The parents that, though well meaning,
                disempower a person —

                    From the Inner Child of the Past, —

                    "The woman was overwhelmed by the drudgery
                of her life. Under the pressure of her job
                and her responsibilities as a wife, her "child
                of the past" gradually took over and sought
                the reward she had received in childhood
                when ill. She adopted her parents "solicitous"
                attitude toward herself — which forced her
                into bed for months. . .

                    This was a hard decision to make — to
                abandon her childhood retreat. And it
                took courage and persisting determination
                for her to refuse to coddle her whimperings,
                whining, protesting "child of the past"
                who kept crying of aches and pains and
                need to rest. Yet, with the kind of quiet,
                patient persistence with which many
                women meet great problems and real
                pain, she overcame these parental
                attitudes within herself and gained a
                real life as a mature woman.

                Readings of today's Mass

                    I was in an accident and got pretty
                banged up — it was in a van with 15,000
                pieces to mail to the priests — Our white van,
                I was not driving, slid completely over
                a black car.

                I felt as if my body was full of pain and yet
                my heart, my mind, my love was in
                perfect tact —

                    To endure it — I surrendered and went to
                a place of peace in Jesus — It was like the
                red room of the Mass Book — I love this place —
                the reality of my love, untouchable by a
                wounded body, the love, the reality of
                this oneness I have with God — touching
                Him in such a oneness in living
                in Him in my heart —

                    Reality — oneness with God — rapture
                with the Trinity even when I am embraced
                in bodily pain —

                    My knowledge of God, my faith, my
                knowing the big picture, the Plan of
                the Father — untouched by wounds to
                my physical body —

                    I know more from this — this reality
                that our body can die and all our love,
                our sweetness, our lives lived to please
                our Father, living in obedience to the
                Father's will is what we take with
                us — all that is not physical — our
                body dies, our soul goes on until the
                resurrection of the body when the
                soul and body are united — our love
                goes on — our lives where we acquired
                greater holiness goes on

                    Heaven is a place of perfect
                love, fullness of grace, perfect
                obedience, chastity, poverty — Now,
                we take nothing that is physical
                with us —

                    But my soul, my love, my
                virtuous life given to God — my love
                of God and others — unity — that which heaven
                is made of
                        harmony
                        oneness
                        love
                        being in the beatific vision —

                To the extent I lived my life to know
                God, insight into the Divine Mysteries —
                love of God and others — I will experience in
                heaven in greater, 'maturity' and fullness
                according to how I developed
                this here below, but greater —

                    It's like a thimble — if I developed
                a thimble of knowing how to love —
                I can be complete and happy, a thimble
                worth, but so much more — a bucket,
                if I lived as the lives of the saints,
                more like the Virgin Mary — so very
                one in living as the Father wills —

                    So why live a life of deception, why
                lie when our lives are lived to fight
                authority and direction from God —
                who do we fool with the clenched fist
                of Christmas given to someone on Christmas
                and a hand shake to others in the
                same move, — the other hand, before God —
                on this earth — we hate some and love others —

                    God knows our hearts — to shake
                a fist in combat with one and shake
                in unity with another is not like the
                Heart of Jesus on Christmas morn
                and to deny the sins we do and
                tell ourselves we are perfect is
                to lie for we stuff the guilt and
                keep ourselves from restoring that needed
                division we incurred with God when we
                offended Him so —

                    God wants a humble heart — one who
                knows they are not perfect and seeks
                to recognize they live for the honor and
                glory of God — not their vain glory
                and seeking dominance for themselves —

                    If one fails to recognize one's sins the
                devil can tempt a person and all the false
                promises of doing better is like the Merry-
                Go-Round called denial — A person makes
                false promises and does not act as they say
                they will. Mary say You must convert at
                Fatima. This is at the heart of the message.
                A person not recognizing their faults makes
                no change in their behavior when giving
                into new temptations and acts out sinfully
                from the same place or worse than before.
                False promises or pride were their focus in
                proving they were always right, at all costs.

                    It is really a lie to not recognize
                our sins and it keeps that distancing
                in our relationship with God because
                of sin - there — while we lie to ourselves
                and pride ourselves on never being
                wrong — pride is the doorway to satan. 

1 John 1: 8-10

If we say, ‘We have no sin,’
we are deceiving ourselves,
and truth has no place in us;
if we acknowledge our sins,
he is trustworthy and upright,
so that he will forgive our sins
and will cleanse us from all evil.
If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’
we make him a liar,
and his word has no place in us.

