There are some who are convinced that murder is the only sin that can be committed. Others are only aware of the reality of sin when it is something large in nature such as stealing or something else which is super apparent. These individuals often struggle with the sacrament of Confession because they believe that they have nothing to confess because they have not committed any sins even if a period of 10 or more years have passed since their last confession. As Christ came to state in our Gospel: “You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of judgment.”
He then goes onto state something further: “But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother: Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say: Thou fool, shalt be in danger of hell fire.” The continuation of this passage should make us see that sin is something that transcends killing another and other gravely apparent sins. We need to dare to look inwardly upon ourself and acknowledge the ways in which we have sinned even in what would seem to be the smallest of matters.
There are many sins when committed which will require us to atone for them in the here and now. If we were to kill another we would end up in prison. If we were to steal we would end up in jail. There are other matters which seem mild and will never require us to be imprisoned. In our ever changing culture there are even sins which are now found to be culturally acceptable even if they go against Christ and the Church. Breaking the civil law cannot be the basis for our understanding of sin.
We should have great concern for these grave sins, but at the same time we should desire to detach ourself from all sin no matter how mild it may seem to be. Christ desires that we enter into relationship with Him and if we truthfully desired to enter into relationship with Him there would be nothing that we would refuse to leave behind in order to pursue Him.
The reward to which we must strive is that of the Kingdom of Heaven. Everything that we do in the here and now from our fasting, prayer, and charity should lead up to that reality. We do not do these things in order to receive an earthly reward to which others can shower us with adoration. Instead we enter into these realities to better conform our life towards that of Christ and that requires that we not only have concern for the big sins, but also those little sins which are active in our life.
We must remember that the Lord is merciful and just and thus let us come to frequent His infinite mercy which sets us free from sin and death.
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