III. The Mystery of Wickedness: SIN St.

. Pauls descriptions of the works of the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envy, drinking bouts, orgies and the like (Gal 5:19-21). The mystery of evil is already at work (2 Thes 2:7). Sin is a product of mans freedom Factors at work which place it beyond the merely human human conscience will sensitivity We need to reflect deeply on sin: 1) to truly appreciate Gods everlasting merciful love, and 2) to correct common distorted ideas of God, the Church, conscience, law and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Essence of SIN refusing to follow our own consciences call towards the good; rejecting God, our Creator and Lord, and our own true selves and others, by turning away from God, our true end; and breaking Gods loving Covenant with us, shown forth in Jesus Christ, dying and rising for our sake The Sense of Sin If we say, We are free of the guilt of sin, we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us. But if we acknowledge our sins, he who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, We have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word finds no place in us. (1 Jn 1:8-10). Sense of sin - weakened by secularism: we are caught up in the flagrant consumerism that surrounds us. unconsciously influenced by the modern behaviorist psychologies that identify sin with morbid guilt feelings or with mere transgressions of legal norms (cf. RP 18). And through MEDIA, we continually face so many examples of bribery and corruption in business and government, cheating in family life and lying in personal relationships, that we often end up rationalizing for our own misdeeds: Anyway, everybody does it, or I had to do it because. . . . A. A Sin in Sacred Scripture- OLD TESTAMENT The Old Testament presents three basic notions for what we call sin a) Missing the mark (cf. Wis 14:27).

 b) Depravity and perversity (Ps 38:5). c) Rebellion and transgression (Jer 3:6). Stain image 1. missing the inner evil of sin in not seeing the difference between responsible free acts and involuntary evils; 2. fixing on sexual taboos and ritual cleanliness, but ignoring interpersonal and societal justice; and 3. being motivated by a self-centered fear that shuts out authentic faith in the transforming merciful forgiveness of God. Sin is seen as a crime an internal, willful violation of Yahwehs covenant relationship Viewing sin as crime emphasizes its juridical aspect, with its concern for determining the nature of the crime, the culpability of the sinner, and the appropriate punishment. A third model of sin is personal rejection of a love relationship The evil of sin in this basically personalist model is located not in the violation of an extrinsic law, but rather in the free, responsible malice of the sinner and the harm inflicted on other persons. Sin is seen as truly interpersonal: the personal malice of the sinner offending the persons of God and neighbor. By sin, sinners alienate themselves from their neighbors, all creation, God, and from their own true selves. TODAY: loss of the sense of sin and its link with conscience John Paul II quotes Pius XII: the sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin. (RP 18). NEW TESTAMENT Christ calls all to a radical conversion from the power and deadly evil of sin, to the Kingdom of his

Father

B. Church Teaching on SIN Doctrine on Original Sin DIMENSIONS OF SIN 1. Spiral 2. Sickness 3. Addiction Due consideration of these dimensions of sin helps to have: a more realistic appraisal of the sinners actual operative freedom; a positive orientation toward a process of healing and forgivness; and a stress on the over-riding importance of the social and structural dimensions of sin

Social sin sins power to affect others by reason of human solidarity; sins that directly attack human rights and basic freedoms, human dignity, justice, and the common good; sins infecting relationships between various human communities such as class struggle, or obstinate confrontations between blocs of nations; and situations of sin, or sinful structures that are the consequences of sinful choices and acts, INTEGRATION Faith and Morality the Sacraments of Reconciliation and of Anointing are directly concerned with healing and strengthening the disciples of Christ in their spiritual combat against the malice and evil of sin KEY DIMENSIONS IN FOLLOWING CHRIST First, the Catholic Faith influences Filipinos moral living by offering the distinctive perspective of the Gospel, while developing Christ-like attitudes and affections Second, within Christs great symbol of the Kingdom of God, with its call to repentance and discipleship, Filipino Christians are called to exercise a new life of mutual respect, solidarity and fidelity Thirdly, in this the Church serves as their context and communal support in their struggle against evil Lastly, the kingdom of sin is described __ the mystery of evil, experienced from within as stain, crime, and personal rejection __ a spiralling sickness and addiction that so infects social relationships that societys very structures are affected.