321 RADICAL INDIVIDUALIST

YOUCAT Lesson 321

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

Chapter Two – Human Community

321  Can a Christian be a radical individualist?

No, a Christian can never be a radical individualist, because man is by nature designed for fellowship.  [1877-1880, 1890-1891]

Mehmet Ali Agca, right,  who shot John Paul II in 1981 later laid flowers Christmas 2014 on the saint's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica. …321

Every person has a mother and a father; he receives help from others and is obliged to help others and to develop his talents for the benefit of all.  Since man is God’s “image”, in a certain way he reflects God, who in his depths is not alone but triune (and thus life, love, dialogue, and exchange).  Finally, love is the central commandment for all Christians; through it we profoundly belong together and are fundamentally dependent on one another: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

“The greatest gift that man can have this side of heaven is to be able to get along well with the people with whom he lives.”  Bl. Egidio of Assissi (?-1262, one of the closest companions of St. Francis of Assissi)

“Even if you are not afraid to fall alone, how do you suppose you will rise up alone?  Consider: two together can accomplish more than one alone.”  St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)

1877-1880, 1890-1891

CHAPTER TWO
THE HUMAN COMMUNITY

1877 The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

I. THE COMMUNAL CHARACTER OF THE HUMAN VOCATION

1878 All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the unity of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love.( Compare Gaudium et Spes 24 § 3.)¹ Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God. –CCC

1879 The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation.( Compare Gaudium et Spes 25 § 1.)² –CCC

1880 A society is a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and prepares for the future. By means of society, each man is established as an "heir" and receives certain "talents" that enrich his identity and whose fruits he must develop.⁽ Compare Luke 19:13,15.⁾He rightly owes loyalty to the communities of which he is part and respect to those in authority who have charge of the common good. --CCC

320 STRUCTURES OF SIN

YOUCAT Lesson 320, March 20, 2015

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

320  Is there such a thing as structures of sin?

 

Structures of sin exist only in a manner of speaking.  A sin is always connected with an individual person who knowingly and willingly agrees to something evil.  [1869]

Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”:    The painting was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italian warplanes at the request of the Spanish Nationalists. –Wikipedia. …320

Nevertheless, there are societal situations and institutions that are so contradictory to God’s commandments that we speak about “structures of sin”—yet these, too, are the consequence of personal sins.

1869

  

V. THE PROLIFERATION OF SIN

1869 Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin."(  Pope St.John Paul II, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia 16.)¹⁴⁴ --CCC

319 OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE THE SINS OF OTHER PEOPLE

YOUCAT Lesson 319

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

319  Are we responsible for the sins of other people?

No, we are not responsible for other people’s sins, unless we are guilty of misleading or seducing another person to sin or of cooperating in it or of encouraging someone else to sin or of neglecting to offer a timely warning or our help.  [1868]

“The last several decades have demonstrated that Hollywood, for good or ill, has the ability to shape the ideals, values and character of its consumers.  As such, the moral impact that the book Fifty Shades of Grey has on the conscience of its viewers cannot be met with casual indifference...both the book and the movie go way beyond what authentic romance truly is.  …  Mind you, to glamorize or normalize sexually aggressive acts of this nature is ... a sin against God and a rejection of his plan for his people.” --Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop David Ricken in his diocesan publication, “The Compass”. …319

1868

V. THE PROLIFERATION OF SIN

1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them: 
- by participating directly and voluntarily in them; 
- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; 
- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; 
- by protecting evil-doers. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

318 VICES

YOUCAT Lesson 318

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

318  What are vices?

Vices are negative habits that deaden and dull the conscience, incline a person to evil, and habitually prepare him for sin.  [1865-1867]

Aristotle on vice: “And so both virtue and vice are in our power.  For when the deed is in our power, so is the omission, and when we can say No, we can also say Yes.”  Aristotle (382-322 B.C., along with Plato, the greatest philosopher in antiquity) …..318

Human vices are found in connection with the capital sins of pride, avarice, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth (or acedia, spiritual boredom).

