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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The 7 Gifts of the Spirit vs. The 7 Capital Sins (Choosing Jesus over satan)



As I was writing the post on CONTROL, the Lord directed me into also discussing about the SEVEN CAPITAL SINS. Most probably, because CONTROL and SIN are related.
 The seven capital sins stem from the ABSENCE of SELF-CONTROL.
It would be good to point them out and find out if we were guilty of one,
some, most, or ALL (!) of the seven sins.

These sins are called CAPITAL because they engender other sins and other vices.


For non-Catholics who are unfamiliar with what the Church teaches, according to its catechism, there are two major kinds of sins: MORTAL SIN and VENIAL SIN.

Allow me to define the two:


Mortal Sin: 
The Church believes that if you commit a mortal sin, you forfeit heaven and opt for hell by your own free will and actions. It is the complete turning away from God and embracing something else in place. It’s deadly to the life of grace, because it insults the honor of God and injures the soul of the sinner. Mortal sin is like a malignant tumor or a critical injury that’s lethal to the spiritual life.
Cain killed Abel. This is the FIRST MURDER, a MORTAL SIN.


Three conditions are necessary for mortal sin to exist:


1. Grave Matter: The act itself is intrinsically evil and immoral. For example, murder, rape, incest, perjury, adultery, and so on are grave matter.
2. Full Knowledge: The person must know that what they’re doing or planning to do is evil and immoral. 
3. Deliberate Consent: The person must freely choose to commit the act or plan to do it. 




A "white lie" is considered a venial sin.

Venial Sin :
 The Church defines it as less serious breaches of God’s Law. These are sins that meet one or two of the conditions needed for a mortal sin but do not fulfill all three at the same time, or they’re minor violations of the moral law.




* * * * * * * * *


I would like to point out though that ALL SINS do grieve God's Heart. One should not go about deliberately sinning against God just because one's sins are deemed only as "minor" or venial. Every sin when done consciously no matter how "innocuous" it may seem initially, will eventually become a habit. Bad habits cause the conscience to be jaded and hardened. When one's conscience, which determines an act as either good or bad, already considers a "minor" sin, not anymore a sin, but just a "normal occurrence", it can make the sinner level up in his/her sinning. This makes the sinner vulnerable to committing far graver or mortal sins. One has to always nip sin in the bud, in order to not live an immoral life open to temptations and influences by the enemy.



An Example would be:



  • A woman befriends a male coworker. He is fun! He is also married. They have many common interests. It starts out as a good friendship.
  • They hang out together. They even talk about their spouses and their families. It becomes a fulfilling "platonic" relationship.
  • Later on, the woman finds herself confiding to this man. She enjoys his company. He understands her. She cherishes the time they spend together as she talks about her problems.
  • They are together all the time, sometimes even just the two of them, at work, and during breaks.
  • Soon, he is now dropping her off from work daily.  They give each other "harmless" goodbye kisses on the cheek.
  • Suddenly, the woman's husband takes a month-long trip away from home due to his job.
  • The woman becomes lonely and needy.
  • She seeks the company of the male coworker even more.
  • The male coworker "comforts" her in her loneliness and lonesomeness.
  •  It won't be long before the male coworker makes a pass.
  • She is too vulnerable and too sad to resist.
  • They kiss, this time on the lips.
  • Before they know it, they are already having sex!
  • What started out as "innocent" friendship has turned into an adulterous affair!
  • Like has turned into Lust.
  • They are now deliberately living a life of SIN. :(


I would like to point out  that NO sin is "harmless". Every sin offends God. Every sin can lead us farther and farther away from God. That's why the Lord wants us to take captive every thought for Christ. So, the moment the sinful thought crops up, we immediately kill it on the spot! Because sinful thoughts eventually lead to sinful actions and continual sinning will put us  in deep spiritual bondage.:(

That is a life of "death". :(


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[Note: The following info is taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church]


Here are:

THE SEVEN CAPITAL SINS

CAPITAL Sin #1 :PRIDE 
Lucifer fell from heaven because of PRIDE.

