Part 3 - The Sacrament of Confession

E. KINDS OF SIN - (Part 3)

There are two kinds of sin: venial and mortal. Venial sin is a light offense against God like cheating on a high school examination. On the other hand, a mortal sin is a big offense against God like stealing a big amount equal to a one-month salary of the person offended. It is so grave that one mortal sin can send a person to hell if he dies unrepentant. It may seem so harsh a punishment but you see the standard of morality our present society has is so way below the standard of God and most importantly we don't fully understand the nature and gravity of sin because we don't appreciate the infinite dignity of God and the infinite debt we owe Him. Let us also remember how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered on the cross to save us from our sins which shows how much He loves us and to think that one mortal sin is enough to bring us to hell simply tells us how grave it is. We need to study our faith more in order to comprehend many things about the faith.

There are 3 prerequisite conditions for a sin to be qualified as mortal.

1. It should be a grave matter.

Depending on the nature of the offense and the state of the person offended, a sin can be categorized as light or grave. Stealing 50 pesos may be a light offense to a rich man but to a beggar who can hardly eat a meal a day, that will be a big offense. However, there are sins which by its very nature are grave in themselves like murder, adultery, rape, etc..

2. It should be done with the full knowledge that it is a grave matter.

If the sin committed is of grave matter, but the sinner thinks it is just a light offense, then he has not committed a mortal sin. For a sin to be considered mortal, knowledge of the grave nature of the offense is prerequisite. For the same reason that a sinner cannot commit a sin if he does not know that what he commits is a sin, a person cannot commit a mortal sin if he doesn't know that what he commits is a grave sin. However, for this to be true, such ignorance should be inculpable, that means, he is not at fault for his lack of knowledge. Thus, if it is culpable such as when he intentionally ignores the teaching of the Catholic faith because he doesn't care at all whether it is a big sin or not, then he still commits a mortal sin.

3. It should be done with full consent.

The other prerequisite is full consent. Even if the sin is of grave matter and is done with full knowledge but full consent is not given, then one has not committed a mortal sin. If you were forced at gun point to drop a person from the tenth floor of a building, you might not even have committed a sin at all since it was against your free will. If you did a great wrong out of great fear, then that could mitigate your guilt.

E1. Not attending Sunday Mass is a mortal sin.

The 3^rd commandment of God tells us to keep holy the Lord's Day. What does this mean and how should this be fulfilled? Sometimes I hear people say that to fulfill this command, one ought not to really attend Sunday Mass, but to pray at home with devotion is sufficient. They say that it is even difficult to pray inside the church because of so many people around which makes prayer very distracting. They say some people are not really serious in attending the Mass. There are boys and girls who are just dating in the church or friends who make it their meeting place. Thus, for them it is better to just stay at home and do their novena or pray the rosary in the peace and quiet of their home. Is this true? Will a sincere prayer of novena or rosary be enough to live the Sunday obligation? At a glance, it may seem to be sufficient. But this is not so! Even a thousand rosaries or a million novenas cannot equal a single Mass! Without the Mass, if the Mass never happened, the praying of the rosaries and novenas will be worthless because the source of all the graces we receive from whatever prayer is the Mass. Why?? What is the meaning of the Mass? What is the value of the Mass? The sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. What is being sacrificed in the Mass is our Lord Jesus Christ in the form of bread and wine, the same sacrifice which our Lord offered on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The only difference is that the Mass is done in an unbloody manner. Therefore, the value of the sacrifice of the Mass is the same and equal value of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. But what is then the value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross? What is it for us? Without the sacrifice of Christ, we won't receive the grace of forgiveness. Without the forgiveness of our sins, we won't go to heaven and almost surely we will all go to hell because if there is no heaven where else can we obtain happiness but only here on earth. And if that is the case, almost surely we will all be tempted to sin in order to find happiness in this world. If we cannot find happiness in the next life, where else should we seek it but here.

