Pope John Paul II in his first
Encyclical The Redeemer of Man asserted that just as Baptism is necessary for
salvation so too for those who have fallen into Mortal sin, the Sacrament of
Confession is necessary. Jesus came as Divine Physician to heal the wounds of
our heart and soul through the Sacrament of Confession!
This Booklet will prove to be clear,
practical and exceedingly useful for all those who desire to make a good
confession, for those who have not been to confession for many years as well as
for those who pursue this Sacrament of God’s mercy on a frequent basis.
Jesus in His infinite goodness bestowed
upon His Mystical Body the Church, the Sacrament of Confession with its other
names, Sacrament of Penance, Reconciliation, forgiveness, Sacrament of His
Infinite mercy, Easter Sunday night.
While the Apostles, closed behind the
locked doors filled with fear, Jesus came to them wishing them peace, “Shalom”
(Peace) be to you. “As the Father has sent me so I send you.” And when He had
said this He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose
sins you forgive they will be forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are
retained.” (Jn. 20: 21-23)
Some preliminary thoughts and
suggestions before taking each and every Commandment and explaining it with
specific detail.
1.
TRUST! Jesus said to Saint Faustina Kowalska that
the worst thing that offends God even more than sin is to fail to trust in His infinite
mercy. St. Paul states that where sin abounds the mercy of God abounds all the
more.” Also in the Diary of Divine Mercy
Jesus clearly states that the greatest sinners can be the greatest saints if they
simply “Trust” in God’s mercy. Examples of sinners becoming great saints are
limitless: Mary Magdalene, Saint Peter, St. Matthew, and St. Augustine. St.
Margaret of Cortona, and one of the greatest, The Good thief, who Fulton Sheen
states, “Died a thief because he stole heaven.”
2.
HOLY SPIRIT.
Before entering to the formal process of examining your conscience, beg
the Holy Spirit for light to humbly recognize your sins and then the interior
grace of soul to repent of them. “Come
Holy Spirit come, though the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
3.
MARY.
Turn to Mary and she will never forsake you. Mary has many titles among which she is
called “Mother of mercy” as well as “Refuge of sinners”. “Never was it known that anyone who turned to
her was left unaided…” (The Memorare of Saint Bernard).
4.
SILENCE. The Examination of Conscience is a very
important spiritual Exercise and therefore, silence is indispensable to hear
the gentle voice of God and to respond to the promptings of grace. With the young Samuel in the quiet of the temple
let us pray: “Speak O Lord for your servant is listening.” Noise and clatter
suffocates the voice of God!
5.
USE OF IMAGES. If done in the quiet of your room, sacramentals/
images can be of paramount importance so as to elicit great trust in God’s
mercy, true sorrow as well as firm purpose of amendment. Three images can be of
incalculable value: Our Lady, Divine Mercy image, and Jesus on the cross. Our
Lady, who is our life our sweetness and our hope, attains for us the grace of
being open to God; Divine Mercy can help to elicit great Trust in His Infinite
Mercy; the cross or the image of Jesus crucified can bring forth the true
sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment and a desire to avoid person, places or
things that can lead us to sin!
6.
PENCIL AND PAPER. Although it is not indispensable that the
sins be written it indeed can be of great utility and for various reasons. All
of us draw memory blanks, especially when nervous and under pressure. The last
thing you want to happen is after your confession to remember that you forgot
some sins and even the most important ones!
Furthermore, it will make it easier for the Confessor that God places in
your path.
7.
MORTAL SINS.
Canon Law as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly specifies
that Mortal sins must be confessed in both number and species. Missing Holy Mass one time is not the same as
missing it for a whole year. Having
premarital relations one time is not the same as weekly for two years.
8.
AVOID THE “BUT” CONFESSION--- HIDDEN
PRIDE! When confessing your sins do not
try to justify your sins or soft-pedal or honey-coat your sins with, “I hurt my
wife, but if you knew her….. You would
understand why I…”
9.
CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD BEFORE
CONFESSING THEM TO THE PRIEST. Protestants state that they confess directly to
God their sins. As Catholics we actually should say the same, meaning that
before entering the confessional we should confess our sins to God and strive
to make a Perfect Act of Contrition.
Then we confess them once again to the priest and renew our sorrow in
the context of the Sacrament of Confession itself!
10. ONCE WELL-PREPARED, JUST GO!!!! Among the many deceits and tricks of the
devil is to convince us that we do not need to go to confession or at least
that we can and should postpone and put off the confession for some later date
and time. The devil is very astute and
can launch all of his ammunition to block our making a good confession. We see this in the lives of many saintly
confessors, i.e. St Philip Neri. What
are some of the deceitful measures that the devil might contrive? The priest is too busy! The priest will get angry at me! The priest will reveal my sins! The priest will not forgive me! The priest will give me an extraordinary
penance that I will not be able to carry out!
I am wasting the priest’s time! I am just too fearful and ashamed to
confess these sins; the priest will have a terrible impression of me as the
worst of all sinners! All of these are
simply lies concocted by the devil himself.
11. PRAY FOR THE
PRIEST. In the Diary of St. Faustina,
the saint once went to confession and the priest did not seem to understand her
nor did she seem to understand the priest.
She wondered why??? Jesus revealed to her that the reason was that she
had failed to pray for the priest before entering into the confessional. The
following time she did pray for the priest-confessor and the confession went
exceedingly well. Remember that when you confess to the priest that the priest
indeed represents the person of Jesus Himself. He acts in the person of Christ!
12.QUALITIES OF A GOOD
CONFESSION. Also from the Diary of St Faustina three qualities are specified to
make a good confession: sincerity, humility and obedience. Be clear and transparent; be meek and humble
of heart and obey the dictates of your priest-confessor.
13. HEALING BY THE DIVINE
PHYSICIAN. See yourself in the place
of the sick people that Jesus healed in the Gospel--- the blind, deaf, mute, paralytics,
lepers and even the dead. Jesus is still active as Divine Physician and always
ready and willing to heal any sick person that comes to Him with trust that he
can be healed. St. Augustine calls
confession a “Lazarus experience”. As Jesus called Lazarus from death to life,
so confession can restore us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
14. PEACE OF MIND, HEART AND SOUL. As a motivation, never forget that every
person in this world desires interior peace of mind, heart and soul. That which
truly robs us of peace is SIN!!! By casting our sin into the infinite abyss of
God’s mercy, He rewards us with an Infinite Ocean of mercy in the profound
depths of our soul! Seeking peace of
soul? Why not try confession?
15. MORTAL SIN. Before proceeding with the detailed
explanation of the sins commandment by commandment, it is extremely necessary
that we specify what are the conditions for a mortal sin to be committed. There
are three: 1) Grave matter (the matter/ action must be serious); 2) Full
knowledge. One knows clearly that it is a mortal sin; 3) Full consent of the
will. There is no accident but it is done on purpose. If these three conditions
are present then a mortal sin has been committed resulting in the loss of God’s
friendship. Therefore, Sacramental confession is indispensable. One further
note! Those who are aware of having
committed mortal sin/sins should not approach the Sacrament of the Most Holy
Eucharist without first having made their Sacramental confession!
GRATITUDE! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for
His mercy endures forever.” Indeed how grateful we should be for our catholic
faith, for God’s infinite mercy poured out in abundance from His opened wound
on the cross and applied most abundantly every time we approach with faith,
trust and sincere sorrow the Sacrament of His mercy, the sacrament of
Confession!
The Ten Commandments can be divided
into two categories: 1-3 our relationship with God (Theological); 4-10 our
relationship with ourselves and others (personal and social). As a helpful
reminder, just look up at the cross! The
vertical bar represents our relationship with God; the horizontal our social
and personal relationship.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: EXAMINATION!
