The Power of the Smile

Riddle me this: What is free and is often taken for granted and underestimated?

You got that right. A smile.

The smile is an extremely powerful gift given us by God. Most overlook this or simply don't know how powerful it truly is.

Case in point. Look at the saints (or pictures of them). Most, if not all have big smiles on their faces.There is a good reason why they smile a lot and they have always known the secret power of "the smile".

First off, the smile is a major weapon against depression. It is a fact that people who smile more are usually the ones less prone to depression.

There are times when we just feel "lazy" to do something, anything for that matter. This is of course effect of the sin of "lukewarmness or sloth" - one of the seven deadly sins.

Feeling that laziness thing? Yup, you got that right. Once again, the smile to the rescue! Smile your way to defeat that stupor.

It;s simple really. Just force a smile on your lips. Believe me this definitely works. You can try it now to believe it. You simply won't regret it (just don't forget you got it here first hehe!)!

The "smile power" can of course be used similarly on the sin of "anger or wrath" - again, one of the seven deadly sins.

When you're angry or at the boling point, you got that right. Again, the simplest solutions are the best. Force a smile on your lips. You will be surpised how powerfully effective it is! Sure beats having to take meds for high blood, right? I'd advise you to try it right now if you can. I'm too excited to see you witness this for yourself.

Scientifically, this spiritual weapon we call "the smile" does have some logical explanation in helping us fight laziness or anger (among other things). I read in an article before that a smile releases something in us, a hormone or something similar.

This may explain the reason why a smile induces a "feel good" effect, a feeling of well-being if you will.

Now, are you starting to see the secret power of the smile?

Oh yeah. This one. Many do know about this fact. It takes more muscles to frown than to smile. So it's better to smile than frown a lot. It is a well-known secret among those who look younger than their age that smiling a lot delays aging and does make you a lot younger than your age.

This, I can verify from my own experience. A lot of people have told me I look a lot younger than my true age. A lot. As big as ten years less than my current age. I do attribute this to my tendency to smile a lot. =)

Why Do Problems Exist For Each And Every Soul?

Problems. Who doesn't have them? Love it or hate it, it will come. Guaranteed to come for any person who breathes with life.

Do you know of any living person who does not have a problem? Logically, as long as a person is alive, he or she will encounter problems. We have heard the saying "Only the dead have no problems"!

But why does God give us problems? Believe it or not, the answer will surprise you.

God gives us problems in life because it is a spiritual need for our souls. Yup, you heard it right. We have problems because we need problems.

It's not just some spiritual desire or want, it's a real spiritual need.

The truth is, without problems, we cannot grow spiritually. Actually, spiritual growth is not only hard but impossible without it.

If it is impossible to grow spiritually without problems then it is becoming clearer now why we need it and it is given to us.


Reminds me of s story:

A speaker asked his audience this simple question "Who among you here want to be really successful in life?" Most of the audience raised their hands.

Then, the speaker went into detail, outlining each and every step to be successful. It was through a lot of hard work, no shortcuts.

He asked again "Now, knowing what is needed to succeed, who among you want to really be successful in life?" This time, most of the audience didn't raise their hands!

-----end of story -----


So many times, we want the reward but not the hard work. Problems are hard work; they are but challenges to be defeated.

Problems strengthen us. They're not there to weaken us. A person who experiences trials is like gold purified through fire. He or she comes out stronger and more experienced.

Imagine a person who doesn't have problems. There is no strength in such a life only weaknesses. No problems also mean no achievements (or a lack of it), no experience, no challenges in life. What is the purpose of such a life? It is meaningless.

Even in university, the top schools also have the toughest entrance exams. If you want the easier exams, go to the less prestigious schools. There's always a price to pay.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. The harder the problems you face in life, the stronger you do become. The easier your problems, the less experience and strength you gain. It's a universal law.

So let's thank God for our problems. Even these are blessings after all!

The Abortion Fallacies

The abortion issue is considered by the Catholic Church (and most, if not all Christian churches)as the most serious issue among all the major issues.

And for right reasons. Many millions of babies are aborted in the US alone. One shudders at the thought of the many millions more aborted all over the world.

If the US is already a Christian country and abortion is this bad, how much more other countries whose religion or culture may not be that strict against murder of the unborn?

Sure there were abortions in past generations before, granted. But not at these numbers. Compared to before, the current and quite recent generations are having abortions at an unprecedented rate.

The primary reason? A variety of reasons have been stated, but in my opinon, the cause is due to major fallacies/errors that have somehow been embraced as truth by recent generations and the current generation.

Actually, any sin is always due to fallacies or errors. A fallacy or error is a lie or half-truth which, though morally wrong, disguises itself as truth.

So in the case of abortion:

Fallacy Number One) One of the fallacies is that the rights of the mother is higher than the rights of the unborn child.

And why? Is it because the mother has contributed more to society as an adult than the baby about to be born?

