Catholic Faith Refresher Course

LESSON 12

MORTAL SIN IS THE GREATEST EVIL IN THE WORLD

"I am the Lord thy God, mighty,jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. unto the third andfourth generation of them that hate me. ,. ( Exodus 20:5 )

DIRECTIONS TO THE STUDENT Many people of the Twentieth Century have lost their horror of sin and even the very notion of sin. Mortal sin is so common today that you may be inclined to excuse those who commit it-perhaps even yourself. We must never be so accustomed to the sins of men that we lose the reality of how truly horrible they are.

In the preceding lesson, Mortal and Venial Sin. you learned about sin in a schoolroom fashion. In this lesson you should learn to fear and hate mortal sin, so that you will always avoid it. This is one of the first steps you must take in becoming a Catholic.

A. INTRODUCTION Today the world tries to convince us that sin is something desirable. But really sin is ugly and repulsive. Suppose that someone offered you a piece of candy and told you that it had poison in it-you would not take it. The devil does exactly the same thing when he offers you the chance to commit a mortal sin. He asks you to commit the sin--to kill yourself spiritually by killing the life of grace in your soul.

Once there was a beautiful Italian girl named Maria Goretti. She was twelve years old. A boy in the town where she lived was very much in love with Maria. This boy tried to get her to commit sin with him. Maria Goretti was very angry .One day the evil youth lay in wait for her and attacked her. He threatened her with a knife. "I'd rather die than offend God," she said. She resisted him. He stabbed her twenty-eight times. Then he raped her. Maria was a very holy girl and so she forgave her murderer before she died. The murderer was seized by the police and sentenced to life imprisonment.

As time went on the people in the town in which Maria Goretti lived began to pray to her, because they knew she was a very holy girl. Her reputation for holiness was so widespread that even the Pope in Rome heard about her. The Holy Father received letters from the townspeople. He sent priests to investigate the holiness of Maria Goretti. In the investigation of Maria's holiness the chief witness was an old man, the man who had attacked Maria, he had been in prison all his life. He was bent with years; his life had wasted away in prison. After the investigation, the Catholic Church declared that Maria Goretti was in heaven: that she was a Saint of Almighty God. How beautiful was Maria Goretti's life because she stayed away from sin! She remained pure and chaste in this world; and now she enjoys perfect happiness in heaven. How ugly and unhappy was the life of the old man because he had given in to sin! For a few moments of sinful pleasure, look at the price he paid. Was it worth it?

Many men in the state prison are there because they committed acts which are also mortal sin. For a few moments of sinful pleasure, for the gratification of some desire, they spend their lives in prison. How foolish mortal sin is!

There is aprison in the next world from which there is no escape and no pardon. Itiscalled hell. Some criminals on earth avoid prison, but no sinner who dies in mortal sin can avoid hell.

B. WHAT OTHER PEOPLE'S SINS DO TO YOU. A moment's consideration will show you that the sins of others have often made you unhappy. How many women are unhappy because their husbands have been unfaithful to them! How many broken hearts and broken homes have been caused by the sin of drunkenness! How many families are unhappy because of lack of support, because the father of the family has gambled away the family funds! How many homes are unhappy because the men do not accept their responsibility as husbands and fathers or the women neglect their duties as wives and mothers. They waste the family money or spend it foolishly, or they do not take care of their children !

Many parents are unhappy because of their children. Disrespectful children bring sadness to their fathers and mothers; disobedient children make their fathers and mothers unhappy. How many parents have had their dreams and hopes destroyed by a teen-age girl who ruined her reputation and thatofherfamily in sin! Or by an unthinking young man who yields to the persuasions of other and takes drugs and/or abuses alcohol at a young age. How many people are ashamed of their own children! Allofthis unhappiness is caused by sin.

Entire neighborhoods in large cities are unsafe because of sin. People don't feel safe on the streets at night because of the sins of robbery , rape and drug abuse. These sins have propagated even more and cause repeated violence and thievery even to the smallest of towns!

C. YOUR OWN SINS MAKE YOU UNHAPPY

Perhaps God and religion have dropped out of your life, and you have made up your own rules for living. You have ignored God's rules for living, and this has brought you only unhappiness and bitterness.

Look back now. As you kneel down tonight before you say the Act of Contrition, go over your past life. Get away from the noise of the world, turn off the television or the radio; think of the sins you have committed-the secret sins, too. These sins have brought only bitterness and unhappiness. The biggest cause of unhappiness in your life has been serious sin.

