The Same Sin

[Maggie893]

Well New Advent has definitions. They actually speak of 8 of which the 8th is Art which I didn't have in my list.

Here's their link:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm

The catechism speaks of the 4 cardinal virtues:
1805 Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

I find that with myself and with the youth in my Church when we can identify the core sin and the opposing virtue, it's much easier to unite ourselves to the work of grace in confession to eliminate that sin.

 

[Benedicta00]

Try St. Francis, from the Little Flowers: http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/flowers1.htm

Then St Francis, seeing the charity of the brethren and the humility of Brother Masseo, made them a most wonderful sermon on holy humility, teaching them that, the greater the gifts and graces we receive from God, so much greater must be our humility; for without humility no virtue can be acceptable to him.




One thing I have found effective is to identify the core issue with that particular sin. Look at the Seven deadly sins and you will most likely be able to figure out what the root sin is. Then pray constantly for the grace to overcome that sin and confess that sin regularly. Also ask for the virtues that will overcome that sin.

Seven Deadly Sins are:
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

Seven Virtues
Faith
Hope
Charity
Fortitude
Justice
Temperence
Prudence

Most sins that we confess have a deeper root cause. When you rip out the root sin you remove the symptomatic sins. The grace of confession will win out. You must trust more in the grace of God then in your weakness.

I agree.

Also recognizing that what sin it is we are dealing with is a spiritual problem. Like anger. If we are constantly confessing rage and outburst of rage then we have a problem with anger. If it is a sexual sin, then the problem is lust, if it’s over indulgence on anything, then our problem is gluttony, if it’s selfishness, then we struggle with greed.

Recognizing our spiritual problem is half the battle and being honest with ourselves, that this is who/what we are and believing on faith that God loves us anyway. We then need to practice whatever virtue is opposite to that vice and confession and communion is our strength. If you want to be patient, practice patience, if you want to be pure, practice purity by being pure. If you want to be giving, then give away all that you have. We must be able to detach ourselves from all that our flesh holds worth while if we are going to over come our spiritual problems.

Also part of he fruit of confession is making amends. It just isn’t enough to confess the sin but we must make an act of reparation, repairing if we can whatever damage the sin did to us or to someone else. These are the works that root out vice and develop virtue.

 

[Maggie893]

Also recognizing that what sin it is we are dealing with is a spiritual problem. Like anger. If we are constantly confessing rage and outburst of rage then we have a problem with anger. If it is a sexual sin, then the problem is lust, if it’s over indulgence on anything, then our problem is gluttony, if it’s selfishness, then we struggle with greed.

Thanks! That's what I was inferring but you did a better job clarifying it.

 

[Filia Mariae]

Ditto what everyone else said and also- avoid the occasion of sin at all costs. This is a part of humility. I had to come to realize that I am simply too weak to place myself in certain situations; that there is no way I could stop myself from committing particular sins in particular situations. So I stopped allowing myself to be in a position to commit them. Before, in my pride, I thought I could control myself, if I "really tried." The reality is, the self-control had to come earlier on, before I was in a bad situation. Once I was in the situation, my self-control was not strong enough.

 

[St_Joseph_Cupertino]

Ditto what everyone else said and also- avoid the occasion of sin at all costs.

I want to add to what Carly said. this is very important.

In ourselves we are not strong enough to resist all temptations to sin. We have to avoid it. I think that once you are knee-deep in a situation where you are tempted, it's often too late to make a real effort at resisting. I think if we are constantly watchful about our Hearts, Minds and Actions, we will stand a far better change to evade temptation, rather than overcome it.

Also, tying into the "Heart, Mind and Actions" theme, not only aviod the situations, but also keep them always focused on Christ. It will cause us to fill our Hearts, Minds and Actions with Christ and not leave it open for other puropses.

Habitual sin, as it's name implies, is a habbit. We have grown so accusomed to it over the years, that it is almost impossible to resist. Even though we hate ourselves.
We need to remove the tempting situations from our lives...even if it means locking the fridge, unplugging cable, etc. If you are blocked from habitual sin, you are a great deal better off in avoiding the "stumble."

Good luck Dream Theatre, there are lots of us struggling with this same problem!

I'll pray for you.

Peace in Christ.

 

[Benedicta00]

I want to add to what Carly said. this is very important.

In ourselves we are not strong enough to resist all temptations to sin. We have to avoid it. I think that once you are knee-deep in a situation where you are tempted, it's often too late to make a real effort at resisting. I think if we are constantly watchful about our Hearts, Minds and Actions, we will stand a far better change to evade temptation, rather than overcome it.

Also, tying into the "Heart, Mind and Actions" theme, not only aviod the situations, but also keep them always focused on Christ. It will cause us to fill our Hearts, Minds and Actions with Christ and not leave it open for other puropses.