Are rights given more to some, but limited to other people? What's the basis for this and who decides it? More importantly, who has the right to decide it and why?

But most of all, this fallacy is doomed from the start with the awesome truth that the right to life of the unborn child is higher than the rights of the mother to decide for herself.

The right to life of any person is paramount and fundamental, and must be above any other rights.

Without this right to life, there would be no mother to decide for herself in the firstt place! Who among us would exist?


Fallacy Number Two) Abortion pro-choicers will argue that the fetus is still not a human being especially in the earliest stages of the pregnancy. They would even say that the fetus is incomplete at a certain stage (lacking limbs, etc.), and therefore to them this justifies their belief that aborting a fetus at these early stages is okay because well, the fetus isn't really a human being yet.

Be careful of this fallacy. It has confused many. To counter it, who's to say that a fetus isn't a human being because it lacks body parts?

Is an adult person who lost his leg in an accident considered a lesser human being? Is he not a human being because he lacks body parts? Did he suddenly lose his rights because "he looks different from normal" now?

Obviously not.

The Christian Church has always stood by the truth that life begins at conception. At that earliest of stages, not only life but a soul is infused into the fetus.

Who can refute this? It cannot be denied.


Fallacy Number Three) Abortion supporters will tell a mother this common fallacy: "You have a right to abort your baby. Just do what you think is right."

Do what "you think" is right?

You're using semantics to defend abortion. Playing around with words and meanings doesn't somehow make abortion morally right in any way.

Murder of an innocent unborn is just the same as the murder of a born person.

But the so-called "pro-choicers" would use relativism to try to defend abortion.

Relativism is defined as a belief/ideaology that there are no absolute truths. Everything is subjective, no clear black and white.

So a fetus is defined as a "piece of flesh", or a non-human. Furthermore, when you try to refute this, they'll simply say "That's your opinion, this is ours."

It's "I believe it's right" somehow becomes the truth. A lot of people just comment this nowadays - "Just do what you think is right."

Believing that a fetus is not a human being does not remove the truth that it is a human being. Truth was never based on opinions or the "majority rules". Truth is not subjective.

Yet relativism contradicts itself when it declares "there is no absolute truth"! (Whatever happened to its subjectivity?)

Don't Miss The Point

With Christmas so near we see a lot of preparations, decorations and a lot of parties all around. In the Christmas spirit, it's only natural to get absorbed in all the fun and happiness around. Hey, it's Christmas! No Ebenezer Scrooges please.

In all the busy atmosphere, we can easily lose sight of what it is all about. You can miss what Christmas is for, why we even celebrate it. You see all the commercialization of Christmas around, and mutter "Am I missing the point?"

A wise priest, during a homily once said that one of the greatest temptations of their priestly vocation was taking for granted the holy and supernatural duties given them. When this happens, the Mass becomes "just another Mass", forgiving of sins at confession becomes some routine job, etc. There has to be wonder, awe at doing holy duties.

This principle not only applies to the priestly vocation but to each and every one of us. Oftentimes, we become lukewarm, we simply do not even count our blessings the way we should. So we become less grateful.

The wise saying goes "Only the humble are happy." It is impossibe for a person to be happy without being grateful. And it's impossible to be grateful without humility!

Each Christmas then shouldn't be "just another Christmas". We should first of all be grateful for all the blessing we received from the brthday celebrant Jesus, along with Mother Mary's blessings.

Second, we should be thankful at spending another Christmas with those we love, never forgetting our lives and theirs are only temporary. The wise saying "Live each day as if it was the last, for someday it will be."

Spiritual Willpower

We all are at least familiar with the word "willpower". The power of the will is quite a valued prize among us. Modern society gives higher respect, confers higher honor on people who are deemed or judged to be people with strong willpower.

And for good reason.

It is observable that those with strong willpower are usually the ones who excel in what they do. They are considered the achievers in our society.

Leadership skills alone demand a leader whose willpower is at least above the average. Nobody follows a weak-willed leader.

But when we speak of willpower in general, we have to mention the most important aspect of it - spiritual willpower.

What is spiritual willpower?

Spiritual willpower can be said to be that part of our overall willpower that protects us from sin and temptation. It is that ability inside of us that somehow acts to resist being tempted into sin.

We all can observe this and cannot deny it. It's like that inner strength that refuses to simply allow us to fall into errors and sin. Without it, sin would be this irresistible candy we cannot refuse!

Theology teaches us that the original sin we inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve, has weakened us spiritually. Our intellects were darkened, our willpower weakened.

Sure, the sacrament of baptism is there particularly to remove original sin. However, it doesn't mean we suddenly transform into perfect creatures. The "scars" of original sin are still there.

To better understand this, we can compare this to a pet dog who runs over a newly-cemented floor. You would instinctively tend to your pet dog, washing its feet with water before the cement hardens.