                    When emotional wounds from
                childhood relationships, divorces
                rule our behavior on holidays —
                weeks before and after — year after year —
                we offend God who sent His only Son
                to this world and Jesus who took flesh —
                took on a human nature, the Divine
                God, He came in the womb of a
                human person, sinless, Mary, out
                of love for us — to save us —
                We could meditate our whole life on
                the Omnipotent Savior taking flesh
                and coming to this earth —

                    How could any one with such
                an act of love given by God to
                man — hurt and punish others because
                of old emotional wounds of what
                they missed in Christmas, Thanksgiving
                year after year —

                    God teaches us about love — about
                giving — the Divine Almighty Father —
                gave His Son — see Him in the manger on
                Christmas — on the cross —

                    God gives us Himself in the Eucharist
                    God is so generous to us

                Fr. Carter says and I quote
                Response in Christ — Chapter 6
                The Christian and Sin

                    1) The Nature of Sin

                           1. P. Schoonenberg, Man and Sin (Notre Dame, Indiana: Fides, 1965), p. 8.
 

Luke 11: 29-32

The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, ‘This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.

   

October 12, 2009 - Homily by Fr. Barth (excerpt) 

    Two things from the Gospel today. The first is a matter of a generation that is evil, and Jesus is very clear why the generation is evil — because they seek a sign. In other words, they want God to reveal God's self as they want God to reveal God's self. They want God to, if you will, bend God's will to their will. They want God to be the God like they want God to be, instead of God being God. And the generation, which is called evil, to be indeed subservant to God's will.

    And I think we can recognize that in our own era. And not just beyond these walls, because even for ourselves who are gathered here, we must recognize that we also at times, are unfaithful, that we want God to give us a sign, that we want God to be the kind of God that we want God to be, and sometimes we don't submit ourselves to God's own will. Isn't that true? And so we gather here to seek God's mercy and God's forgiveness, and to be more in sync with God's will, so that we might be what we are called to be as Christians in the world — salts, lights and leaven. But Jesus responds to — the evil age wanting to see a sign, wanting to see God's action as they want it, with a response.

 

Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

SIX The Christian and Sin (excerpt)

As we sin and fail to love God, we close in upon ourselves. We prevent a further growth in openness to transcendence, to God and to His grace. We block off the source of our only real self-development and fulfillment. To the extent that we close in upon ourselves in sin, to that extent we feel the misery of sin. This misery of spiritual "self-enclosedness" is a faint participation in the essential pain of hell. The damned are eternally and completely closed in upon themselves, completely deprived of God and other personal relationships. This, then, is hell – the damned really experiencing no one but themselves. Hell is God's ratification of the choice which the unrepentant serious sinner has himself made. This choice is one of radical self-isolation. 

Sin is primarily a refusal to love God, a refusal to be loved by Him, to be guided by Him. In sinning, man seeks for a false fulfillment, and therefore actually becomes impoverished. The great St. Augustine puts it this way: "For when the soul loves its own power, it slips from the common whole to its own particular part. Had it followed God as its ruler in the universal creature, it could have been most excellently governed by His laws. But in that apostatizing pride, which is called 'the beginning of sin', it sought for something more that the whole; and while it struggled to govern by its own laws, it was thrust into caring for a part, since there is nothing more than the whole; and so by desiring something more, it becomes less. . .”² 

Yes, sin is an act disruptive of one's relationship with God. But sin has other dimensions also. It is a refusal to love other men as we should. For the Christian, sin is an offense against the covenant life of the People of God. In some way the sinfulness of the individual Christian makes itself felt in the corporate body which is the Church. The Christian, in sinning, is failing to love the corporate good of the People of God. He is failing to contribute his share to the progressive maturation in Christ of the total Christian community. The Christian in his sin becomes a burden to the People of God.  

Sin also is an obvious refusal to love others in those instances when one directly harms others through his transgression. So many sins come under this category: theft, all forms of uncharity, social injustice, scandal, detraction. Furthermore, not only does one man often sin against another, but he frequently leads another into sin. In God's plan man is supposed to help his neighbor achieve his temporal and eternal happiness, but how often, even among Christians, the opposite is true. Not to make a positive contribution to the true growth of others is failure enough, but to be a positive hindrance is a far greater evil. 

There is still another way in which the sinner refuses love to his fellowmen; when man sins he makes his contribution to the "sin of the world.”³ He thus adds to that huge, negative weight, nourished by the sins of the centuries, a weight which is always trying to draw man away from his God-given destiny. This mass of sinful ugliness, this "sin of the world," always has its considerable influence, but at times its hideousness makes itself especially manifest. The great race riots which have tragically risen up recently in various parts of the United States are examples of these special manifestations of the "sin of the world." Such events are not isolated instances of sins connected with race. In back of such tragedies there is a long history of grave social and racial sins, of seething hatred of white for black, and black for white. Such accumulated sinfulness in regard to race is part of the "sin of the world." 