1865-1867

V. THE PROLIFERATION OF SIN

1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1866 Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices.( Compare St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, 31,45:Patrologia Latina 76,621A.)¹³⁸  They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. –CCC

1867 The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel,( Compare Genesis 4:10.)¹³⁹ the sin of the Sodomites,( Compare Genesis 18:20; Gen 19:13.)¹⁴⁰ the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt,( Compare Exodus 3:7-10.)¹⁴¹ the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan,( Compare Exodus 22:20-22.)¹⁴² injustice to the wage earner.( Compare Deuteronomy24:14-15; James 5:4.)¹⁴³

The Ascension of the Lord, May 27, 2017

Art deco statue of Jesus Christ in Świebodzin, Poland

The Ascension of the Lord, May 27, 2017
Lectionary: 58

The first reading:  ACTS of the apostles 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for "the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. "When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.  They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?  This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."

Responsorial Psalm: PSALM 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
for the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

The second reading: EPHESIANS 1:17-23

Brothers and sisters:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.  May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Alleluia: MATTHEW 28:29A, 20B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: MATTHEW 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.  When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.  Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  tAnd behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

317 DELIVERANCE FROM SERIOUS SIN

YOUCAT Lesson 317

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

317  How can a person be delivered from serious sin and reunited with God?

In order to heal the break with God that is caused by a serious sin, a Catholic Christian must be reconciled with God through confession.  [1856]  224-239

Icon of St. John Chrysostom:  We have lost Paradise but have received heaven, and therefore the gain is greater than the loss. ... 317

“If there were no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope for eternal life and eternal deliverance.  Let us thank God, who gave his Church such a great gift.”  St. Augustine (354-430

1856

1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation: 

When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.( St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologia I-II,88,2, corp. art.)¹³⁰ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

316 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS

YOUCAT Lesson 316

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

316  How can we distinguish serious sins (mortal sins) from less serious (venial) sins?

Serious sin destroys the divine power of love in a person’s heart, without which there can be no eternal beatitude.  Hence it is also called mortal sin.  Serious sin breaks with God, whereas venial sin only strains the relationship with him.  [1852-1861, 1874]

Photo:  My granddaughter Leila with her cousin Jack in a chicken coop. …..316

Temptations to Sin.     “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into fiery Gehenna.”  -- Matthew 18:6-9

A serious sin cuts a person off from God.  One requirement for such a sin is that it be opposed to an important value, for instance, directed against life or God (for example, murder, blasphemy, adultery, and so on) and that it be committed with full knowledge and full consent.  Venial sins are opposed to secondary values (honor, truth, property, and so on) or are committed without full knowledge of their seriousness or without full consent of the will.  Such sins disrupt the relationship with God but do not sever it.

“Only someone who has seriously meditated on how heavy the Cross is can understand how serious the sin is. “  St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033/1034-1109)

“I have just produced expensive ashes: I have burned a five-hundred-franc note.  Oh, that is not as bad as if I had committed a venial sin.”  St. John Vianney (1786-1859)

1852-1861, 1874

III. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS

1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."(Galatians 5:19-21; compare Romans 1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-9; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Tim 3:2-5.)¹²⁷ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1853 Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. The root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man."( Matthew 15:19-20.)¹²⁸ But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds. –CCC

IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN

1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,( Compare 1 Jn 5:16-17.)¹²⁹ became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience. –CCC

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.

Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it. –CCC

1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation: 

When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.( St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II,88,2, corp. art.)¹³⁰ –CCC

1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."( Reconciliatio et Paenitentia 17 § 12.)¹³¹

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."( Mark 10:19.)¹³² The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. –CCC

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart(Compare Mark 3:5-6; Luke 16:19-31.)¹³³ do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin. –CCC

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest. –CCC

1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God. --CCC