However when you go back to the cement floor, your dog's footprints are all over the now-hardened cement floor.

In baptism, original sin is removed from us. But its footprints are all over us.

Our sinful nature affected our willpower. Man and women were created in the image and likeness of God, yes, but original sin did affect us in a negative way and weakened our willpower (especially spiritual willpower).

But God will only give us tests and allow temptations only within our spiritual limits and never beyond it. So whenever we are tempted and fall into sin, we cannot point a finger and say "The snake made me do it" or "Blame it on my original sin nature".

Rather, any sin is always out of free will. That's the importance of free will. Point the finger at yourself.

Remember that when God caught Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, Adam pointed to Eve as tempting him. Eve in turn pointed a finger at the snake (the Evil One in disguise of course).

Well if snakes had fingers, who do you think he'd point it at? (Not that there was anybody left to point it at except God!)

It's always easier to blame others, right? It's more convenient to point the finger at the "snake" than blame ourselves.

So don't take it for granted that God gave us this special grace called "spiritual willpower". It is also related to what we call "conscience". Spiritual willpower is that frontline defense we have against fallacies, temptations, and sin.

Our Favorite Sin

Why do we sin?

This is such a common question, of which the answer is so important to our spiritual life and to life itself.

We can observe the effects of sin in our lives and the lives of others. Its destructive effects to the individual, to families and societies are self-evident and cannot be denied.

It is observable too that people sin for many reasons. We can observe at least three general types of sin:


1) Some people sin out of ignorance or lack of knowledge. This is the first type of sin.

Say, for example a man who was raised up living a life of crime. His very parents brought him up to steal from others, teaching him it was justified if the victim was well-off or rich.

Nobody ever taught him what is morally right and wrong. He sins against society thinking what he's doing is morally right.

There is always a punishment for any sin whether the sinner is aware the act is sinful or not.


2) Some people sin even when they know the act is sinful. They use logic to justify an action or rationalize to suppress guilt feelings. This is the second type of sin.

It is important to note that the person does not admit the sin.

Say, a woman who has an illicit relationship with a married man. She and the man are church-going Christians and know fully well that this is a grave sin.

The woman rationalizes to justify this. She assures herself "I think it's ok for me to have a relationship even though he is married. He doesn't love his wife anymore. As long as we love each other, I don't think this is a sin."

This type of sin is more severe than the first. To sin with knowledge of the sin carries higher punishment than sinning without knowledge of it.


3) Yet there's still a third reason why people sin. Some people still commit sin even with full knowledge that it is morally wrong. However, instead of using logic, they do something else. They appeal to God's mercy. This is the third type of sin.

If you compare it with the second type of sin (previous topic just above this), this third type of sin is different in one aspect - the admission of sin. The person admits the act is sinful.

This is unlike the second type of sin where there is no admission of sin, rather there is denial of sin.

Case in point: There's a terrorist who was promised payment to his family if he did a terrorist act. He knows it is wrong but says to himself "I will explode this bomb so my family will have a better life. I know God will understand. God have mercy on me for this."

Of course, this heinous crime will destroy the lives of other families. As long as one family benefits, right?

Or this case: A man's son is in the hospital needing an emergency operation. The father knows stealing is a sin and crime but decides to do it anyway.

He becomes a criminal to save up enough money. He takes money from people at the point of a gun. He intimidates them to give him cash in exchange for their lives.

To appeal to God's mercy to lessen the punishment of a sin, while still doing the sinful act anyway (even with full knowledge of the sin and its consequences) is an insult to God.

Yes, God is a merciful God. But He balances this mercy with His divine justice. In His infinite wisdom, He knows without this balance, His mercy will be constantly abused.

So what then is the origin of sin?

The Holy Bible tells us. Ironically, human beings are not the source of sin. The first sin was committed by an angel.

And no ordinary angel he was. He was one of the highest ranked angels (some accounts even state he was the highest ranked). His original name was Lucifer. Now he is known as Satan, The Evil One, etc.

Yup, hard to believe this angel was once envied by even the other angels. It is said that he was the most handsome among them all. Wherever he walked, music accompanied him. He was popular among the other angels.

Until he became vain. His pride was his downfall. He used his God-given gifts to corrupt other angels and turn them against God. He wanted to possess ultimate, infinite power. He wanted to become God, to equal God's power.

Bible accounts state he turned about 25-30% or 1/3 of the angels to rebel against God Himself. A war occurred in heaven.

The battle between the good angels and rebel angels was fierce. At the most critical part of the battle, God Himself gave power to a lower-ranked, yet extremely humble angel. His name was St. Michael the Archangel.

He defeated Lucifer and almost single-handedly won the battle. Because of him, the rebel angels were defeated. They were transformed into devils/demons and God cast them forever from Heaven. Hell was a place made for them.

So how did man sin? I know most of us are familiar with what happened next.