Of all the Commandments, the First Commandment, by far is the most
important of all the Commandments! In a
certain sense, the First Commandment embodies, includes, incorporates all of
the other nine that follow! The essence
of the First Commandment can be summarized in
the response of the scholar of the law who asked the Lord what he
had to do to inherit eternal life? This response is the core, kernel and essence
of the First and greatest of all the
Commandments. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all
your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your
mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Lk. 10:27). The First Commandment, therefore, is the rock
foundation for all of the other nine that follow. For that reason the great Saint Augustine
asserted: “Love God and do whatever you
will!”
I. “I am the Lord your God you shall not have strange gods before me.”
II. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”
This second Commandment
refers to the Holy and Sacred character of the NAME of God.
The Jewish people of the Old Testament would pronounce the name of God
once a year through person of the High Priest in the temple “Yahweh”—meaning, “I
am who am”. This was the name of God revealed to Moses! Below are ways that we might break this
Commandment by failing to respect God’s holy name! “At the NAME of Jesus every knee
should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:10-11)
· BLASPHEMY! Calling out the Holy Name of God in anger! Words of hatred,
reproach or defiance towards God.
· Angry words against God for something that happened to you.
· Blaming God for the evil in the world!
· Blaming God in anger and God for the death of someone you love.
· Curse! Using God’s name intentionally as a curse!
· Saying: “God damn you!”/ “God damn it!”
· Serious slander/ calumny of a Sacred Person: the Pope, Bishops, priests,
nuns who all are representatives of God.
· Making an oath in a secret society.
· PERJURY. Lying while under oath in a court-case! Promise to tell the
truth on the Bible and lying!
· Calling upon Gods’ name and lying.
· Promoting words/images/movies that profane the person of God, for example
“The Davinci Code”—a movie that blasphemed the Person of Jesus!
· CONFESSION. Telling a lie to the priest/holding back a
serious sin to the priest. This would be a sacrilegious Confession.
· PROMISES TO GOD—failing to carry them out.
· VOWS! Solemn promise to God and
failure to keep them, as in the Religious Life: Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.
· TAKING GOD’S NAME LIGHTLY. Joking around with the Name of God.
· JOKES. Irreverent Jokes about God, Mary, the saints and the Church!
· OWN NAME! Parents failing to give
their child/children a “Christian name”. (CCC #’s,2156-2159). Giving their
children a “pagan name!” As such he/she is lacking the intercession of a
patron-saint!
III.
“Remember
to keep holy the Lord’s day”.
First and foremost the Lord’s
Day (Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead) should be respected by
attendance at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
A good reading would be the Apostolic Letter of Blessed Pope John Paul
II “”Die Domino”-- Keeping holy the Lord’s day (3rd
Commandment). Here are concrete ways
that we can break this commandment!
· Missing Mass on Sunday—the day of the Lord!
· Missing Holy Days of Obligation, i.e. Christmas…
· Failing in one’s Easter duty: to receive Holy Communion at least once a
year! The bare minimum!
· Coming late for Holy Mass—lack of order, disrespect, and bad example to
the others in church as well as a disturbance!
· Talking in Mass! Rudeness! By talking to others one ignores God!
· Cell-phones in use! Leave them in
the car or at home! God first!
· Text-messages. God sees and hears
everything. This is pushing Him aside!
· Chewing gum! We are not cows, but
human persons!
· Immodesty in dress. Church is the house of God! It profanes God’s house
and is a source of temptation for others!
· Leaving early! Would you do this
for the World-cup/World series/ or for an Awards-ceremony/ or interesting movie
or play, would you???
· Willful distraction! Purposely thinking of other things: lunch, sports,
x-boyfriend, etc…
· MISSING MASS! Entertaining guests
from out-of –state. Idolatry! Placing of people above God—a modern “golden
calf!”
· SLEEPING in Mass! Use your own bed at home!
· NON-PARTICIPATION. Being present in body, but not participating with your
mind, heart, and soul. Being a mere spectator, as in an opera!
· WORKING on Sunday. If necessary, it is not a sin to work on Sunday. But
if not necessary, Sunday is the day of rest from hard manual work that would
exhaust you the rest of the week!