D. WHAT SIN DID TO THE ANGELS The fallen angels committed only one mortal sin. They refused to serve Almighty God. As a result God created hell. and cast them into it instantly. There was no second chance; they could not go to Confession; there was no way of receiving forgiveness. Lucifer, the "lightbearer,"became evilness itself, the father of lies, the seducer, Satan. The Bible tells us of Lucifer "falling as a star from heaven." From the highest of the angels, Lucifer became the lowest. For only one mortal sin he was condemned immediately by the justice of God

E. WHAT SIN DID TO ADAM AND EVE AND THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE Adam and Eve were born with grace in their souls. For Adam and Eve there was no sickness, no death. They had keen minds, strong wills. They were not tempted to sins of the flesh; they had perfect control over their lower passions. They did not have to suffer illness and temptation as we do.

Because they committed only one sin, all of us are born without grace. Not only did they lose grace, but they also lost all the other wonderful gifts that Almighty God had given them to pass on to the human race. Visit the local hospitals. Look at aisle after aisle of men suffering from terrible diseases; these diseases came into the world because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Visit the Veteran ' s Hospital; see hundreds of wounded soldiers suffering the effects of war. There would have been no war if Adam and Eve had not committed the flfSt sin. There would be no need for a "March of Dimes," a cancer fund, or a heart fund.

Physical evil came into the world because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Because of one sin we are born without grace, subject to sickness, full of evil inclinations. Our minds and wills are weak; and in the end-the grave! These are the effects of one mortal sin.

F. WHAT SIN DID TO CHRIST Because of our sins, Christ suffered the agony in the garden. He was betrayed by Judas. He was scourged, crowned with thorns,mocked by the soldiers. He was rejected by the people in favor of Barabbas; He was nailed to the cross; and suffered the cruel death of a criminal.

CHRIST SUFFERED ALL OF THESE THINGS FOR YOUR MORTAL SINS.

How terrible is sin!

In imagination let us go off to the little clearing where Christ is praying. He has just finished His last Supper; He is about to go through His terrible agony in the garden. He is lying flat upon the ground. You see His fists clenched because of His pain. His body shakes and the veins in His head stand out because of His horror for sin. Suddenly the blood oozes out all over His forehead, His arms, His whole body-He is sweating blood! The sight is repulsive and sickening. What makes Him suffer so? Yoursins- and the sins of the whole human race.

Consider the betrayal of Judas. Judas, whom Our Lord had chosen as His Apostle, betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver! Like Judas, you betray Christ every time you commit a mortal sin; you betray Him not for thirty pieces of silver, but for some rotten sin.

Go to the dungeon of Pilate. You see a whip lashing down on a Man's back: finally you see the flesh break open and the red blood trickle down. Who is suffering all of this? It is your dearest friend, Jesus Christ. You push in closer to see who is whipping Our Lord -the man with the whip is you! You scourge Jesus Christ every time you commit a serious sin.

See the soldiers making a crown of thorns. How would you like to have a hundred needles pressing into your skull ? That is what Our Lord suffered from the crown of thorns. That is what your mortal sin did to Him.

The soldiers stretch Jesus upon the cross; they drive huge nails into His hands and feet. For three hours He writhes in agony upon the cross until He dies. Was it the Roman soldiers who put Him there? It was you! Every time you commit a mortal sin, you crucify Jesus Christ again. How ugly and repulsive is mortal sin. For your little pleasure, you have caused Our Lord to suffer all of this.

G. BE ALARMED ABOUT YOUR SINS, BUT NOT DISCOURAGED After this lesson you should be very much concerned, very much alarmed about your sins. Remember that death comes like a thief in the night. If you die with mortal sin on your soul, you will go to hell. If you have committed mortal sins in the past, they are still on your soul unless you have had them forgiven. Where would you go of you died tonight?

But don't be discouraged because of your sins. Discouragement is a temptation from the devil. There is something more powerful than all your terrible sins, there is something that can cleanse them all away-it is the death of Jesus Christ. No one ever committed so many sins that he could not be forgiven. "if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson they shall be white as wool." {Isaias 1 :18)

Remember Our Lord's story of the prodigal son: just as the father forgave the prodigal son, so Our Lord will forgive you. And remember His story of the lost sheep: "There is greater joy in Heaven upon one sinner who does penance than on the ninety-nine that need not penance."

You must be sorry for your sins. Don't say that you will do it later. Now is the time. You may never take these instructions again. Be sorry for your sins and promise God that you will never commit them again. Kneel down tonight and say the Act of Contrition from your heart. Even if you feel you cannot give up some terrible sin, kneel down and ask Our Lord to help you give it up. No one's life was ever so mixed up that God could not straighten it out.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW

1. How was Hell created?

2. Are we responsible for the sufferings of Jesus Christ?

3. Why is discouragement a temptation from the devil?