- Pride is undue self-esteem or self-love, which seeks attention and honor and sets oneself in competition with God.

- It is essentially an act or disposition of the will desiring to be considered better than a person really is. 

- Pride may be expressed in different ways:
  •  by taking personal credit for gifts or possessions, as if they had not been received from God
  •  by glorying in achievements, as if they were not primarily the result of divine goodness and grace
  •  by minimizing one’s defects or claiming qualities that are not actually possessed
  •  by holding oneself superior to others or disdaining them because they lack what the proud person has
  •  by magnifying the defects of others or dwelling on them. 

- When pride is carried to the extent that a person is unwilling to acknowledge dependence on God and refuses to submit his or her will to God or lawful authority, it is a grave sin.
Jesus taught us humility.

Bible Verses to Live By:

1 John 2:16
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world.

James 4:6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 16:18 
Pride goes before destruction,

    and a haughty spirit before a fall.
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CAPITAL Sin #2 AVARICE/GREED 
(from Latin avarus, “greedy”; “to crave”) 
This picture went viral  around the Philippine netosphere
when the Napoles scandal broke out.

- Greed is the inordinate love for riches.

- Its special malice, broadly speaking, lies in that it makes the getting and keeping of money, possessions, and the like, a purpose in itself to live for.

- It does not see that these things are valuable only as instruments for the conduct of a rational and harmonious life, due regard being paid of course to the special social condition in which one is placed.

- It is called a capital vice because through it many other sins are committed.

- It is more to be dreaded, in that, it often cloaks itself as a virtue, or insinuates itself under the pretext of making a decent provision for the future.

- In so far as avarice is an incentive to injustice in acquiring and retaining of wealth, it is frequently a grievous sin.

- In itself, however, and in so far as it implies simply an excessive desire of, or pleasure in, riches, it is commonly not a mortal sin.
Jesus taught us simplicity and the absence of' 'love' for worldly things.

Bible Verses to Live By:

Proverbs 15:27 
A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

2 Peter 2:3 
In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
James 3:14-16 
14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 

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CAPITAL Sin # 3: ENVY
The infamous picture of Sophia Lauren  "eyeing" Jayne Mansfield's bosom

-  Resentment or sadness at another's good fortune of the seven capital sins, envy is contrary to the tenth commandment.

- Envy is not quite the same as jealousy.

- Jealousy seeks another advantage for oneself while envy tries to destroy another advantage.

- Jealousy can be good depending on what one is actually desiring. St. Paul wrote that his apostolate was to make his fellow Jews jealous of Christians — not so that they would persecute and try to destroy them (as in envy) but so that they would seek the spiritual advantages of conversion to Christ (see Romans 11:15).

Jesus always claimed that the Father "was greater than I" even though 
he and the Father "are one".  Totally no power play and no envy on his part.



Bible Verses to Live By:
Proverbs 14:30 
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Psalm 37:1
 Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

Galatians 5:21
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
_______________________________________________________
CAPITAL Sin #4: WRATH/ANGER

- The desire of vengeance.

- How we judge it depends upon the quality of the vengeance and the quantity of the passion.

- When these are in conformity with the prescriptions of balanced reason, anger is not a sin. It is rather a praiseworthy thing and justifiable with a proper zeal.

-  It becomes sinful when it is sought to wreak vengeance upon one who has not deserved it, or to a greater extent than it has been deserved, or in conflict with the dispositions of law, or from an improper motive.

- The sin is then in a general sense mortal as being opposed to justice and charity. 
- It may, however, be venial because the punishment aimed at is but a trifling one or because of lack of full deliberation.

- Likewise, anger is sinful when there is an undue vehemence in the passion itself, whether inwardly or outwardly.