If you can remember the words of the priest during the consecration at the Mass, the priest utters the words of our Lord when He took the bread and said, “Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which will be given up for you.”Then our Lord took the cup of wine and said, “Take this all of you and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood. The blood of the New Covenant which will be shed for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” Is the bread a symbol of the body of Christ or the true body of Christ? Is the wine a symbol of the blood of Christ or is it the true blood of Christ? Most of my students would answer that these are only symbols of the body and blood of Christ. They are wrong and most people I believe think that way too. These are not symbols but true flesh and blood of Christ. The protestants believe that these are mere symbols but we Catholics who know our faith believe that these are true body and true blood of Christ. The protestants protest that the words of consecration should not be taken literally but symbolically. We Catholics believe that they should be taken literally. Why? Because of the verses written in John 6:1-72 where Christ said “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you won't have life in you. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day.” Here, our Lord insisted and truly said with full conviction without any ambiguity that we ought to eat His flesh and drink His blood; that His flesh is really food and His blood is really drink indeed. However the protestants would still insist that these words should not be taken literally and consider it a figurative speech. Perhaps we need to retrace back the story to make this very clear.

Let me then narrate the whole story. A big crowd of around five thousand men excluding women and children where listening to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Evening was about to fall and the people had to go home because it was getting late. Our Lord asked the disciples to give the people something to eat or else they might collapse on the way home out of hunger. One disciple said that they were in a wilderness and there was no place to buy food. Moreover, they didn't have enough money to buy food for the thousands of people gathered around Him. Then one lad presented his 5 loaves of bread and two pieces of fish to be shared to everyone. Then another disciple uttered, “what good would it do to feed 5,000 men”. Then our Lord took the bread and the fish and blessed them and had them distributed to the people by the disciples. With 5 loaves of bread and 2 pieces of fish five thousand men including other women and children were fed and twelve baskets of crumbs were even collected from the crowd as left-over. The people were amazed at the multiplication of bread and fishes, a miracle done by the Lord. Knowing the many miracles our Lord did in the past with all kinds of sickness cured, and now food was given for free, the people wanted then to make our Lord their king. However, it was already late and our Lord took a rest, so they postponed their intention for the next day. The following day they realized that Jesus and His apostles had gone to the other side of the lake. So, they rode in the boat to follow Jesus at the other side of the lake. When they arrived, Jesus saw them and told them “I know why you came and followed me here. It was because you had eaten of the bread. Don't seek for the bread that perishes but seek the bread that comes from heaven that endures unto eternal life. I am the bread that comes from heaven who will give you eternal life.” He expounded on this statement and at the end He told them that the bread that He will give is His flesh. When they heard this, they started murmuring to one another and could not understand what exactly He meant by the statement “The bread He will give is His flesh.” To make Himself be clearly understood without any ambiguity, He told them “Amen, Amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you won't have life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in Me and I in him.”(John 6: 34-37). After hearing these words, it became clear to them what He meant and they could not believe it. They could not believe that Christ would make them cannibals. They said that it was a hard saying, “who can take it?” Hence, they turned back and never went about with him again.

Did Christ stop them from abandoning Him? Did He try to explain further more so they won't leave Him? NO!!! because what they heard and what they understood from His words are exactly what He meant. Because if that was not the case, if that was not what He literally meant, then He would not have let them go. It would have been illogical for Christ to have worked so hard to gather His disciples through preaching and performing miracles to places away from his home with no assurance where to lay His head at night or food to eat, and then just let go of them because of mere misunderstanding. That would be unthinkable. In fact, instead of stopping them to explain Himself, He even confronted His twelve apostles, His closest and long-time followers, to ask them if they also wish to go away; meaning, if they don't believe Him then they might as well leave Him also. But what was the response of the apostles? It was Peter, the head of the apostles, who spoke for them: “Lord , to whom shall we go? Thou has words of eternal life, and we have come to believe and to know that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” (John 6: 50-53). By these words of Peter, he was saying that they have complete faith and trust in His words even though they don't understand what He meant. This is what Our Lord expects from the other disciples, to have faith in Him. With all the miracles He had shown them: the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see, and the dead rise from death, what further proof or signs do they need as evidence that He is a man of God, a God-sent who cannot deceive them. But they were found wanting in faith and so they left our Lord.

I believe St. John the apostle did intentionally write this event in the gospel in order to clarify without any room for doubt what our Lord meant when He said that his flesh is food indeed and his blood is drink indeed. In this narration, an argument was brought to the fore whether or not Jesus Christ literally meant what He said when He stated that unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood you will not have life in you. People understood Him quite perfectly that they literally need to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have life everlasting. And because they could not believe those words of Christ (This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it? - John 6:61), they left Him. Again Our Lord would not let them go just like that if there was just a simple mis-communication on the part of his disciples on what He really meant by those words He uttered. The fact that He let them go and even confronted His apostles, His longest and original followers, and challenged them to leave Him too if they don't believe His words, just really proves that those words were meant to be taken literally.

