Catholic Morality
Chapter 6 - Sin and Forgiveness Notes

Old Testament Images of Sin
•	_______means “missing the _____” - think of someone who sins as an _______who misses the target.  Our target is union with God so, we should try to do God’s will here and now so we can be with our God in eternity.
•	We miss the mark when we take something intended to be good and make it into a god.

Old Testament Images - continued
•	We deliberately choose to be _____ than we can be - to be less thoughtful, less honest, less____________.
•	Examples - politician’s accepting illegal donations to campaign fund
•	Student who copies the answers from a test that was taken from the teacher

Old Testament Images - continued
•	________- rebellion - “a willful ________ of God’s law”
•	Violating the ______ of others or Israel’s infidelity to God’s loving covenant with his people.
•	Examples - lack of concern for others - “why should I help the poor - they should just get a job.”
•	Prejudice - against another person.

Old Testament Images - Continued
•	________ - “guilt” - refers to the _____________ of sin, how sin causes ___________ damage to the sinner.

Catechism of the Catholic Church says sin…
•	____________ us from God - it deprives us of God’s glory, kills charity in us and results in the loss of sanctifying grace, ultimately death entered the world because of sin.
•	____________ us from ourselves - sin ______________________, weakens our minds, and enslaves our wills.  By sinning we get into the habit of sinning - this clouds our judgment of good and evil.  Sin tends to reproduce itself.
•	_________ us from others - Sin is__________.  When we sin, we hurt others.  It leads to our separation and harms our communion with others and injures church unity.

New Testament on Sin, Jesus, and Forgiveness
•	NT emphasizes “missing the ______”
•	______________ - contempt for God and his law
•	____________ - refusal to accept God and his reign revealed in Christ
•	Falsehood and __________ - sin is opposed to ______________which we see in Jesus.

Jesus Forgave Sin
•	Jesus asks us to follow his message of _________________:
–	___________ of your sins.
–	__________ in the gospel of God’s love for you.
–	With the _________ of the Holy Spirit, begin to live the good news of love which I have given to you.

Different Kinds of Sin
•	Seven __________ Sins - Pride, Greed (avarice), Envy, Anger (wrath), Lust, Gluttony, Sloth
•	Sins that ______________ for God’s justice 
•	Fratricide - killing one’s _____________ 
•	Sodomy - perverted __________________
•	______________- keeping people down or enslaved
•	___________ to care for foreigners, widows, and orphans
•	___________ to the wage earner

Personal Sin
•	___________ sin is the sin that we freely commit.  It is any free and deliberate act, word, thought, or desire that turns us away from God’s law of love.

•	Personal sin either weakens (venial sin) or kills (mortal sin) our relationship with God.

Mortal Sin
•	A deadly sin, a ________ violation of God’s law that destroys charity in the human heart.
•	To sin mortally, three conditions must be present:
–	______________ - what we do (the object of the act) must be serious enough to destroy God’s love in us, turning us away from him. Examples: murder, adultery, abortion, sexually perverted acts, defrauding the poor.
–	_____________ - we must know that what we are doing is seriously wrong and gravely contrary to God’s law.  If we are ignorant of a wrong through no fault of our own, then blameworthiness for an actions may be diminished or removed.
–	__________________ - the person must have full consent of the will.  Full consent means are choices are deliberate and made of free choice.

Effects of Mortal Sin
•	Results in loss of charity, sanctifying grace, and friendship with the Lord.
•	If we do not _________ of mortal sin it will keep us out of heaven and win for us eternal separation from God, the state of being known as hell.
•	__________ , the church, and our own well-formed __________ teach us what acts constitute grave offenses against God.  We must be careful not to __________others of a mortal sin - that is God’s job not ours.

Venial Sin
•	Venial means “__________________ .”  
•	Venial sins are committed when we fail to follow the moral law in less serious matters or when we disobey God’s law in something grave, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
•	It is a _____________ rejection of God that weakens charity (love) but doesn’t destroy it.
•	It is not so serious that it deprives us of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, love, or the loss of eternal happiness.

Social Sin
•	Sin is personal, yet we can _____________ in the sin of others.  Such as…
–	when we directly and voluntarily ____________ in the sins of another. (joining others in mocking another person)
–	when we order, advise, praise, or __________ the sins of another person.  (excusing a aggressive behavior saying “he had it coming”)
–	when we do not _____________ or stop the commission of a sin when we are duty-bound to do so.  (looking the other way when a friend shoplifts from the store at which you work)
–	when we __________ evil-doers (lying about another person’s sinful behavior)
•	The personal sins of individuals and groups lead to “structures of sin” in society.