CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right
conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a
perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures
human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a
desire contrary to the eternal law."( St. Augustine, Contra Faustum 22:PL
42,418; St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,71,6).
Sin is an offense against God: "Against you,
you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."(Psalm
51:4) Sin sets itself against God's love
for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is
disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like
gods,"(Genesis 3:5) knowing and
determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt
of God."(St. Augustine, De civ. Dei 14,28:PL 41,436). In this proud self- exaltation, sin is
diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our
salvation (Philippians 2:6-9).
It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of
Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence
and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the
leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers,
Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight.
However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, (Jon 14:30) the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness
of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.
III. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS
There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture
provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works
of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are
plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity,
strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing,
and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things
shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."(Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesian 5:3-5; Colossians 3:5-9; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:2-5.
Sins can be distinguished according to their
objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by
excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also
be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they
can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought,
word, deed, or omission. The root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free
will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come
evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
These are what defile a man."(Matthew 15:19-20. But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works,
which sin wounds.
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