God created Adam and Eve, the first two humans on Earth. They were forbidden to eat of only one fruit - the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Evil One disguised himself as a serpent and tempted Eve to eat of the fruit.

Eve in turn tempted Adam to eat of it. So both were guilty. We can surmise too that Adam sinned by choosing Eve over God. He chose to listen to what Eve wanted, rather than that of God. This alone is a sin of idolatry (prioritizing someone or somebody before God).

In modern times, there is new yet growing scientific evidence that all human beings of all races can be traced back in origin to only one male and one female. This was discovered through modern DNA testing and other methods. More evidence is needed, and is being gathered as we speak.

It sure is good news. And it sure beats the interesting but highly controversial Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

So there you have it, the origin of sin.

Justifying The Death Penalty?

Such an age-old debate: Is it right for the state to kill a criminal in cold blood? Or is life imprisonment a better solution?

Well, we could "rationalize" killing a convicted criminal sentenced to lethal injection. We could justify his death as good for society.

But it still would not be right. The fact remains that this criminal is helpless to defend himself or do further harm. So what justifies killing him?

If you killed an assailant in self-defense protecting yourself, the act is justified. Really, self-defense is the only moral sitiuation, nothing else.

Another reason against the death penalty is the possibility of the person living a new life away from crime.

If St. Paul, one of the greatest saints and a founder of the Christian Church was once a murderer before he got converted, who else can't?

The prisons are different nowadays. I'm sure you've heard of Christian renewal meetings or religious charismatic groups in many prisons now. This is a major change. It is a great thing.

This only proves that there is a chance for a criminal, for any person to change. There is no soul too dark for God's power to enlighten.

The death penalty takes away this gift of hope. By denying the criminal the right to live, society denies him/her the right to a better life.

Life imprisonment or the death penalty? Life imprisonment would be the more humane, wiser, holier choice.

Some would counter-argue that influential criminals can "twist" the system and may eventually be able to be get out of life imprisonment. They have power, money, can use their connections to beat the system presumably.

It is a reasonable argument. But this type of problem lies within the system itself. It is the flawed implementation of the system that is the cause of the problem here.

There is no perfect system of course. But to use the argument that death penalty is justified because certain influential people can twist the system is a fallacy. It is not enough justification by itself.

The issues against death penalty are from a moral problem by nature. On the other hand,the issue of influential people beating the system are more of a legal problem. The two issues are different from each other, related as they are.

They are apples and oranges and are not the same (so shouldn't be considered as such).

Another argument is that even if it's true that certain people of power can exploit the system, they comprise only a tiny fraction of the whole prisoner population. They are only a minority not the majority and therefore do not represent the plight of the great majority of prisoners.

The Harder The Better

Sometimes life can be so filled with many hardships. We suffer inside, the problems just keep piling up with seemingly no end in sight. Ever had one of those days?

Sure. All of us pass through trials like this from time to time. It's not equal for everyone though. Some suffer longer, others shorter.

Some go through trials that push them to the limit. Others go through seemingly less hardship in comparison. Still others don't seem to undergo any form of hardship at all (at least our defiintion of hardship).

It is said that a great general's worst enemy is the lack of adversity.

Ironic isn't it? A great general knows he has been gifted with great military skill, yet how does he prove it when there's no great enemy to go against or an against-the-odds situation?

One thing is sure though. Sufferings are a part of life. It's there for an important reason. Secondly, God's perfect justice can assure you that God only gives hardships based on your maximum limit.

One other thing is also sure: there is not one life that hasn't or will not experience suffering one way or another. This major truth is self-evident and observable. It is irrefutable.

It is as self-evident as the truth that God exists.

God will not give you something beyond your capability. This is a universal law after all.

Usually, human nature tends to follow the "path of least resistance". In general, most people tend to choose activities or tackle problems that are not hard. They avoid harder ones like the plague.

The possible causes of these are at least two: from a form of lukewarmness in our spiritual life and a from a form of hedonism.

Lukewarmness is classified as one of the seven deadly sins. It is one of the more common sins. Ever had one of those days or times when you just don't seem to have energy and you're feeling all lazy?

Yup, that's lukewarmness (also known as sloth). It is like a parasite eating our souls. Especially when you're called to do a spiritual act, this sin is even worse.

Say, you need to help somebody in need and you're feeling lazy at that time. You may or may not even do it.

And when you do help that person, your face is with a frown. There's this sadness, a lack of happiness. You feel like you're just dragging your feet.

You know you should be happy, doing something for God with cheerfulness. Not because it benefits you but out of pure love for God and others.

Now let's talk about the other reason (the first reason being lukewarmness) for people avoiding what is hard in life: hedonism.

Hedonism can be defined as a belief that pleasure is the primary purpose of life. A hedonist's actions will ultimately lead to goals promotiing pleasure or self-gratification, whether he/she is aware of it or not.