IV.
“Honor your father and mother.”
The fourth commandment
refers to the respect, honor, love and obedience that we should have for the
persons that God has decided to choose to give us human life and existence. For
this reason we owe our parents the maximum, respect, prayers, love support and
obedience!
Also, of great
importance in the fourth commandment, is the duty that parents have, in the
promise they made on the day of their wedding, to be open to having children, but most important in educating
their children in the way of the faith, fear of the Lord, and love for all that
refers to God and the Church!
READING! A very good reading--- especially for
children in their relationship towards their parents—would be Sirach/
Ecclesiasticus 3:1-6!
The following are ways
that we can often transgress the fourth commandment.
· Disobeying one’s parents/ disrespect towards parents.
· Talking back to parents/ willful defiance towards them.
· Hatred and rejection of parents: willful anger, animosity!
· Lying to one’s parents(also against the 8th Commandment)
· Yelling, insulting, cursing one’s parents. Words can kill! (Also against
the 5th Commandment!)
· Pushing, hitting, punching—physical abuse of one’s parents.
· Mocking through word or gesture one’s parents.
· Sarcasm/irony--- using disparaging expressions or words to belittle, or
put down mother or father.
· Willfully defy the manifest will
of Mom or Dad.
· Ignore parents---Turn the cold-shoulder and fail to communicate with them.
· AGED PARENTS. Given that they are
elderly and feeble to abandon them—no longer visit them, call them, support
them in their old age. (Read Sirach chapter 3)!
· HATRED/RESENTMENT/LACK OF FORGIVNESS. Despite the failure of our parents,
fail to forgive them their short-comings!
· STATE OF LIFE: SCHOOL! To be lazy
and negligent in one’s studies is against the 4th Commandment!
· Brothers and sisters fighting, bickering, arguing, insulting is also
against the 4th and 5th commandment. Jesus commanded us:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
PARENTS’ OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS CHILDREN…
· Contraception! Fail before God to
be open to having children.
· Abortion! Kill the child in the
womb(Also against the 5th Commandment)
· BAPTIZE. To delay Baptism for
insignificant reasons--- putting the social above the Sacramental!
· NAME! To give the child a
“pagan-name!” (Also against the 2nd commandment)
· PRAYER. To neglect to pray for children/ as well as
to neglect to teach the children to pray. Jesus said, “Let the little children
come to me.”
· DELAY SACRAMENTS. To delay the 1st
Communion of children; to delay the Confirmation of my children.
· CONFESSION. To postpone, delay, or put off for tomorrow the Sacrament of
Confession for my child/teen. Many (most
children) are totally dependent upon their parents to get to Mass and
Confession.
· MASS. Missing Mass is against the
3rd and 4th Commandment, if parents miss Mass. They give bad
example or scandal towards their children.
· COHABITATION. Parents living in “Free-union” (Co-habitation) are giving
bad example to their children!/Adultery—even worse!
· BAD WORDS—Children hear them and repeat them. Children are like
human-sponges.
· BAD-T.V. PROGRAMS./INTERNET ACCESS:
Allow the devil to get into the home and wreak havoc!
· YELL at kids! Must learn to speak in a gentle fashion!
· STUDIES. Parents failing to supervise their children’s studies, which is
the principal obligation of children and teens!
· COURTSHIP. Parents that allow
young children to have boy-friend/girl-friend at an immature age are failing
their children.
· CHILDREN COHABITATING. Parents that allow their son/daughter to live with
their “Significant other” is wrong and scandalous!
· INHERITANCE. Family members—moved
by greed—fighting over inheritance and property rights! Love for money is root
of all evils!
V.
“Thou shall not kill!”
The 5th
Commandment obliges us to have the greatest respect for every human
person. Created in the image and
likeness of God, son of God and temple of the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament
of Baptism, every human person has infinite value.
Only God has the right
to give human life from the moment of conception; and only God has the right to
take human life and decide on the time, manner and circumstances of death. As the
book of Job reminds us, ”Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb and naked I
return to the earth. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the
name of the Lord.”