But why didn't our Lord explain to them the Holy Eucharist wherein people will receive His body and blood in the form of bread and wine? Perhaps if they come to know about it , then they would not be thinking that Christ would make cannibals of them. Well, if He would explain to them the Holy Eucharist the more they will run in disbelief. They will complain to Him and say “Come on!! How can that host be your flesh when it tastes like bread, looks like bread and feels like bread. And that wine..., how can that be your blood, when it looks like wine , tastes like wine and even in the microscope it shows its alcohol content. Don't make a fool of us please with that very obvious lie. It is either you are a liar or you are out of your mind!” This would most probably be their response to Christ because they lack faith in Him.

Is it impossible for Jesus Christ the Son of God to make the bread into His body and the wine into His blood. Of course not! There is nothing impossible with God. The problem here is not whether it is possible or not for there is nothing impossible with God. The problem here is whether Christ meant those words literally or not, and the arguments explained above in John 6 obviously proves that He meant them literally.

However, though we sincerely believe that there is nothing impossible with God, sometimes we are overcome with disbelief that wine can become blood or bread can become flesh. Its apparent impossibility just keeps us from believing that it is true body and true blood. Doubts keep on hunting us that perhaps Christ must have not meant it literally. Well, to explain to my students how the bread and wine can turn into body and blood of Christ without changing the chemical content of the bread and wine, I try to give them some philosophical questions. Perhaps they could not believe that flesh could be in the form of bread or blood could be in the form of wine. I ask them why is our flesh made this way and why is it not made of rubber or plastic? Why is our blood made this way and not made of petroleum oil or liquid mercury? The simple answer is because God made them that way. Is it possible that God could make another world parallel to ours such that people have rubber as flesh and petroleum oil as blood? Yes, that is possible. There is nothing impossible with God. Where do physical laws come from? Who made them? Isn't it true that it is God who gave those physical laws? Why are leaves green and why do fish live in water? It is simply because that is how God made them. Is God constrained to how physical laws should be formulated ? Of course not! Is God constrained to how the world should be designed? Of course not! God is not bounded by physical laws. HE IS THE LAW GIVER. We never question or wonder why our flesh is like this because we were born like this. And If ever we question it we find the answers in the laws of nature. But who made the laws of nature? Isn't it that the laws of nature also come from God since He is the Creator of everything. So if God says that that bread is His flesh and that wine is His blood let us stop thinking that it is impossible or wondering how they can be so. In truth, that is not at all impossible.

But then again, one may rebut: “We belong to this world and not to another and in this world, our human body is made of flesh and not bread; and our blood is made of red blood cells and not wine. How can it be then that the flesh and blood are now turned into bread and wine.” Well, it may just then be a question of technology. To illustrate, if we were in the times of Magellan, one may wonder how a person in Manila, Philippines can engage in a conversation to another person in Madrid, Spain. That is quite impossible during that time because the technology does not exist yet and to the minds of the people at that time, the idea is just simply ridiculous. But as you see, it is not at all impossible as we are experiencing it now. Is it impossible for God to create a technology that will turn bread and wine into His body and blood so that His flesh and blood is made of the same chemical elements of bread and wine? Again, the answer is - there is nothing impossible with God.

Let us not be scandalized how this Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is made possible by the hands of the priest. In this mystery, we ought to see the depth of the humility of God, His wisdom and power. Let this not be a stumbling block for belief just like how the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ has been a stumbling block to the Jews particularly the pharisees to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed One. They could not believe A Christ that was mocked and crucified to death. And here the protestants could not fathom the great humility of God in this mystery.

Many of my students who did not have any religion subject in elementary and high school didn't know that in the Holy Eucharist the consecrated host and wine are truly the body and blood of Christ and not mere symbols of His body and blood. I believe there are many people out there who are ignorant of this truth too.

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Let us then realize that every time a Mass is said a miracle is taking place, the bread and wine are turned to true body and true blood of Christ. The sacrifice being offered in the Mass is the same sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and therefore the Mass is the highest prayer we can offer to God.

E2. Masturbation is also a mortal sin.

