TYPES OF SINS
I learned that the Catholic Church has divided sins into two identities: Mortal sins and Venial sins.
Turning away from God and embracing anything apart from God is a Mortal sin. If someone commits a sin, he loses heaven, and by his own free will and actions, he opts for hell. It insults the might & honor of the Living God and injures the soul of the sinner. Therefore it’s poisonous and deadly for the life which needs to be in the state of grace to be present in the sight of God. For example, murder, rape, adultery, etc. are mortal sins.
On the other hand, Venial sins do not have consequences as grave as those of Mortal Sins. These sins do not result in a complete separation from and eternal punishment in hell. It only weakens the soul but doesn’t kill the grace within. Violations of moral law fall under venial sins. As I started to dive down deeper into understanding the sins, then came the point where I encountered the seven deadly sins as identified by the Catholic Church.
Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins are believed to be first listed out by Pope Gregory1 in the 6th century and later elaborated by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13thCentury. He was an influential Italian philosopher, theologian, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church.
The seven deadly sins are Pride, Envy, Lust, Anger, Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth.
Pride- The first deadly sin
Proverbs 11 : 2 says “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
Envy- The second deadly sin
Proverbs 14:30; “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
Lust- The third deadly sin
1 John 2:16, says “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.”
Anger- The fourth deadly sin
James 4: 1-2, says ,” What causes fights and quarrels among you?Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?You desirebut do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what youwant, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.”
Greed- The fifth deadly sin
If you have an excessive love of and desire for earthly possessions and riches, then that is greed. It is the intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food. It is sometimes called avarice. The best tonic from the sickness of greed is generosity.
Matthew 6 : 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate theone and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise theother. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Gluttony- The sixth deadly sin
If you ever had overindulgence in food or drink or you’ve ever over-consumed food or alcohol, that action amounts to gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins of the Catholic Church. Delightful dinner with your friends, families isn’t a sin, but intentionally overeating beyond your body’s needs is a sin. Similarly, the same case goes in consuming beverages or drinks. If you are ready to fight against gluttony then, periodic fasting, abstinence, avoiding meat, or some favorite food, are the best defenses against gluttony.
Sloth- The seventh deadly sin
It is laziness particularly concerned with prayer and spiritual life. It represents the ‘I don’t care feelings.’ Sloth doesn’t desire to make sacrifices, do something for others but always wants to relax and rest. It discourages spiritual, mental, and physical work. The Catholic Church says that if you aren’t fulfilling your religious duties, inattentive towards religious worships, or careless towards the services, that’s also a sin of sloth. You can overcome spiritual laziness by practicing the virtue of diligence!
Proverbs 21 : 25, ” The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his handsrefuse to labor.
Thus, we know that the seven deadly sins slowly but gradually eat up our soul from within. The question that we should ask ourselves is how gravely is my soul covered up by these seven deadly sins. Our effort should to acquire the seven heavenly virtues and get rid of these seven deadly sins. We must know that it is very easy to sin but very difficult to come out of that sin. hence, what is expected of us is to repent and seek the mercy of Jesus to be washed away completely from these sins.
Author of this blog : Michael Lepcha
Michael is currently a third year student and belongs to St. Augustine Church, Kangkebong, Darjeeling Diocese .
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Contact : michaellepcha1997@gmail.com