There are many other examples of these special manifestations of the "sin of the world." There are the world wars and the lesser wars, with their share of unbelievable accounts of the hatred which man can impose upon his fellowman. There are the histories of the various crime syndicates throughout the world with all their blatant categories of human degradation – narcotics, prostitution, terrorization and the rest. There are the sins of colonialism and the sins of communism. 

The "sin of the world" with its stark and bold manifestations is a sickening reality. But a reality it is. And each man's sinfulness adds a little to this universal world sin. Each man's sinfulness contributes to sin's divisiveness. Man is intended to help Christ progressively unify all creation more and more into Himself. When man sins, he contributes to the disruptive and disunifying force of the "sin of the world." 

Sin, then, because it is a failure to love God, man and the world, is selfishness. Sin seems to offer some sort of happiness, or advantage, or fulfillment. But this is a delusion. Sin can accomplish none of these things, because man's only real happiness and fulfillment comes from his authentic relationship in love with God, his fellowman and the rest of creation. Sin works against all these relationships. 

Sin is so hard to understand because it is an absurdity. But if we are to grow properly in the Christian life, we must have some basic realization of what sin is, and of God's attitude towards sin and the sinner. Our best source for such a mature realization is given to us in the crucified Christ. In this figure we can know all the Father wants us to comprehend concerning sin. First of all, Christ crucified tells us very starkly of the overwhelming heinousness of sin. We know that sin is overwhelmingly evil because it alone could nail Incarnate Goodness to the cross. Secondly, Christ crucified speaks to us concerning the justice of God. God's justice does ask satisfaction for sin – yes, even that satisfaction which is the death of His Son. Thirdly, and very importantly for us poor sinners, the crucified Christ speaks to us unmistakably and overwhelmingly of the Father's great love and mercy towards us. Because of this love and mercy we can be so positive about human existence, for great as is the power of sin, the love and mercy of the Father, incarnated in His Son, is infinitely greater. This is our peace and consolation. 

God's love and mercy moves the sinner toward repentance, and when the sinner repents, God's love changes him. In Isaiah the prophet we read: " 'Come now, let us talk this over, says Yahweh. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.' " (Is 1:18). 

Included in our sorrow for sin is a resolve to take the proper means and precautions to avoid sin in the future. One of the reasons we fall into the same sins with the same frequency is that we tend often enough not to go to the root causes of our failures, and, consequently, we often fail to apply the more efficacious remedies. All this not to say that we should become morbidly introspective in looking at sinfulness. However, without succumbing to this type of introspection, we all must allow for appropriate self-examination and self-knowledge. 

Part of this self-examination and self-knowledge includes the manner in which I handle temptation in my life. The proper attitude toward temptation lies between two extremes. The person at one extreme is overly fearful of temptation, concentrates too much on avoiding it, and can even tend to equate temptation with sin. Such an attitude toward temptation breeds a negative mentality toward the Christian life, and detracts from the peace, joy and happiness which Christ wants us to experience. 

The opposite attitude is that which is careless towards temptation. To take reasonable and grace-inspired precautions against temptation is not to be negativistic, but realistic. It is to realize that I am a sinner, and that there are various ways by which I can be led to sin. I cannot avoid all temptations, but out of loyalty to Christ, man and the world, I should not recklessly bring temptation upon myself. 

Despite our best efforts there will always be some sin in our lives, unless God were to give extraordinary graces. There is only one human person, as far as our certain knowledge goes, who has been preserved from all sin. This person is Christ's mother, Mary. Let us remember this very important point, however. The Church's teaching that we cannot avoid all venial sin without a very special assistance from God refers to semi-deliberate venial sin. With God's ordinary graces we can avoid all fully deliberate sin, both serious and venial. It is this fully deliberate sin which is such an obstacle to our proper growth in the Christian life. Finally, let us remember that as we grow in Christ, even the number of semi-deliberate sins become fewer.

2. The Sacrament of Penance

All of us are sinners, and God in His mercy has made special provision for this fact. He has given us the sacrament of penance. It is fitting – in fact necessary as regards serious sin – that the Christian incarnate his sorrow for sin through this sacrament. This is in keeping with the incarnational and sacramental dimensions of our life of grace. These dimensions impel us to exteriorize or incarnate our interior life of grace. The central focus for such exteriorization is the Mass and the sacraments. This exteriorization satisfies both our corporeal and social nature. 

