Turning Away From Sin

𝐅𝐄𝐁. 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐄𝐳𝐞 𝟏𝟖:𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟖 

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟐𝟎:𝟏-𝟕𝐚, 𝟕𝐛𝐜-𝟖 “𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝?”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟓:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟔 

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟒) 

         This is a beautiful Gospel passage because a clear understanding of what this passage say will make us right with Our God and will allow us to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law which will qualify us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (𝐯.𝟐𝟎).

        As this passage brings us to the topic of sin, it is imperative that we as Christians must have a complete grasp of what sin is all about because this is the one thing that severs our relationship with God and blocks the flow of Grace into our lives.

        We must all remember that the devil is so cunning that we oftentimes fail to recognize the presence of sin until it has clothed our nature. Knowing that sin separates us from God, there is thus a felt need to understand how sin works.

        The Apostle Paul equated the condition of a man who sins to that of a man who was shipwrecked (𝟏 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟏:𝟏𝟗) and who loses all that he has because a man who falls into sin especially mortal sin loses all the perfection in virtue and all the merits that he has acquired.

        St. Bonaventure defines sin as the act of turning towards the world and turning away from God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also describes sin as the only evil upon the earth because it robs man of the supernatural beauty of the soul as sin makes man resemble the devil and brings misery upon him while he remains on the earth.

        This Season of Lent is a good opportunity for us not only to reflect on our relationship with Our God but most importantly to look deeply into our hearts and see if there is any residue of sin that may reside there which is why it is necessary that we come to know how sin works.

        We must understand that in our hearts there are two characters who are diametrically opposed to one another – one who praises you (conscience) and the other who blames (concupiscence). These two characters bounce into action whenever an evil thought comes into our minds and conscience will always restrain us from entertaining such evil thoughts while concupiscence will naturally incite and even urge us that it is okay to keep these thoughts in our minds.

        Let’s use adultery as an example. If the thought of committing adultery is not expunged from our minds it will lead us to complacency and the evil desire, then comes and finally the decision to commit the sin and if the occasion presents itself the exterior act of the sin is committed.

         This is not confined only to the sin of adultery but it also pertains to other forms of transgressions and iniquities that we can all fall into and it will be good for us to be aware of such especially the so-called seven capital sins (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth or laziness, Lust, Avarice or insatiable appetite for worldly things and, Wrath.)

         The same is true with murder (𝐯.𝟐𝟏) and the one who says to another “You fool!” (𝐯.𝟐𝟐) and destroys someone else’s reputation in the process will stand before the judgment seat unless the contending parties are reconciled to one another (𝐯.𝟐𝟒) as Jesus insists that injuring the reputation of others is equivalent to murder.

         Many sins are so great that they separate us entirely from God and deprive us of his friendship and the Church refers to these as mortal sins and at times it is difficult to qualify which is which. One thing is certain though. Mortal sin is that which God is the end. One example of this is abortion which can only be brought before a Bishop.

         While the so-called venial sins are lighter it nevertheless deprives us of that which is good and if left to percolate it will gradually lead to mortal sin and eventually the loss of sanctifying grace. Take for example a situation wherein the fault of another is disclosed to another, such remains a venial sin. But when we lodge or make a false accusation against another it partakes of a mortal sin because it is already injurious to the character of the person.

         In the same way idolatry, heresy, blasphemy, perjury, serious desecration of Sundays and Holy Days fall under the category of mortal sins because these are a direct affront to the majesty of God.

        On the other hand, why should we risk the judgment of God when we as Christians could resist all occasions of sin through the Holy Spirit whom we have received in Baptism. And the only reason we fall into sin is because we refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives.

        Hence, to be able to spot the circumstance that may lead us to sin we must recognize what these occasions of sins are. By occasions we refer to persons, places, things and such occasions of sin may be voluntary, or involuntary and the most common and most dangerous occasions of sins are night clubs, beer joints, pornographic films and videos, magazines and posters and persons who lead us to these things must be avoided.

        We should put into our lips the watchword that has guided the Saints when they were exposed to occasions of sin: “𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭” which means we must not only stay away from sin but we must run away to avoid sin.

        And in His goodness, God also provided us with how we can defend ourselves when we are confronted with sin. Prayer provides us with the shield to immediately resist occasions of sin.

        When faced with temptation a “𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲” and or uttering the names of Jesus and Mary would be helpful. As St. John Chrysostom says: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍.”       

         Prayer is the weapon we can use to ward off the assaults of our spiritual enemy because in prayer we secure the assistance of God and nothing can withstand His might.

         Let me end with this prayer of Eusebius, a 3rd century church father:

"𝘔𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴.” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘍𝘦𝘣. 27, 2026)