Therefore, any menace
or attempt against the human person and his innate dignity is a clear
transgression against the 5th Commandment that obliges respect for
all human life from start till end. We must be at the service of human life and
not destructors!
READING! One of the most renowned Encyclicals of
Blessed Pope John Paul II was “Evangelium
Vitam”-- on Human Life, addressing
the key issues related to the human person, his innate dignity and how we must
defend human life in all of its stages!
Following are ways that
we can be guilty of breaking the 5th Commandment--- “Thou shall not
kill.”
· Murder--- the taking of an innocent life.
· Abortion--- the killing of an innocent baby in the womb.
· VOTING. Did I willfully vote
for a candidate/candidates that openly
promote abortion? How many times?
· PRO-CHOICE! In the past, have I
embraced a “Pro-choice”, which is really an “Anti-life” moral position?
· AFTER MORNING PILL—Taking of the pill after relations to prevent
implantation in uterine wall; sophisticated form of abortion(murder)
· INFANTICIDE—killing an innocent baby.
· Mutilation—damaging one’s own body, temple of the Holy Spirit
· TORTURE—be it physical or mental militates against the dignity of the
human person by causing unmerited suffering.
· DRUG ABUSE-- Damaging ones’ body
by taking drugs: cocaine, crystal, Marijuana, heroine, Speed, etc.
· WILLFUL DRUNKENNESS. Obvious
damage of one’s body and mind!
· DRINKING AND DRIVING. Placing at risk the innocent on the road!
· DANGEROUS DRIVING! Jeopardizing one’s health and others by reckless
driving.
· SUICIDE--- Taking of ones’ own life. Only God has the right to give life
and to take it away.
· TUBAL LIGATION/VASECTOMY-- Is a
form or mutilation: damaging to the point of destroying one’s procreative
faculties.
· HATRED! Killing somebody in your
heart--- “The Cain-complex!”
· UNWILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE!!! Hatred
in one’s heart.
· GANG ACTIVITY—trained to hate, damage and kill others.
· INSULTS/OFFENSIVE WORDS. Indeed we can kill through the tongue! (Read
James 3—the sins of the tongue!)
· OVEREATING/BAD EATING! We damage
our own health by bad eating habits! The sin of “Gluttony!”.
· EUTHANASIA--- the intentional taking of the life of an elderly sick
person or incapacitated person by lethal injection, sometimes called
“Mercy-killing” (Dr.Kevorkian).
· EMBRIONIC EXPERIMENTATION---- The willful destroying of fertilized embryos
.
VI.
“You
shall not commit adultery.”
Faithful in marriage until the end.
This commandment
obliges us to respect the proper purpose and end of human sexuality.
Furthermore it requires respect for one’s body which is the temple of the Holy
Spirit. It demands self-control and constant mastery over the disordered desire
for sexual pleasure. (Capital sin of lust). Either one controls the lower
animal nature called by St. Paul the “Flesh” and experiences the liberty of the
sons of God; or by constantly giving in to one’s lower nature becomes a slave
to his own sin. (Jn. 8).
By not controlling
one’s sexual urges this can wreak havoc in all aspects of life. One denigrates
his own innate dignity becoming a slave to sin. The other person is not seen in
his/her innate beauty but only seen as an object to be used, exploited, and discarded,
like a Coke Cola bottle! Families are
destroyed due to adultery; innocent children are afflicted with irreparable
wounds and the society as a whole unravels! All must strive to live out the
Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)
Following are the many
ways that the 6th commandment can be broken.
· ADULTERY—Being unfaithful to one’s husband or wife; breaking one’s
marital commitment.
· DOUBLE ADULTERY—two spouses married and cheating on their respective
spouses.
· FORNICATION--- Also called premarital sex or sexual intercourse before
being married.
· MASTURBATION---- The solitary sin or impurity with oneself. (CCC #2352)
Explained clearly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
· HOMOSEXUALITY--- Sexual relations with the same sex. Women called
“Lesbianism”; men, “Gay men”. (Read Genesis 19 and the account of Sodom and
Gomorrah!) In the New Testament Read Romans 1.