As regards this social aspect of grace-life exteriorization, the Christian must always remember that he is a member of the new covenant, he is a member of a community. In sinning he has not only failed to love God, he has also sinned against the Christian community, and against man in general. As he expresses his sorrow for sin to God in the sacrament of penance, the Christian also gives expression to this communal aspect of his Christianity, because the sacraments have a very definite communal dimension. They are the sacraments of a community, the People of God. Through the sacrament of penance, therefore, the Christian expresses his sorrow to God in community and he likewise receives God's forgiveness in community. 

Certain contemporary practices which strive to bring forth more fully the communal aspect of the sacrament of penance are to be highly recommended.⁴ The practices we speak of are those in which there is a preparation for private confession and absolution through communal readings, prayer and examination of conscience.  

What about the frequency of receiving the sacrament of penance? Some in the Church today seem to be questioning the value of frequent confessions of devotion, that is, confessions which are not necessary because there is no serious sin. What is the truth of the matter? First of all, it must be admitted that in the early Church this sacrament was administered much less frequently that it is today. Gradually, the practice of frequent confession inserted itself more and more into the life of the Church. It is difficult not to admit that such a practice has taken root under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Frequent confession, although not necessary, has various values. Rahner, in his usual penetrating manner, gives a contemporary description of the value of frequent confession of devotion.⁵ The new Dutch catechism puts it very simply: "Some Catholics have the habit of receiving the sacrament frequently. If this is the result of anxieties, it is not advisable. But if it is due to a desire to meet Christ as the Lord who forgives, frequent confession can be a very evangelical practice."⁶ 

In conclusion, we remind ourselves that the struggle against sin is part of the Christian participation in Christ's death-resurrection. In baptism we die to sin and rise to a newness of life. We are constantly living out one aspect of our baptism, then, through our continual resistance to the forces of sin. As with all elements of our Christian existence, such an effort requires motivation. We can use a variety of motives, of course, but all of them ultimately will be centered in Christ. To grow in the realization of what sin has cost Christ is to grow in the determination to avoid sin. To permeate such determination with love of Christ is to respond to Him who has loved us first: "The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake." (Ga 2:20).

 ______

2. St. Augustine, The Trinity, Bk. 12, Ch. 14 (Washington: Fathers of the Church, 1963), p. 356.
3. For one description of the "sin of the world", see Schoonenberg, Op. cit., pp. 98-123.
4. One description of such services is given by A. M. Roguet, O.P., "Les celebrations communautaires de la penitence" in Vie spirituelle, 116 (1967), pp. 188-202.
5. Cf. Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967), pp. 177-189.
6. A New Catechism (New York: Herder & Herder, 1967), p. 459.

                Man exists to be happy.

                Sin causes unhappiness.
                Sin therefore must in some way injure
                    the human nature.

                St. Thomas — My Way of Life says by Farrell and Healy

                "Experience shows that a sinful man
                    has lost his ability to judge
                    what he should and should not do" —

                Fr. Pasquini calls it
                    An ill - informed conscience

                St. Thomas  My Way of Life says

                "Actually the most harmful effect of
                    sin is the stain which obscures
                    the beauty of the soul of man.
                    The soul is the noblest part of man.
                    In it God has impressed the light
                    of reason which is a reflection of the
                    light of the eternal law or reason of
                    God. When man is justified by God's
                    grace the soul shines with the light
                    or glory of divine grace. But mortal
                    sin is contrary to the light of reason
                    and divine grace. It expels grace from
                    the soul and dims the light of reason."

                "The sad part of this stain in the soul
                    is that it darkens the light of
                    reason and makes it difficult
                    for man to see clearly the good
                    he should seek."

                "The soul in the stain of sin is
                    out of order —
                    . . .
                "Since venial sin has, in fact, the dangerous
                habit of leading to mortal sin, both types
                of sin are the enemies of human
                happiness.

                The wise man, if he has fallen into sin,
                will try to repair the damage he
                has done to himself."

                "This debt of punishment for sin shows
                the illusory character of the happiness
                sought by sin.
                Every sin must be paid for in one
                way or another.
                Every sin begets its own punishment.
                The punishment can be eternal or
                only temporary. But all punishment
                is painful and therefore opposed to
                true happiness —
                Sin is the great foe of human happiness"
                . . .
                "Physical illness can destroy
                for a time the life of the body.
                But sin can destroy forever the
                life of the soul in God.
                In this life it enslaves a man to
                the conflicting desires of a soul
                whose powers are at war with
                one another.

                In the next life it condemns a
                man to eternal agony (if mortal)
                As fire destroys a house, so sin
                destroys happiness. A sane man
                will neither enter nor stay in a burning
                house. A wise man will neither enter nor
                stay in a house of sin."