Sure, most people will not be classified as being in hedonism in a total way. However, the fact remains many of us do fall into a variant or form of hedonism from time to time.

A little hedonism arises in us sometimes. You can blame the materialistic culture we have nowadays as one of the main causes.

So many businesses promoting the good life, consumerism has been on the rise. The advertisements all overwhelm us with messages of pleasure, pleasure, pleasure.

From food to luxury vacations, expensive living, etc. we are literally bombarded with ads that do get deep into corners of our mind, our subconscious mind. So we may not be even aware of it at times.

People then take the "path of least resistance" even on a subconscious level, without being aware of their behavior.

Anything viewed as causing pain (which is viewed as the complete opposite of pleasure) is avoided. Anything that does not connote some form of pleasure is either
ignored or not given the importance due it.

Remember a time when you wake up and it's Sunday morning. Oh, it's Sunday Mass time. You literally have to drag yourself to get dfressed.

There's this sadness, this lack of energy. Deep inside, you know this is not right. One should have a lot of anticipation for the Mass, considered the highest form of prayer!

Consider what you felt instead when friends invited you to the shopping mall for a movie, a date perhaps. Amazing energy you had right? Shame on us really.

This is because the Mass is at times viewed as a form of sacrifice, and sacrifice is usually associated with suffering or pain.

Yet there is a wise saying "Anything worthwhile will always be hard."

Sacrifice is essential to achieving goals. The higher the goal, the harder the sacrifice. This is universal law.

If you love God enough, the sacrifice of the Holy Mass becomes a work of love, and therefore a work of happiness. You attend Mass with a lot of joy inside.

If you love God enough, it is impossible not to become happy in offering your sacrifice of love through the Mass.

The world will often tell you and teach you "the easier the better". Follow the easy road, the road most travelled. Don't be a radical, follow the sheep.

Yet this contradicts with what Jesus Himself reminded us: "If you wish to follow me, you must carry your own cross."

To be a Christian means to be a radical to the world's materialistic ideaologies so many times. Only by having this type of courage can we succeed. It is the type of courage that is prepared to go against the social norm if necessary, and this is not easy.

It means that for a Christian, "the harder the better", follow the road that is different - the road less travelled.

We Are All Equal After All

We see them everyday out there in the streets. The beggars, the street children, people clothed in filthy, dirty rags - society's unwanted.

They are quite a common sight are they? So much so that most of us have sometimes gotten used to them.

Ever remember the first time you saw a young kid begging just out your car window? The feeling of sheer pity that most probably made you give alms. Maybe it was food or money you gave.

Is it still there now? Do you still get that all-important feeling of charity?

Charity is a virtue; an offshoot or branch that comes from love itself. That's how important it is.

That pity towards someone in need is what makes us human. Without it, there is no peace in us. And when there's no peace, no happiness.

To be insensitive to others makes us robots. Unfeeling, suppressing emotions of pity to remove any sense of guilt deadens the soul. It robs it of life, of vitality. It turns us into living dead.

You can often measure the degree of spirituality we have by a simple test: if you can fight the "superiority complex" that tempts you when you see a beggar, then you're on the right track spiritually.

We all know this is not easy at all.

More often than not we are tempted to feel somewhat superior to the beggar. Worse, some of us may even feel we are "greater children of God".

Some may try to fight their guilty conscience by rationalizing that the beggar may be lazy, or that he/she probably deserved it because of some wrongdoing or sin. That's hypocrisy.

Fact is, no one's special because we are all equally special to God.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Once you feel more special than others, that's the sin of vanity/pride. Your spiritual life would be going down if that keeps up.

Yup, that's a sign you're going down.

One can argue though that many of the beggars, street children out there are members of crime syndicates. They beg from people, then the money is given to the syndicates. The beggars are left with only a small amount as compensation.

This is a common argument. It is the one most often used so we can literally remove any feelings of guilt when we decide to turn the blind eye.

It is hard, isn't it? To give money as aid is to take the risk that your money will just go to crime syndicates controlling their vast network of beggars and street children. It is of course, a legitimate concern.

However, there are other better ways than just giving money. It cannot always be used as an excuse not to help. It's better really to give food rather than cash to the beggars/street children out there.

Leftover food is good enough. Some restaurants have even done this. After office hours, they give out leftover food to the needy.

Of course, some people are already into that habit. After eating at restaurants, they pack their leftover food and give this to some needy soul out in the streets. It's a noble habit.

Idolatries

All of us have a tendency to become obsessive with someone (or something) when we start to prioritize someone or something else before God. This is very observable.

The first commandment of God is clear: "Thou shall not have any other gods before me."

But often than not, we fall to this temptation. We not only fall, we fall over and over again.

I know you're asking "What? I'm not idolatrous. I only worship God, the only one and true God. No one else. What are you accusing me of? Certainly not me!"