· SAME-SEX UNIONS. Even though they are becoming legal in many states and
countries still it is highly immoral in the eyes of God.
· CONTRACEPTIVES--- Artificial means to prevent conception. Today there are
many forms: the contraceptive pill (powerful hormones), Norplant, DE Provera,
Parches, spermicide, the condom, diaphragm, the IUD. Many of these contraceptive chemical devices
are also abortafacient thereby causing “Micro-abortions”—meaning microscopic abortions
that can only be seen under the microscope. Read Pope Paul VI’s Encyclical “Humanae Vitae”—on Human life. July 25,
1968.
· IMMODESTY IN DRESS. Dressing in such
a way to provoke others, causing indecent and sinful thoughts.
· FRENCH-KISSING. Prolonged kissing between those not yet married. This is
part of sexual foreplay only permitted between husband and wife.
· SEXUAL CLIMAX outside the context of sexual intercourse; in other words
masturbation among spouses.
· ONANISM—Intentional withdrawal and non-vaginal ejaculation. Comes from
Onan in the Old Testament who spilled the seed and was chastised by God by
death.
· Flagrant immodesty in dress; rejecting the call to be true “Ambassadors
of Christ”.
· BESTIALITY—sexual acts done with animals.
· ANAL SEX—or other degrading sexual practices.
· PROSTITUTION- Buying sex; utilizing the woman as a mere object to be used
and exploited to simply satisfy one’s lustful desires.
· RAPE-- Violating the integrity and dignity of the other; forced sexual
intercourse.
· In-vitro fertilization/ artificial insemination--- sperm or egg donation
and fertilizing in a Laboratory. Procreation must come about only through the loving
embrace between the spouses, husband and wife. This is against the Natural Law!
· SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD—lending one’s womb for the implantation of a baby
conceived artificially.
· Types of fertility testing that involve immoral acts.
· CLONING.
· DIVORCE. The Bible says that God
hates divorce.
· COHABITATION--- Trial marriage to see if it works out, to see if both are
compatible with each other.
· INCEST—Sexual relationships between relatives.
· POLYGAMY/POLYANDRY—meaning having more than one wife; having more than
one husband.
· DESTROYING THE INNOCENCE OF ANOTHER: there are many ways!
· Molestation of innocent children by touching or relations.
· LUST IN THE HEART. If the
opportunity presented itself, I would go for it! Lust is not a sin until it is
given into! (Read the sin of David, II Samuel 9) Also read the chaste Susanna and the lustful elders
(Daniel 13).
· SWINGING—Also known as “wife-swapping”. Marriage is both indissoluble and
exclusive!
· HOMOSEXUALITY—Sexual relations to
those of the same sex.
· TRANSVESTISM/ CROSS-DRESSING—a man dressing or acting like a woman.
· TRANSGENDERISM--- Going through an operation whereby one changes his
sexual organs and identity.
· BISEXUALITY—Preferring and accepting relations to both sexes!
· BESTIALITY--- Relations with animals.
VII.
“You shall not steal.”
PROPERTY.
Every person has a right to property. However, he should respect the
property of others as well as use properly his own property. There are a variety of ways that we can
“steal”; let’s go through the list for the total and complete examination of
our conscience.
· Stealing. Simply taking that which belongs to another and does not belong
to you.
· Failing to take care of one’s own property.
· Refusing to return that which somebody lent to you—that which was
borrowed.
· BORROWED. Returning that which was
borrowed but in a bad or destroyed condition.
· RESTITUTION. If one has stolen
something, then in justice, he should try to restore it directly or in an
indirect manner i.e., give some money to the poor or some charity.
· COPYING IN SCHOOL. A student that
is lazy and does not study should not copy from another student that knows the
answer and has done his homework. This
is “intellectual stealing”.
