PRIDE is putting self in the place of
God as the centre and objective of our life, or of some department thereof. It
is the refusal to recognize our status as creatures, dependent on God for our
existence, and placed by him in a specific relationship to the rest of his
creation.
Irreverence. Deliberate neglect of the worship of God every
Sunday in his Church, or being content with a perfunctory participation in it.
Disregard of other Holy Days or of additional opportunities for giving God
honour. Failure to thank God or to express our gratitude adequately.
Disrespect for God or holy things by deliberately treating
them, in thought, word or deed, in a profane, contemptuous or over-familiar
manner. Use of holy things for personal advantage, or the attempt to bribe or
placate God by religious practices or promises.
Sentimentality. Being satisfied with pious feelings and
beautiful ceremonies without striving to obey God's will.
Presumption. Dependence on self rather than on God, with the
consequent neglect of the means of grace -- sacraments and prayer. Dispensation
of ourselves from ordinary duties on the grounds that we are superior persons.
Satisfaction or complacency over our spiritual achievements. Refusal to avoid,
when possible, immediate occasions of temptation. Preference for our own ideas,
customs, schemes or techniques. Foolish optimism.
Failure to recognize our job as a divine vocation or to
offer our work to God. Unwillingness to surrender to and abide in Christ, to
let him act in and through us. Failure to offer to God regularly in
intercession the persons or causes that have, or should enlist our interest and
support.
Distrust. Refusal to recognize God's wisdom, providence and
love. Worry, anxiety, misgivings, scrupulosity, or perfectionism. Attempts to
discern or control the future by spiritualism, astrology, fortune-telling or
the like. Magic or superstition.
Over-sensitiveness. Expectation that others will dislike,
reject or mistreat us; over-readiness so to interpret their attitude, or
quickness to take offense. Unfounded suspicions.
Timidity in accepting responsibility, or cowardice in facing
difficulty or suffering. Surrender to feelings of depression, gloom, pessimism,
discouragement, self-pity, or fear of death, instead of fighting to be brave,
cheerful and hopeful.
Disobedience. Rejection of God's known will in favour of our
own interests or pleasures. Disobedience of the legitimate (and therefore
divinely ordained) laws, regulations or authority of the Church, state,
husband, parents, teachers, etc.; or slow and reluctant obedience. Failure when
in authority to fulfil responsibilities or to consider the best interests of
those under us.
Refusal to learn God's nature or will as revealed in
Scripture, expounded in instructions or expert advice, or discernible through
prayer, meditation or the reading of religious books. Absorption in our own
affairs, leaving little time, energy or interest for the things of God.
Violation of confidence. Breaking of legitimate promises or
contracts. Irresponsibility. Treachery. Unnecessary disappointment of another,
or the causing of shame or anxiety to those who love us.
Impenitence. Refusal to search out and face up to our sins,
or to confess and admit them before God. Disregard of our sins or pretence that
we are better than we are. Self-justification or discounting our sins as
insignificant, natural or inevitable. Self-righteous comparison of ourselves
with others.
Refusal to accept just punishment or to make due reparation
when possible. Deceit or lying to escape the consequences of our sins, or
allowing another to suffer the blame for our faults. Overcompensation or attempts
at self-reform or self-vengeance, to avoid surrender to God in humble
penitence.
Shame (hurt pride), sorrow for ourselves because our sins
make us less respectable than we like to think we are, or because we fear
punishment or injury to our reputation, rather than sorrow for what sin is in
the eyes of God. Refusal to admit we were in the wrong or to apologize. Refusal
to accept forgiveness from God or others. Doubt that God can forgive our sins,
or failure to use the means of getting assurance of his forgiveness when we
need it. Unwillingness to forgive ourselves.
Vanity. Crediting to ourselves rather than to God our
talents, abilities, insights, accomplishments, good works. Refusal to admit
indebtedness to others, or adequately to express gratitude for their help.