Wrong. Believe it or not, this is one of the most common temptations in existence.

The word "idolatry" usually connotes in us the notion of worshipping various idols of pagan origins. You know, those statues of gods, goddesses or deities that primitive people dance to or give homage to that we sometimes see in movies.

Hmmmm... nope.

Far from that really. Idolatry is all around you, all around us - we actually do it everyday.

You see, each and every time we prioritize someone or something before God even for just a moment, we commit the sin of idolatry.

Think about it. Be honest here. When you find going to a movie more exciting or when you anticipate it more than going to Holy Mass, that's idolatry.

Common examples abound. A person who feels the calling for priesthood, for example, backs out when he realizes his family needs him to run the family business. He still prioritized his family over God.

There's a meeting in your religious organization, and it connflicts with a scheduled night-out with close friends. You make all types of excuses for not going to the religious meeting.

Rationalizations like "It's ok to be absent right now. I've always been going to the meetings in the past anyway." Or "I'll be absent tonight, but I'll just make up for it by going to the meetings in the future."

Why rationalizations? In psychology, rationalization is defined as one form (among many others) of "defense mechanism".

A defense mechanism is defined as an automatic, unconscious reaction to protect or shield our mind/ego from intolerable actions, feelings or experiences.

It is the mind's way to protect itself (you!) from pain. This is of course, emotional or mental stress or pain.

Ever felt those "pangs of conscience" undeniably creeping in, and you shielding yourself from guilt? Yup, those excuses are usually defense mechanisms.

You try to rationalize, coming up with so-called reasonable or logical attempts to justify a certain action. You do this because it makes you feel bad inside or you feel guilty doing it.

Hmmm, as if rationalizing a given act makes it moral. It's as if removing the guilt in an action justifies it.

Ever asked God for something that you really want but somehow you didn't receive it?

It could be because of idolatry. God knows the limits of our spiritual levels, our strengths and weaknesses. Only He knows us perfectly.

Maybe God knows you won't grow spiritually or you'll be spiritually corrupted by giving you what you prayed for. Since He knows the future, (and you don't!), I'm sure you'll agree that truly God knows best.

Doesn't it remind you of people saying "Lord, let me win the lotto and I'll surely give donatons to the poor. I'll give generously to charities!"

There are so many horror stories about people who won the lottery. In so many instances, they couldn't handle the increased power they got almost overnight.

They are individuals usually not used to handling such enormous responsibilities that come with great power. As the popular adage goes "With great power, comes great responsibility."

The first thing we can observe that may happen is this: The person becomes less humble, powerful temptations of pride and vanity attack. The higher the power somebody gets, the more powerful the temptations of pride.

That's why one must be vigilant all the more when one is given power. Only the virtue of humility will protect you and conquer the sins of pride/vanity. There really is no other way.

After pride, may come the other sins/vices. Greed from not wanting to share what one has so abundantly. Possibly gluttony from having able to afford expensive but addictive vices like drinking too much, drugs, gambling, etc.

Worse, even their family and loved ones got corrupted. In-fighting over wealth and distribution arises. Bragging off to neighbors, "Keeping up with the Joneses", etc.

Ironic isn't it? It's almost natural to assume a person (and his/her family) who wins the lotto will be happier. But history has shown it can be otherwise, that misery not happiness can result.

We as human beings seem to be so easily vulnerable to falling to sins of idolatry. Everyday, we often fall to prioritizing "things of the world" over the "spiritual missions we're given.

Possibly the most common idolatry is the prioritization of family or loved ones over God. First person we should think about when we wake up is God, before anybody else. How many of us really remember this consistently?

Fact is, without God, there's no family to love. God, being the source of all love, He is the reason why we have people to love and who love us back. Without Him, no love can exist at all and any family will fall apart without love.

Another common idolatry is the prioritization of a partner over God. We're talking about being so attached to a person of the opposite gender in a romantic way that the person replaces God.

Falling in love is part of God's plan as this must eventually pave the way for marriage or holy matrimony. But sometimes a person in love tends to become obsessed with the person he or she fell in love with.

Take the case of Romeo and Juliet. Only the two of them mattered, nobody else (sadly, not even God). And well, what happened? They eventually decided to kill themselves, one after the other. This is what happens when someone becomes more important to a person than God Himself.

It has been glamorized in writing and literature of course. There really is nothing good about mass suicide!

I'm sure we can all agree that one of the most common types of idolatry is our livelihood. Yup, our work, careers or possibly our own business which sustains us and our loved ones can often be our idol.

Of course we all need to work. We all have to "earn our own keep" as the saying goes. Nothing wrong with working hard, hey we do need to save up for old age by working hard while young.

The point where work becomes idolatrous is when we overdo it. When work becomes addictive (workaholism), or we become obsessed with amassing money or being too focused on reaching ever higher positions of power.

Of course, possible combinations of the factors above are likely to occur. Maybe even an "all of the above?"

