Charitable heart is key to inheriting Kingdom of God

Article 138 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series

Paragraphs 1846-1853

A friend of mine recently introduced me to an English word I had never heard before. The 34-letter word, hyperpolysyllabicsesquipedalianism, refers to the practice of a person who likes to use big words in excess. I couldn’t help but think that people could accuse me of this if I told them often that my first parish assignment as a newly ordained priest was in a town near a lake with a 45-letter name called Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.

Just as using big words in excess can set us apart from most people, big sins (mortal or grave sins) without sorrow can set us apart from God’s mercy and forgiveness. 

The Good News, or the Gospel, “is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners” (ccc 1846). In order “to receive his mercy, we must admit our faults” (ccc 1847). As Sacred Scripture puts it: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 8-9). Again, in Sacred Scripture we read about Jesus saying of himself: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6). A few verses later, we read that one of the names God calls his Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17). How does all of this help us understand God’s truth? We might answer by relying on the Catechism, which says: “Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin” (ccc 1848).  

What is sin? The Catechism tells us: “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience ... an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law” (ccc 1849). The paragraph that follows states simply: “Sin is an offense against God” (ccc 1850).

Later, in the section on the “Different Kinds of Sins,” the Catechism, quoting from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (5:19-21), lists the following sins: “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.” Then St. Paul continues with this cautionary advice: “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God” (ccc 1852).

The final paragraph in this section of the Catechism explains that sins can also be classified in three categories “according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself” (ccc 1853). It explains further than sins “can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission” (ccc 1853). Then the Catechism continues its teaching on sin telling us that “the root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord” (ccc 1853). Quoting from St. Matthew’s Gospel (15:19-20), it explains further that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man” (ccc 1853). I couldn’t help but ask the question, after reading this, that if these sins and others like them define what comes “out of the heart,” wouldn’t this place many in a no-win situation? The answer is probably “yes,” but, then, St. Matthew adds the following: “But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds” (ccc 1853). Thus, the option for us is clear — we choose a life of sin or a life of virtue; a life of evil deeds or a life of charitable works — both reside in the heart and both come out of the heart.

A few paragraphs previously, the Catechism observed that “at the very hour of darkness ... the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly” (ccc 1851). In other words, we only have one Savior. Christ himself is the sole source who saves us from our sinful selves. Through his sacrifice on the cross, Christ gave his life in order to gain our salvation. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we became members of God’s family and took our rightful place as children of God. If we use God’s grace available to us as baptized Catholics, we will choose to live lives of charity. If we abandon God’s grace, we will soon pursue a life of sin and evil deeds.

Just as using big words in excess can set us apart from most people, big sins (mortal or grave sin) without sorrow can set us apart from God’s mercy and forgiveness and from salvation itself. St. Augustine once said in one of his homilies, “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” Therefore, to receive God’s loving forgiveness and mercy, we must admit our faults and failures or as St. John stated in his first epistle, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 8-9).

Father Hillier serves as Director of the Diocesan Office of the Pontifical Missions, the Office for Persons with Disabilities, and Censor Librorum