Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Leading a believer into sin is an unbelievably bad thing to do. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that for one who does such a thing (and the implication is that they do not repent of their actions), it would be better for them to be drowned with a millstone tied around their neck. Yikes! Not much left to the imagination there.
To many in our present day, the notion of sin seems old fashioned, superstitious, or an outdated term for some emotional or psychological condition. The famous psychiatrist, Dr. Karl Menninger, wrote a book in 1973 entitled, Whatever Became of Sin. While his views in the book might not completely accord with traditional Christianity, he nonetheless seems to recognize the role sin plays in bringing pain and destruction to people’s lives. In the book, Menninger wrote:
“The popular leaning is away from notions of guilt and morality….Disease and treatment have been the watchwords of the day and little is said about selfishness or guilt or the ‘morality gap.’ And certainly no one talks about sin!”
If such words were relevant in 1973, how much more today?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when speaking of sin says, “Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God, we cannot recognize sin clearly and are tempted to explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God’s plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another” (CCC par. 387).
Our challenge as Christians is to lovingly speak the truth which God has revealed about man and woman, their God-given purpose and their ultimate destiny, and how, despite the immense struggles that can come, how divine help is available to all who seek it.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