· WORK ETHICS AND STEALING. If one
is being paid for his work and shows up late or extends his lunch break, then
this too is stealing! Seeking ways to cut corners!
· At store changing the price-ticket.
· MOVIES. Jumping in to see a second movie without paying.
· AGE THEFT. Lying about age so as to get a lower entry price.(At Disneyland,
Magic Mountain, Sea-world, or the movies)
· LAZINESS. Being lazy at work and
failing to carry out one’s work requirements.
· DEPRIVING WORKER OF HIS JUST WAGE. On the other hand, an employer that
purposely deprives his worker of a just wage is stealing--- depriving the
worker of what he has honestly earned by the sweat of his brow.(Gen 3)
· VANDALISM. Destroying the
property of another: tagging, breaking windows, slitting tires, damaging
houses.
· ROBBERY/ GRAND THEFT.
· SLANDER/CALUMNY--- Destroying the good name of somebody. We all have a
right to our reputation and good name.
· CHARACTER ASSASINATION--- the same.
· Pilfering—taking money from one’s parent’s dresser or desk without
permission. “He who is faithful in the
small will be faithful in the large as well.”
· SACRILEGE. Stealing something that
belongs to the church, a sacred object.
· Buying from somebody an object known to have been stolen.
· Excessive gambling. Stealing the money --- in gambling—that should be
utilized for the family needs.
· LOAN SHARK. Lending money and asking in return exorbitant prices.
· Defrauding creditors. Borrowing
money and not paying it back.
· Tax evasion; lying on tax returns.
· WASTING--- food, time, energy, talents--- our God-given talents.(Mt 25,
the Parable of the Talents)
· Bribery or taking bribes.
· Violating copyrights.
· Forgery--- signing your own signature for that of another.
· Falsifying passports/ Baptismal certificate/official documents.
· Pirating computer software.
· Blackmail.
· Denying to help out the poor and needy. Remember what Jesus said:
“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you failed to do to me.”
(Mt. 25)
· ANIMALS. Cruelty to animals; they too are God’s creation.
VIII.
“You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.”
One of the most precious God-given gifts is that of
speech. The purpose of speaking is to
communicate THE TRUTH with love. Jesus said that He is the WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. St. Bonaventure gives us three
rules to direct our speech: “One should open his mouth to praise God, accuse
oneself and to edify one’s neighbor”-- a
good rule to guide our speech!
· Lying—changing the truth.
· Stretching the truth/ exaggeration.
· Perjury—lying under oath.
· Slander/calumny --- destroying another’s reputation.
· Gossip—speaking behind the back of another.
· Negative criticism.
· Violating confidence / revealing secrets.
· Breaking oaths/ promises made to God.
· Being an accomplice to another’s grave sin.
· Silence by which lies/untruths can easily be spread.
IX.
“Thou
shall not desire thy neighbor’s wife.”
Jesus goes beyond the
mere exterior, but delves into the depths of the human heart. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount
Jesus launches a major challenge.
Adultery is not simply the mere physical act of cheating on one’s wife/husband
by immoral sexual union. He goes way beyond that. Listen to His words: “You have heard it said, “You shall not
commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eyes causes you
to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your
members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.” (Mt. 5:
27-29). Not only do we have to control
our exterior behavior but also the interior intentions of our hearts. God can read even the innermost recesses of
the human heart and the most secret of intentions. Remember that Our Lady of Fatima said in 1917
that most souls are lost for all eternity due to sins of the flesh; those
committed against the sixth and ninth commandment. Let us dig into the list of ways that we can
break the ninth Commandment!
· Willfully lusting after another in your heart.
· OBJECT. Viewing a woman/ man as an object to be exploited and utilized. (Theology of the Body of Pope John Paul II)
· On purpose giving in to bad/ immoral/impure thoughts.
· Day-dreaming, as a married person, about a past boy/girlfriend.
· Once you realize and are aware of
immoral thoughts against purity failure
to reject them.
· Staring at immodestly dressed women.
· WOMAN. Dressing immodestly thereby
being a cause of sin for men.
