Man is born in original sin, without grace; although this sin is forgiven by the baptism, inside us lust and confusion are hidden. Will used to be weak and overshadowed by intelligence; furthermore, the world tries to seduce us with false hopes and the Devil tempts us. These negative forces which impulse us to evil are called temptations.

2. We can resist temptations

   God allows temptation to prove us. Jesus himself wanted to be tempted by the Devil, and He rejected him: “Away with you, Satan!” (Matthew 4, 10) With the grace of God we will ever defeat temptation. When it comes, we must pray, resist and pray following the advices given by Jesus: “Stay awake, and pray not to be put to the test.” (Matthew 26, 41) and bravely resist against causes and against those who incite us to sin.

3. Consent generates SIN

   It happens many times that we don’t listen God’s advices and we fall in the evil of temptation. We act against God- against His will- when we voluntarily break God’s law, and offend God with that.

    To commit a sin it is necessary: a) a bad thing (or believed to be bad); b) to know that, if we commit it, we are making an offense to God because it is against His will; c) do an evil- or avoid what we must do- even knowing we are going to do it and as a result we offend God by thought or desire(even if only we know it and it is secret), or by word or deed (external sin).

  B. Choose one of these words: personal, original, tempted, helped, sorrow, temptations, cause, search, test, well, valour, sin, omission, pain, knowledge, permission, good, bad, Devil, God.

4. The mortal sin is a serious offense against God

   When a mortal sin is commited, we seriously offend God, because He has declared His will over us- the first rule of the mortal sin is to break a commandment or rule, and commit it by will. Thus, God is offended in a grave way, because the broken law is also serious. But sin is against man, who loses his grace, ceases of being a son of God and is condemned to Hell. For these reasons, we must get out of sin confessing ourselves as soon as possible; we ust also make an act of contrition for our sins.

5. The venial sin is a minor offence to God

   Sometimes, even if we still love God, we follow as Christians certain passions for things which are not completely sin but aren’t in tone with the commandments, although they upset God. Other times, we break the commandments, but without being aware of that. On that case, the sin is called venial, because it doesn’t cause the loss of grace or the friendship with God, but it weakens our supernatural life an could cause more serious sins. Venial sin doesn’t condemn us to hell, but it does to purgatory. As being so harmful and an offense to God, we must be responsible and avoid venial sin. We must give up from venial sin.

6. God, being merciful, forbides sin

   God’s mercy is not an excuse to sin, but a sign of hope and stimulus for conversion to know that God never leaves men, even when we offend him. He patiently awaits to forgive us by the sacrament of penance, not wanting death, but our involvement in the sacrament of penance, as St. Peter taught us.

Curso de Catequesis. Don Jaime Pujol Balcells and Don Jesús Sancho Bielsa. EUNSA. Navarra. 1982. With permission from the authors.

C. Answer with one of these words: minor, grave, grace, happiness, heaven, hell, confess, baptism, prayer, contrition, purgatory, hell, infinite, merciful.

  Questions from the catechism

1.What is sin?  Sin is all willful disobedience to God’s law.

2. How can sin be commited?  Sin can be commited by thought, desire, word, deed or omission.

3.How can be sin?  Sin can be mortal or venial.

4. What is mortal sin?  Mortal sin is a willful disobedience to God’s law about serious matters, by will and being warned before.

5. Why is it called mortal sin?  It is called mortal sin because it steals soul from a life of grace and condemns it to the pains of hell.

6. What is venial sin?  Venial sin is a disobedience to God’s law in minor matters, or in grave matters if we are not aware of its importance.

7. What evil is caused by venial sin?  Venial sin reduces the fervor of charity, prepare us to mortal sin and condemn us to the sorrows of the purgatory.

D. Choose the correct answer. Options are below: A, B, C, D, E, F, G