Grace and Sin

Grace is the word we use to describe God's relationship with us. It is always a relationship of Love because God is always inviting us to share in Goodness, Life and Order. When talking about Grace, we can sometimes get the idea we are talking about something quantifiable or measurable. Grace is not a thing but a relationship with God.

Sin is that which prevents a person from developing right relationships with God, neighbor, creation or one's self. Sin manifests itself in many ways. Sin can be described as the failure to believe that one is beloved of God; the failure to become fully alive; the missing of the mark; self-seeking or the violation of one of the commandments.

Original Sin

The sin of Adam and Eve is called the Original (or First) Sin. The immediate effect of Original Sin was that Adam and Eve became ashamed of their nakedness. This was symbolic of their turning away from one another. Their relationship with God was broken as they tried to hide from God. They were expelled from the Garden and had to struggle to develop a harmonious relationship with the earth. The effects of Original Sin continued as Cain killed Abel and the human community was scattered.

The Genesis story of the Fall is the author's attempt to explain the struggle we all experience as we try to live in harmony with God, with one another, with creation and with ourselves. It is as if Original Sin had turned out the lights and we now stumble around in semi-darkness as we try to find our way. This is why Christ, who teaches us how to live according to God's Way, calls himself the Light of the World.

Mortal and Venial Sins:

Sins are thoughts, words or actions that turn us away from God and neighbor in some way. When this is significant they are called serious or mortal sins. Less serious sins are called venial sins. Three conditions must exist for a person to commit a mortal sin:

The action or failure to act must be seriously wrong.

A person must be aware that the act is seriously wrong.

A person must make a free choice to commit the sin.

A thought, word or deed is seriously wrong if prevents us from revealing God's love to others and/or hinders us from inviting others to respond to God's transforming love in some significant way.

For instance, we can become put out with another person, impatient, angry or frustrated and this is, in most cases, a venial sin, but if we deliberately set out to harm that person's reputation by spreading lies or malicious gossip, it is a serious sin.

To enjoy wine with dinner is part of enjoying life, but to deliberately become drunk prevents one from acting in a conscious manner and is a serious sin.

Capital Sins

Each person is a unique reflection of God and gifted with a special energy. Each person must also struggle against a key sin. This sin is a diffusion or misdirection of the energy that makes us unique. These key sins are called Capital Sins because they flow from deep within us. They are almost always the sources of our personal and social sins. These are Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. Recent theologians would add deceit and fear. The following chart is one way to arrange both the gift and the sin.

Gift	Avoids	Capital Sin
Helper	Own Needs	Pride
Motivator	Failure	Deceit
Artist	Ordinariness	Envy
Thinker	Emptiness	Greed
Worker	Insecurity	Fear
Celebrator	Pain	Gluttony
Leader	Weakness	Lust
Mediator	Conflict	Laziness
Reformer	Imperfection	Anger

Conscience

Conscience is the ability to make a moral judgment. It is helpful to distinguish moral decision making from what psychologist call the superego. The superego is like a tape replaying again and again the shoulds and have-tos we've heard in the process of growing up. Conscience helps us act based on values rather than commands from authority.

To make the best decision in a particular situation, we need to review our own experiences as well as those of family, friends and those who have knowledge or wisdom in the area under consideration. As Christians we need to listen to the voice of Scripture and Jesus himself speaking to us in prayer. As Catholics we also need to listen to the voice of the Church which continues to speak to us, especially through the Bishops, about the values that should guide us as disciples of Christ.

Our consciences are formed as we answer the fundamental question "What sort of person ought I to become?" and then "What ought I to do?" When one acts in accord with one's conscience, one is not just doing what one thinks best but deciding how to act in accord with discerned moral truth.

Making Moral Decisions

Discernment is the process of trying to understand "How should one live as a disciple of Christ today?" While some people deliberately set out to get their own way no matter what the cost to others, most try to live a good life. Because almost all situations we face involve a number of values, we need to have a way of identifying the values involved.

Often one cannot meet all of the values in a particular situation but they need to be affirmed so that they can be met when possible.

It is important to remember that there is a hierarchy of values. For instance life is more important than property. A greater sacrifice must be made to preserve life than property.

In addition, different people have different rights. For instance it is important to have friends. It is also important for parents to know where their children are going. Sometimes young people end up lying to their parents about where they have been. But this is wrong, because parents have a right to the truth from their children. To lie to one's parents about where one has been is wrong and if it becomes a regular pattern in one's life, it can be seriously wrong.

There are four major steps one should enter into in order to understand what one is being called to be or do.

Learning the values and principles that Christians, especially Catholics, accept and how they have come to think, speak and act in order to preserve and develop those values. For instance, what does it mean to respect life given today's experiments in genetics?

Discussing with experts in a particular area, e.g., doctors, lawyers, priests,etc., what course of action they might advise.

Praying

This includes listening to one's heart. God is inviting me into a deeper relationship. Am I prepared to walk in mystery?

God always acts in the same way. How can God's story, the biblical stories, help me understand what God is asking of me now?

Asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide and strengthen you to act as Christ would.

Deciding to act as responsibly as one can, given the particular situation at hand.