Money and power are often this world's idols. We must constantly be on guard and be vigilant against idolatry, truly one of the worst sins to ever exist.

Still, there are other idols common in this world.

Some people have idolized sex and lust rules their lives. The profileration of pornography in mass media has increased the occurrence of sex addiction. Sex addicts are obsessed with the lure of the flesh. People like this usually have problems with personal relationships.

Others idolize drugs, falling into drug addiction. Narcotics drugs become the centerpoint of their lives. They live each day for that "next fix". Not doing so results in withdrawal stage, a reaction where the addict suffers for not taking the drug.

Can you imagine such a life? Enslaved by a piece of stick?

Then there are the gambling addicts. What started as playing card games for fun ends up being a point of addiction. Like any addiction, gambling becomes an "escape mechanism", a world where they can get away from the harsh realities of the real world.... even for just a short while.

A fix of drugs or a fix of cards? Really, it's all the same.......

The Permissive Society

We live in a day and age where society can be said to be a "permissive society."

Modern society has slowly but surely turned sin and wrongdoing into something acceptable, like
it's some annoyance - something not to be taken seriously.

I mean, look around you and observe.

Look at the popular talk shows on TV. Homosexuals appearing a lot more often now compared to the past.

This promotes homosexuality on a daily basis in a way not seen before.

On an episode of this popular TV noontime show, an obviously effeminate kid, around 9 years old is made to dance before the public, live on TV.

He struts like a woman, and the host and people there applaud him like crazy!

The host even has these "words of wisdom" for him: "It's okay for you to be gay. Really. It's a modern world now, nobody has the right to judge you and tell you homosexuality is wrong. You have the right to choice."

Well, that same argument can be used to defend abortion. The so-called right to choice and freedom of rights are often used by pro-abortion groups or their new name "Pro-choice".

Basically, it tells you that you have the right to sin, the right to do evil. Nobody has the right to tell you if it's wrong or right, good or evil.

The teachings of God through the Church and the Holy Bible are deemed unfit for so-called "modern times." Nothing's further from the truth.

Our permissive society says "It's ok. We all must have equal rights and respect each other's beliefs even if they are, uhh, non-conformist."

Substitute the word "non-conformist" above with the word "sinful". Now, you're seeing things as they really are.

Relativism (we all can decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, so there are really no absolute truths!) and semantics (smart twisting of words), etc.

If you notice, there seems to be a significant increase in homosexual children nowadays. It is horrible. It is a sad state to see our youth, our future giving in to the evil of homosexuality.

Some of meda is to blame. The glorification of homosexuals leads to the glorification of homosexuality itself.

It sends the wrong signals, especially to the youth who are most vulnerable. A child may undergo a pyschological confusion often termed as "identity crisis".

In this critical point of a child's life, he or she develops a sense of morality, of what is right and wrong. A child may become confused on whether "it's okay to be gay" after all or that it is a great sin against God and nature itself.

What if that next child was your child? Think about it. Why take the risk?

Then, another "signs of the times". I've seen a few parents of these homosexual children defend the homosexuality of their children right on TV!

You know the world is really turning upside down when parents, who are supposed to protect their children from sin and evil turn a blind eye to it or promote it to their children as "natural".

A homosexual boy starts dancing like a girl, to the cheers of the crowd. The TV host asks the mother her feelings.

Guess what she said: "Oh I guess it's ok to me. There are a lot of gay boys nowadays anyway. It's a modern world. Not a big deal anymore. I love my child."

Wow. The only right thing she said there was "I love my child." Sure, you must love your child whether gay or straight. This is not the issue here though.

The issue is morality. Is it right to be so lenient when a child sins? Or should you wisely reprimand?

The mother's justification for her gay boy is based on "majority wins" ("There are a lot of gay boys nowadays anyway), and a distorted view of modernity ("It's a modern world") where there's more freedom (a wrong concept of it).

Something about this thing called "modernity". It's as if old values and morals are overturned in the name of modernity. Being modern does not make sin a virtue (or virtue a sin).

Okay, to be clear I'm not in a position to condemn homosexuals here. We're all sinners and that's the truth.

It's the principle "Hate the sin not the sinner." We cannot deny the truth that homosexuality is a great sin.

One only has to read the Holy Bible to confirm it. No ifs and buts.

Another issue is "single parenthood".

It can be observed quite easily that the incidence of women becoming pregnant but not having a husband has definitely increased in these times. Compared to the generations of our parents, "single moms" and "single dads" have become a lot more common.

A major reason is the breakdown of morality among the youth.

Say, a woman becomes pregnant (by premarital sex). The guy, once giving her his full attention, learns his girlfriend is pregnant.

The guy gets overtaken by fear. Fear, because he is not morally, emotionally, and financially prepared (he sure was physically prepared!).

