authority of the love of God who made us and
who keeps us in existence.
"SIN is to refuse God's offer to adopt us as members
of His own family in favor of living a
self-centered and isolated life.
"SIN is like a "virus" of evil which entered the world
through the original, first SIN of our race's
parents and now reproduces itself in human
history.
"SIN is that tendency way down deep in us that urges us to thrust out in violence
-- whether verbal or physical -- when we can't understand or be understood.
"SIN is the fundamental imbalance in us which brings us to the point of calmly watching the
TV news and witnessing millions of bone-thin people slowly starving to death while others
on the same planet spend billions of dollars on diet soda and lemon scented cat litter.
"SIN is the ball and chain on our willpower which hold us back from going out of ourselves to listen
to someone, whether it involves parents and children ("Why didn’t you do as I told you?")
or husband and wife ("You never hear a word I say to you! You don't give a damn!").
"SIN is that flaw in us that leads us to kill life and love in all the varied ways we can
(see the following):
"SIN can take the form of:
Apathy Selfishness Hatred Greed Arrogance
Lust Spite Fighting Revenge Laziness
Exploitation Overindulgence Infidelity Lying Nastiness
Hunger to be in control of and have power over others.
"SIN is wherever and whenever we refuse to be what God invites us to be in Christ.
"SIN is not isolated, not merely individual:
SIN is personal (emanating from me)
But my personal sin produces communal consequences (affects everyone).
"SIN is a personal offense against God,
A personal turning away from God,
A personal disruption of your relationship with God in Christ –
A disruption which injures, deprives and "infects" everyone around you: the entire world.
"SIN is not merely one action we commit or omit; SIN is a repeating pattern in our lives.
"SIN pervades all of our person: our lives, history and society.
The power of SIN surrounds us and keeps us apart.
True relationships with others and true community life are not possible unless
sin is overcome and healed.
"SIN is not so much doing things that we know are wrong, but violating the bond that unites us to
Our Father in Heaven and to our Family of the Church.
From this violation come all the outward effects of SIN:
Greed, selfishness, lust, violence, sinful pride, arrogance, etc.
"SIN is a refusal of love: a refusal demonstrated in and through human attitudes and/or actions.
"SIN is, at root, a rupture of the covenant with the God of life and love —
The covenant that acknowledges that God is God, and that we are His people,
who properly use the gifts He surrounds us with.
"That's what SIN is. And for your penance... "