It may be shocking for most people who are not well versed in the Catholic faith to know that masturbation is a grave sin. Most of the students I taught in school were ignorant of this precept. Well, what is the basis of this teaching? From the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Whoever looks at a woman with lust in his eyes has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28). The sin of adultery is surely a grave sin, and if looking at a woman with lust in one's eye is tantamount to committing adultery in one's heart, then masturbation must be a mortal sin since in masturbation one necessarily indulges in lustful thoughts. In addition, another story in the Old Testament proves this point. Onas is an Old Testament figure who committed a sin of withdrawal. Because of this sin, God punished him with death for misusing the marital act of sex (Genesis 38:9-10).

What is the meaning of sex with reference to these verses in the Bible? What does God tells us about the meaning of sex in our life? To answer this question, it is necessary to determine the purpose of sex in order to define its true meaning. It is through the purpose of things that we can determine whether we violate something or not, do wrong or not. For example, a pair of scissors made to cut a piece of paper should not be used to cut a plastic or rubber material. A decent pair of shoes should not be used for sports or else both the feet and shoes will be compromised. If men do things for a definite purpose, God have done things for a purpose too which ought not to be violated. And depending on the purpose violated, a far greater consequence will be brought to the fore. Now, our faith teaches us the two main purpose of sex:

1. For the pro-creation of life
2. For the intimacy of the spouses

God had obviously designed sex for the pro-creation of life for there is no other natural way by which man can begot another human being but only through sex. It is therefore sinful to masturbate because it violates the purpose of pro-creation. The sin of Onas points to his violation of pro-creation too and the punishment of death just shows the gravity of this violation against the purpose of the marital act. But why should masturbation be a grave sin? ...again, because it violates the purpose of pro-creation. We need to understand also that since human life is sacred, the act of pro-creating life is also sacred and therefore, sex is sacred. Hence, sex ought to be used only for its sacred purpose or at least its sacred purpose ought not to be violated. Any violation concerning this matter constitute a grave sin. Accordingly, ligation, vasectomy and other forms of contraception are mortal sins since they all violate the pro-creative aspect of sex , “Go and multiply and subdue the earth.”( Genesis 1: 27-28).( For further explanation on this topic, please wait for later article: Sex- bakit ka ginawa ng Diyos))

Why do we have sinful and lustful thoughts when we think of sex? Is this how God had made us perceive sex to be? When God created Adam and Eve, did they originally look at each other's naked body with lust? The answer to these questions is a big NO. God made Adam and Eve with a natural innocence of a child. They have no malice looking at each other's naked body just the way we did when when we were children. They began to have malice looking at each other only upon committing their first sin called original sin. In the beginning, God told them that they may freely eat of any fruit in the garden of Eden except the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil located at the center of the garden and forewarned them that once they eat it, they will die. Initially, they obeyed this commandment of the Lord. But one day the devil in disguise of a serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit telling her that surely she wouldn't die if she eats it but on the contrary she would be like God knowing good and evil. When she heard that she will be like God, she gave in to the temptation and ate the fruit. She then gave it also to Adam and he also ate it up. At that moment, they suddenly realized that they were naked and started picking big leaves from the trees to cover themselves. They began to have malice in their thoughts and felt the shame of being naked (Gen. 3:7).

We ought to look at sex with respect and not with malice and dirt. Let us remember that it is through sex that our human life is created. Let us remember that you and I would have not been here if our parents did not perform the sexual act which is proper only in marriage. Thus, instinctively, we must recognize the sacredness of sex because through it we create another human life. We ought to give then due reverence to the proper use of sex and not exploit it for our own selfish ends.

Analogically, sex is like a beautiful painting created by God. However, the devil threw spoiled tomatoes at it, then dirt soil and fowl shit. That makes the painting look ridiculous and dirty. And that is exactly what the devil had done to our mind when we think of sex. The devil had put malice and dirt in our thoughts that made us perceive sex as something dirty. What then do we need to do? With the grace of God we should make a meaningful effort to treat it with honor and respect. Is that possible? Of course that is possible! If one truly loves his girlfriend, one would know how to kiss her with love and respect which is very different from a kiss to a prostitute. A kiss to a prostitute is prompted by pure lust and devoid of any love. In the same manner, the sexual act ought to be done with respect and love to one's partner and not just with pure lust. In that way we give reverence to sex by using it within the context of marriage.