Habitual sin, as it's name implies, is a habbit. We have grown so accusomed to it over the years, that it is almost impossible to resist. Even though we hate ourselves.
We need to remove the tempting situations from our lives...even if it means locking the fridge, unplugging cable, etc. If you are blocked from habitual sin, you are a great deal better off in avoiding the "stumble."

Good luck Dream Theatre, there are lots of us struggling with this same problem!

I'll pray for you.

Peace in Christ.

“If your right arm causes you to sin then cut it off.”

 

[Carrye]

"I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin."

 

[Irenaeus]

DreamTheater-

Pray the Rosary every single day, and develop a devotion to the most Holy Mother of God. There is no sin to which her intercession will not reach the very throne of God, drawing down graces.

She is the best of intercessors.

 

[Radagast]

...One thing I have found effective is to identify the core issue with that particular sin. Look at the Seven deadly sins and you will most likely be able to figure out what the root sin is. Then pray constantly for the grace to overcome that sin and confess that sin regularly. Also ask for the virtues that will overcome that sin.

Seven Deadly Sins are:
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

This is exactly what Dante's Purgatorio is about (see this which I posted a while ago).

I really recommend reading the Purgatorio.

-- Radagast

 

[PolskiKrol]

Pray the Rosary every single day, and develop a devotion to the most Holy Mother of God. There is no sin to which her intercession will not reach the very throne of God, drawing down graces

When you develop this relationship with The Blessed Mother, you can pray a short prayer at the moment of temptation and ask her to get special grace from her Son to keep you free of sin, as she once was on earth. How could Jesus deny such a holy request?

We are powerless against sin. But we do have free choice to accept or deny the grace that God gives us to resist sin. I always say, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for me." Short, but nessasarily so in some circumstances.

 

[RedTulipMom]

Radagast,
I read the Purgatorio. Thanks sooo much for posting the link. I bookmarked it and i also printed it to read through it again and meditate on each sin and its counterpart. I really really needed this right now in my life! Thank you so much!! God bless you immensely.
karen

 

[Radagast]

Radagast,
I read the Purgatorio. Thanks sooo much for posting the link. I bookmarked it and i also printed it to read through it again and meditate on each sin and its counterpart. I really really needed this right now in my life! Thank you so much!!

So glad you found my link useful. Here is the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation of the Purgatorio (although I much prefer the Penguin translation by Dorothy Sayers).

I love Dante's illustrations too: for the sin of Anger, think of St Stephen, for example:

Then saw I people hot in fire of wrath,
With stones a young man slaying, clamorously
Still crying to each other, "Kill him! kill him!"
And him I saw bow down, because of death
That weighed already on him, to the earth,
But of his eyes made ever gates to heaven,
Imploring the high Lord, in so great strife,
That he would pardon those his persecutors,
With such an aspect as unlocks compassion. (Canto XV)

For Covetousness, think of St Nicholas:

He furthermore was speaking of the largess
Which Nicholas unto the maidens gave,
In order to conduct their youth to honour. (Canto XX)

And of course, for Pride:

The Angel, who came down to earth with tidings
Of peace, that had been wept for many a year,
And opened Heaven from its long interdict,
In front of us appeared so truthfully
There sculptured in a gracious attitude,
He did not seem an image that is silent.
One would have sworn that he was saying, "Ave;"
For she was there in effigy portrayed
Who turned the key to ope the exalted love,
And in her mien this language had impressed,
"Ecce ancilla Dei," as distinctly
As any figure stamps itself in wax. (Canto X)

One day I want to write a series of reflections on those illustrations.

-- Radagast

 

[Radagast]

The catechism speaks of the 4 cardinal virtues:
1805 Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

And the three theological ones:

1812 The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object.

1813 The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

1814 Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work{s} through charity."

1817 Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."{Heb 10:23} "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."{Titus 3:6-7}

1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

-- Radagast

 

[St_Joseph_Cupertino]

" In His Word, God tells us how to defeat the devil and overcome sin in our lives. Today's teaching will be a clear presentation of the truths of Scripture on how to eradicate bondage to habitual sin.

There is a primary thought expressed throughout Scripture that teaches us how to leave sin behind; it is to deal harshly with it, to be merciless in eradicating it, and to annihilate every speck of it from our lives, and to seek God for grace to accomplish this. Notice the following Scripture, and it's practical application to ridding our lives of habitula sin:

"I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet" (Psalm 18:37-38).
"

Taken from http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com

It's a Protestant type website, but it looks like it could be of help for anyone who might need it?

They have on-line courses for people struggleing with all sorts of sins...gluttony, pornography, substance abuse, etc

Peace in Christ!