Hypocrisy. Pretence to virtues we do not possess. False humility. Harsh
judgments on others for the faults we excuse in ourselves.
Boasting, exaggeration, drawing attention to ourselves by
talking too much, by claiming ability, wisdom, experience or influence that we
do not have, or by eccentric or ostentatious behaviour. Undue concern over, or
expenditure of time, money or energy on looks, dress, surroundings, etc., in
order to impress others; or deliberate slovenliness for the same purpose.
Seeking, desiring or relishing flattery or compliments.
Arrogance. Insisting that others conform to our wishes,
recognize our leadership, accept our own estimate of our worth. Being
overbearing, argumentative, opinionated, obstinate.
Snobbery. Pride over race, family, position, personality,
education, skill, achievements, or possessions.
ANGER is open rebellion against God or our fellow creatures.
Its purpose and desire is to eliminate any obstacle to our self-seeking, to
retaliate against any threat to our security, to avenge any insult or injury to
our person.
Resentment. Refusal to discern, accept or fulfil God's
vocation. Dissatisfaction with the talents, abilities or opportunities he has
given us. Unwillingness to face up to difficulties or sacrifices. Unjustified
rebellion or complaint at the circumstances of our lives. Escape from reality
or the attempt to force our will upon it. Transference to God, to our parents,
to society, or to other individuals of the blame for our maladjustment; hatred
of God or antisocial behaviour. Cynicism. Annoyance at the contrariness of
things: profanity or grumbling.
Pugnacity. Attack upon another in anger. Murder in deed or
desire. Combativeness or nursing of grudges. Injury to another by striking,
cursing or insulting him; or by damaging his reputation or property.
Quarrelsomeness, bickering, contradiction, nagging, rudeness, or snubbing.
Retaliation. Vengeance for wrongs real or imagined, or the
plotting thereof. Hostility, sullenness or rash judgment. Refusal to forgive or
to offer or accept reconciliation. Unwillingness to love, to do good to, or to
pray for enemies. Boycotting or ostracizing another for selfish reasons.
Spoiling others' pleasure by uncooperativeness or disdain, because we have not
got our way, or because we feel out of sorts or superior.
ENVY is the dissatisfaction with our place in God's order of
creation, manifested in begrudging his gifts and vocation to others.
Jealousy. Offense at the talents, success or good fortune of
others. Selfish or unnecessary rivalry or competition. Pleasure at others'
difficulties or distress. Belittling others.
Malice. Ill-will, false accusations, slander, backbiting.
Reading false motives into others' behaviour. Initiation, collection or
retailing gossip. Arousing, fostering or organizing antagonism against others.
Unnecessary criticism, even when true. Deliberate annoyance of others, teasing
or bullying.
Contempt. Scorn of another's virtue, ability, shortcomings,
or failings. Prejudice against those we consider inferior, or who consider us
inferior, or who seem to threaten our security or position. Ridicule of
persons, institutions or ideals.
COVETOUSNESS is the refusal to respect the integrity of
other creatures, expressed in the inordinate accumulation of material things;
in the use of other persons for our personal advantage; or in the quest for
status, power or security at their expense.
Inordinate Ambition. Pursuit of status, power, influence,
reputation, or possessions at the expense of the moral law, or other
obligations, or of the rights of others. Ruthless or unfair competition.
Putting self or family first. Conformity to standards we recognize as wrong or
inadequate in order to get ahead. Intrigue or conspiracy for self-advancement.
Domination. Seeking to use or possess others. Overprotection
of children; refusal to correct or punish lest we lose their affection;
insistence that they conform to our ideal for them contrary to their own
vocation. Imposing our will on others by force, guile, whining, or refusal to
cooperate. Over-readiness to advise or command; abuse of authority.
Patronizing, pauperizing, putting others under a debt of gratitude, or
considering ourselves ill-used when others' affection or compliance is not for
sale.