- Ordinarily it is then considered a venial sin unless the excess is so great as to go counter seriously to the love of God or of one's neighbor.
Jesus teaches us that it is not a sin to get angry,
especially if it is righteous anger as in the case of his cleaning out the Temple.
But he also reminds us that in "our anger, we should not sin."

Bible Verses to Live By:
Romans 12:19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
James 1:19-20 
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Matthew 5:21-24 

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift…” 

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CAPITAL Sin #5: LUST 

- The inordinate craving for or indulgence in sexual pleasure.

- The evil of lust is reducible to this: that sexual satisfaction is sought for either outside marriage or, at any rate, in a manner which is contrary to the laws that govern marital intercourse.

- Indulging in lust is a mortal sin, provided of course, it is done in a way that is voluntary in itself and fully deliberate. This is the testimony of St. Paul in the letter to the Galatians, 5:19:
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury… Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.” 

- This teaching applies to external and internal sins alike: “Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
Women were respected and treated with kindness by our Lord Jesus
Christ. This was the Samaritan woman at the well  whom Jesus asked water from. 


Bible Verses to Live By: 

1 Peter 2:11

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1 Corinthians 6:18 

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.


Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
_______________________________________________________
CAPITAL Sin #6: GLUTTONY 

- Overindulgence in food or drink.

- The moral deformity discernible in this vice lies in its defiance of the order postulated by reason, which prescribes necessity as the measure of indulgence in eating and drinking.

- A glutton wants things according to the apt rendering of Father Joseph Rickably: too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily.

- Clearly one who uses food or drink in such a way as to injure his health or impair the mental equipment needed for the discharge of his duties, is guilty of the sin of gluttony.

- It is incontrovertible that to eat or drink for the mere pleasure of the experience without desire of nourishment or table fellowship, is likewise to commit the sin of gluttony.

- Someone habitually gluttonous is so wedded to the pleasures of the table as to live merely to eat and drink, so minded as to be of the number of those, described by the Apostle St. Paul, “whose god is their belly” (Phil 3:19).  Such a one would be guilty of mortal sin. 

- Likewise a person who, by excesses in eating and drinking, would have greatly impaired his health, or unfitted himself for duties for the performance of which he has a grave obligation, might be guilty of mortal sin.
Jesus would always eat with his apostles. He even drank some wine with them.
He also ate with sinners and tax collectors.  Eating is a great way to have fellowship with people but always with moderation. 

Bible Verses to Live By:
Proverbs 23:21   
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:
and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.

Deuteronomy 21:20  
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son [is] stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; [he is] a glutton, and a drunkard.
Proverbs 23:2  
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou [be] a man given to appetite.
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CAPITAL Sin # 7: SLOTH 
A real-life picture taken of a tambay (Filipino word for jobless) lazily sitting
while some American/Canadian volunteers paint and build his house.

- A culpable lack of physical or spiritual effort; acedia or laziness. 

- One of the seven capital sins which represent the “I don't care” feeling.

- A man sees that the practice of virtue is hard and so resists the service of God.

- He becomes slothful and his soul grows sluggish and lazy at the thought of the painful life journey.

- The idea of right living inspires not joy but disgust, because of its laboriousness. - This is the notion commonly obtaining, and in this sense sloth is not a specific vice according to the teaching of St. Thomas, but rather a circumstance of all vices.

- Ordinarily it will not have the malice of mortal sin unless, of course, we conceive it to be so total that because of it one is willing to reject some serious obligation.

- In this sense sloth is directly opposed to charity. The man who is slothful violates, therefore, expressly the first and the greatest of the commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.” (Mark 12:30).

- Sloth can also indicate a wasting due to lack of use, concerning a person, place, thing, skill, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement, or support to continue to exist. (Wikipedia)
Jesus had only 33 years to live on earth; of these, three of which were supposedly
spent on his ministry. For sure, He never wasted any minute fulfilling the Father's Work!

Bible Verses to Live By:
2 Thessalonians 3:10

10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Proverbs 19:15


15 
Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,


    and an idle person will suffer hunger.

