sin others have committed.
Not all Catholics are like this, of course! But I have noticed it many times in my experiences, and thus thought I might as well mention it in this thread.
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Lenten_ashes
Guest
Missing Mass without a good reason, and unrepented of, puts a catholic in hell for all eternity. Just like murder or unrepented of homosexualexual lifestyle.
But the Church does emphasize the importance of combating intrinsic evil. And in this sin stained society that’s important because the more it goes unchecked, the more it becomes accepted as normal. Has to be a voice shouting in the wilderness.
But it’s unfortunate that some Catholics have given you the holier than thou impression. Has not been my experience in the church.
God bless
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PJM
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TheTrinitySaves
Guest
Why do so many come to mass right after the Gospel, and then the same people who came right after the Gospel, leave right after communion.
But in all seriousness,
Why do we believe that God does not punish us on earth for our sins? Why does he wait until we die?
But in all seriousness,
Why do we believe that God does not punish us on earth for our sins? Why does he wait until we die?
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tm21
Guest
What actions are you seeing that make you feel that these Catholics are actually being judgmental? I ask this because sometimes when we see people living upright and holy lives (as we all should be), we often assume that they must be judging the rest of us as beneath them, when in fact that is not true at all. Ironically, it is us being judgmental, not them.
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Hawkmaid
Guest
I’ve come to terms with this (in bold) recently myself, actually; I was pretty dang high on my hobby horse.
You are correct, it is wrong to be prideful, and it is incredibly hard to be aware of that. I can sadly count myself among those numbers who acted as such, but I’m trying my hardest to step back and see myself in their number. And thank you, you’re correct, not all Catholics are like that. But as a fallen one myself, I can speak to the Catholics who are "holier than thou"ish. I’m not really sure why we do that aside from sheer human pride; I know it’s not church teaching to act like that! So frankly, I would say it’s just weakness. It’s a flaw that many of us, of all religions, have to face.
As C.S. Lewis said in Screwtape letters, God didn’t make us at varying levels so that we could disdain one group or another; He gave us varying “levels” of holiness so that the ones who were farther in their journey could humbly help those whom they could, and put them IN FRONT of themselves, and so that the ones who were behind in their journey could humbly accept help. It’s all a cycle of humility, and it’s difficult to operate without humility, which is all too common nowadays - myself included.
And for those who are going to pick up the “but some sins are still worse!”, sure, but who are we to really say? Yes, somebody who commits murder and is happy about it might have a special place in hell, but they might repent before their death, while another person might just tell little white lies and never confess those and end up in hell anyway. Again, humility; we aren’t called to judge the sins and call ourselves better than that; we’re just called to see all sins as evil in the end, and do God’s will to help those who need it, and ask for help ourselves.
We’re all in this together, guys.
Thank you for bringing this up, Philomena!
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Hawkmaid
Guest
This is also true; I’ve had problems with that too. I will say though, as somebody who still does that (silently judges those “below” myself) all too often, I know what she’s talking about. Sometimes people like me offer advice that has just a hint of self-righteousness to it, or just a bit of “Aren’t you glad I’m not like you so I can help you?”. It’s not always there, sometimes people imagine that it’s there when it’s not, but it can be.
Again, it’s not always the case, and sometimes people are genuinely trying to be humbly helpful and it’s misconstrued, but she’s not far off the mark in some cases.
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adamhovey1988
Guest
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m a horrible sinner, and I know it.
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