Respect for persons, favouritism, partiality, flattery,
fawning, or bribery to win support or affection. Refusal to uphold the truth to
fulfil duties, to perform good acts, or to defend those wrongfully attacked,
because we fear criticism or ridicule, or because we seek to gain the favour or
approval or others. Leading, tempting or encouraging others to sin.
Avarice. Inordinate pursuit of wealth or material things.
Theft, dishonesty, misrepresentation, or sharing of stolen goods. Cheating in
business, taxes, school or games. Making worldly success the goal of our life
or the standard for judging others.
Prodigality. Waste of natural resources or personal
possessions. Extravagance or living beyond our income, to impress others or to
maintain status. Failure to pay debts. Gambling more than we can afford to
lose, or to win unearned profits. Unnecessary borrowing or carelessness with
others' money. Expenditure on self of what is needed for the welfare of others.
Penuriousness. Undue protection of wealth or security.
Selfish insistence on vested interests or on claimed rights. Refusal to support
or help those who have a claim on us. Sponging on others. Stinginess. Failure
to give due proportion of our income to Church and charity, or of our time and
energy to good works. Failure to pay pledges promised to the Church or
charities, when able to do so.
GLUTTONY is the overindulgence of natural appetites for food
and drink, and by extension the inordinate quest for pleasure or comfort.
Intemperance. Overindulgence in food, drink, smoking, or
other physical pleasures. Fastidiousness, fussiness, demanding excessively high
standards, or dilettantism. Condemnation of some material things or pleasures
as evil in themselves, attempting to prohibit their use rather than their
abuse.
Lack of Discipline. Negligence in keeping the days of
fasting or abstinence, or failure to use other needed means of self-discipline.
Neglect of bodily health -- not getting sufficient rest, recreation, exercise,
or wholesome nourishment. Failure to use or to cooperate with available medical
care when ill. Use of sickness as a means of escape from responsibilities.
LUST is the misuse of sex for personal gratification,
debasing it from the holy purpose for which God has given it to us.
Unchastity. Violation of the Church's marriage laws. Lack of
consideration for one's partner in the use of the marital relationship. Refusal
to fulfil the purpose of Holy Matrimony in the bringing forth and giving
adequate care to children, or to take our full share in responsibilities or
work involved. Unfaithfulness to one's spouse. Sexual indulgence outside of
matrimony, in thought or act, alone or with others.
Immodesty. Stimulation of sexual desire in others by word,
dress or action; or in oneself by reading, pictures, or fantasies. Collecting
or recounting dirty stories.
Prudery. Fear of sex or condemnation of it as evil in
itself. Refusal to seek adequate sexual instruction or the attempt to prevent
others from obtaining it. Stimulation of excessive and harmful curiosity by
undue secrecy. Repression of sex.
Cruelty. Deliberate infliction of pain, mental or physical.
Tormenting of animals.
SLOTH is the refusal to respond to our opportunities for
growth, service or sacrifice.
Laziness. Indolence in performing spiritual, mental or
physical duties, or neglect of family, business or social obligations or
courtesies. Procrastination of disliked tasks. Busyness or triviality to avoid
more important commitments. Devotion of excessive time to rest, recreations,
amusement, television, light reading or the like. Waste of employer's time, or
shoddy or inadequate work.
Indifference. Unconcern over injustice to others, especially
that caused by currently accepted social standards; or unmindfulness of the
suffering of the world. Failure to become adequately informed on both sides of
contemporary issues or on the Christian principles involved. Neglect of duties
to state or community. Failure to provide adequately for, or to treat justly
those in our employ.
Ignoring of needy, lonely or unpopular persons in our own or
the parish family, or in the neighbourhood; or unwillingness to minister to
them. Insufficient attention to the religious and other needs of our family.
Failure to fulfil our obligation of Christian missionary witness, or to take a
full and informal part in the effort to make the Church's unity and holiness a
manifest reality on earth.
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