1 Timothy 5:8

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.


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Knowing now the seven capital sins, I wonder how many of those did you check? One, two, three... all

It would be so easy to feel like the scum of the earth because of our sinfulness and just wallow in self-pity and guilt. But, take heed; don't despair! The Lord came to earth not for the saints, but for sinners like you and I. (Mark 2:17) God sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life! (John 3:16) God demonstrated His Love for us, in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners!!! (Romans 5:8)

All He is asking from us, is that we "REPENT (Acts 3:19), turn away from our sins,  turn to the Lord, and be faithful to the gospel." For us Catholics, that was what the priest told us to do, when he put the ash on our foreheads last 
Ash Wednesday --  the start of the Lenten season. 


It is Christ's call to all of us Christians --  
Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal Christians, Evangelical Christians, Baptist Christians, etc...  

-- no matter what denomination.

This coming Good Friday, if not today, ("for if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts!" (Hebrews 3:15)) let us crucify our old selves with Jesus on the cross, "that the body of sin might be done away, so we should no longer be in bondage to sin"! (Romans 6:6)


As we commemorate Holy Week, may we reflect on the life of Jesus, and decide to follow Him not a moment later, in order that we no longer become "slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness." (Romans 6:18)


It does not end with us being sinners. It ends with us being saved from our sinful lives, and being given new selves, in and through Jesus Christ!!!  (Gal 2:20) 



If on one hand, there are SEVEN capital sins that ensnare us and bind us to the world, to the flesh and to satan; on the other hand, there is a list of corresponding SEVEN gifts of the Holy Spirit that believers will possess, when they decide to let go and let God rule their lives. 
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are enumerated in Isaiah 11:2-3. They are present in their fullness in Jesus Christ but are found in all Christians who are in a state of grace. 


If the SEVEN CAPITAL SINS were :

  1. PRIDE
  2. GREED 
  3. ENVY
  4. WRATH
  5. LUST 
  6. GLUTTONY   and 
  7. SLOTH

The SEVEN GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT are:

  1. WISDOM 
  2. UNDERSTANDING
  3. RIGHT JUDGMENT
  4. COURAGE
  5. KNOWLEDGE
  6. PIETY    and
  7. REVERENCE or FEAR OF GOD



And as a bonus, not only will we possess the SEVEN Gifts of the Spirit, But we also get to have the NINE Fruits of the Spirit, once we submit our lives to our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Winner all around!!! 

We experience these (I bask in them daily!!! Praise God! Unless I give in to sin, and I have to suffer the loss of it till I repent and go back to a state of grace.) when we have died to our old selves and have decided to live for Jesus Christ.


The NINE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT are:
  1. LOVE
  2. JOY
  3. PEACE
  4. FORBEARANCE
  5. KINDNESS
  6. GOODNESS
  7. FAITHFULNESS
  8. GENTLENESS      and
  9. SELF-CONTROL 




Galatians 5:22

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and  envying each other.


The Gifts plus Fruits (of the Spirit) outnumber the (capital) sins!!!




          *satan's team                             Jesus' Team                                         
                                                
      7  Capital sins                                           7 Gifts of the Spirit
   +                                                           +             
       many other sins              vs.                     9 Fruits of the Spirit 
_____________________                   _______________________
7 capital  sins + Countless Tortures                        16  Gifts and Fruits + Countless Blessings   
Prize: Eternal Damnation and a Ticket                        Prize:   Salvation and a Ticket to                                         to Hell                                                                          Heaven


Whose team are you on?

___________________________________________________________

This Holy Week, may you choose Jesus. 
He is waiting for YOU.

May we all be richly blessed! :)





* I do not capitalize satan's name. 
He does not  deserve a capital letter.

2 comments:

  1. Since you wrote satan with a small letter s, then enemy should also start with a small e. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sige. Will correct! Baka kasi malito yung iba. Ibang enemy isipin e si satan, iisa. ;)

      Delete

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