· WOMAN. Being provocative in dress, word, movement.
· LANGUAGE. Telling dirty stories/ using
dirty and vulgar language.
· MUSIC. Listening to impure, provocative, and sensual music that stir up
the passions.
· BARS/DISCOS. Attending places
where immorality and immodest dress and actions are rampant.
· GENTLEMAN’S CLUB. Attending clubs
with immodest dancing and activities.
· T.V. Viewing TV. programs that
have impurity.
· MOVIES. Viewing movies with immodest sexual scenes.
· SCANDAL. Taking family members to view
bad movies.
· MAGAZINES. Looking at pornographic magazines.
· POSTERS. Allowing posters to be viewed publically in one’s home/office or
factory.
· PORNOGRAPHY--- In any color, size or form… One of the biggest addictions
in the modern world.
· INTERNET PORN. So rampant today and easy to access.
· PARENTS—allowing children free and easy access to internet with great possibility
of porn sites. Computer, Smart- phone, other…
· Sexting—sending immodest personal pictures.
· Receiving—Receiving immodest photos of others.
· ART. Purposely viewing immodest
art of the human body.
· DESIGN/DEPICTION—being involved in the production, publication and
diffusion of immodest material.
· PARENTS’ OMISSION—Parents allowing their young children/teens to have
courtships that would place in danger or jeopardize their children’s purity.
· IMMODEST bathing apparel.
· Thinking of other women/men after you have been married.
· VOYEURISM--- Spying on others in their intimacy; peeking through
key-holes to see that which is private.
“Peeping Tom!”
· SEX-EDUCATION PROGRAMS. Parents
willingly allowing their children to be taught the “wrong” purpose of human
sexuality in the modern school system.
Parents are the first teachers of their children, especially in the
realm of human sexuality!
· CURIOSITY. “Curiosity killed the
cat.” Allowing one’s eyes to wander freely and having no check over the senses.
Remember the sin of David!
X.
“You shall not desire (covet) thy neighbor’s
goods.”
Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his life in the process….” And “Seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness and everything else will be given to you beside.” St. Paul warns us, “Love for money is the
root of all evils.” Pope John Paul II
reminds us that it is much more important being than having and that doing
flows from being. A modern Psychologist
nails it with this classic: “If you are what you have and you lose what you
have, then who are you?”(Erich Fromm)
· Giving into the capital sin of
greed/avarice.
· MATERIALISM. My god is the god of
“Having.”
· Always wanting more and more and more…
· COMPARISONS. Always comparing oneself and what you have to others.
· JEALOUSY. You feel sad and
depressed because somebody has something that you do not have.
· ENVY. Worse yet, you rejoice when
something bad happens to “That” person that has something you do not have.
· Keeping up with the Joneses!
Feeling you must always have what the others have around you.
· Never wanting to share what you have.
· Failure to support the church.
· Intention to steal or destroy the goods of others.
· Failure to help the poor and needy. Remember Lk. 16—The Parable of
Lazarus and the Rich man. We can sin
due to omission--- failure to help out and give to the poor and suffering.
· WORRY! The root cause of worry is
not trusting in God’s providential care
in our lives. “Seek first the
Kingdom of God…”
· SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP!
· ACCUMULATE. Like Scrooge accumulating more and more when it is not
necessary. Excess dresses, shoes, wardrobe, with the knowledge that many people
are dying of hunger throughout the world right now.
· NEVER CONTENT. Always wanting more
things and of better quality.
· SPOILING KIDS! Giving them more
and more so that they never appreciate anything.
One of the most eloquent sources of inspiration related to Confession and God's Infinite Mercy can be found in the Diary of Mercy in my soul , of St. Faustina specifically numbers, 1448. Let us read and meditate with open hearts!
Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace, that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the Sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage, or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to Him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were souls like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full.
Once again, these encouraging words from the Diary of St. Faustina should fill us with great trust and confidence in Jesus who awaits us to embrace us with His merciful and loving Heart in the sacrament of Confession.
Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls.