He becomes cold, distances himself or cuts off any communication with the woman. Or he may be making more excuses not to see her.

He may tell her he's abroad or out-of-town. Worse, he may even accuse the girl that the child is not his.

Of course, this is only one of the reasons. It cannot be denied that the woman also has a part in this social problem. After all, it takes two to make one (baby).

But on this topic, families have become too lenient on their sons when it comes to responsibility like this.

I'm not biased here, just telling it as it is. I'm part of the new generation, the so-called "Generation X".

In the older generations (around thirty years ago or so), I observed that a guy who impregnated a girl was made to realize the seriousness of it. The family members of the guy would really commit their son to marry or take responsibility for the girl and their child.

Nowadays in the new generation, the family members themselves may even hide their son from the responsibility.

It's a major change of culture when you observe it.

The girl and her family usually get the short end of the stick. They foot the hospital bills, their family name is damaged, the parents are blamed for being lax, the girl gets condemnation and pity or social stigma, etc.

The problem is this so-called unwanted pregnancy phenomenon has been increasing so much these days it has in a way, transformed our culture, our way of life.

From this we can deduce this observation: when a negative event or sin occurs and only a few people do it, society criticizes it. But when that same negative event/sin is imitated by a lot more people, society tends to tolerate it.

Why is this? It's as if people become desensitized if a sinful activity becomes rampant. It becomes a part of life, a culture; it becomes something to accept, not something to condemn!

Then, there's abortion. The controversial Roe vs. Wade court case, which ultimately led to the legalization of abortion in some states in the US is much to blame (but not entirely).

Fact is, no amount of legalization will make somebody who is in God, who knows good from evil choose the wrong over the right.

Yup. It's easy enough to put the blame on the judges who erred on legalizing abortion. Roe vs. Wade can easily be such a scapegoat.

But it's also a fact that even before Roe vs. Wade, there were already too many abortions in the US! Roe vs. Wade only increased it exponentially.

It's also a well-known fact that an increase in premarital sex leads to an increase in unwanted pregnancies (particularly teenage pregnancy), and an increase in unwanted pregnancies lead to a corresponding increase in abortions.

People have become lax with their morals, like morality is some inconvenience to their daily lives.

Statistics For The Soul?

In today's world, statistics plays such a vital role in our lives.

Yup, statistics. People, even businesses and economies rely a lot on statistics. Data from it influences decisions from the ordinary family to the governments themselves.

Say, for example, statistics says 60% of family budgets are allocated by the average family to food alone. You can be sure this data will affect a lot of things

A country's government may put ceiling caps on food being sold in that country so as to help the citizens from food prices being too high.

Private businesses may decide to invest more on food. There will be a noticeable increase in restaurants, eateries and food establishments sprouting everywhere, etc.

But we also have a tendency to rely too much on statistics. If we're not careful, this over-reliance can become an idol to us.

Take for example this statistic: Less than 2% of men and women will have stomach cancer.

Sure, you breath a sigh of relief. Great. You tell yourself "It's such a low percentage chance it'll most probably not affect me. I'm quite safe."

Well, I'm sure the 2% or less of men who actually got the cancer thought the same way.

Statistics has an important purpose, God Himself gave it to man to help him improve nature through modernization and technology. This, of course, aside from other gifts.

Man, as caretaker of creation, has the privilege granted by God to improve upon nature. The use of modern science and technology is meant to enhance nature, to improve upon it and in a sense extend nature.

At the least, man also has the great responsibility of taking care of nature and protecting it.

But back to our previous topic. Relying on statistics is okay, even necessary.

Over-relying on statistics though is a big no-no. It may keep us from relying on prayer and instead rely on science more.

The truth is, what will the statistic "Less than 2% of men and women will have stomach cancer" mean anything to you when you already have the cancer?

None. It will not matter to you at all. You could care less if the statistical probability of having stomach cancer was less than 0.0001%!

Remember that prayer and faith are still more powerful than science. Always rely on prayer first.

It's Not a Perfect World

We all want a perfect world. Or rather we all want to have a more perfect world, a more perfect life.

This need is so natural in us we don't even have to think about it, it just occurs. It's as if it was hidden in our subconscious mind.

But it all comes down to the reality that it's not a perfect world after all. Something we have to live with.

Remember that God is a perfect being. Since we were made in His likeness, it is innate in us to yearn or to aspire for a more perfect situation.

It's "natural law", a spiritual instinct in us that makes us feel what should be (perfection) and what should not be (imperfection).

Perfection is an ideal state which is really more of a freedom from evil, or sin (freedom from crimes included).

Imperfection is the opposite. It is what we instinctively feel should not happen or should not be. These would include events like the prevalence of sin, widespread evil, rampant crimes, unpunished crimes, etc.

Below are some case scenarios wherein we'll try to analyze possible causes or reasons on why God has allowed certain events to occur. Many of these are very hard to justfy or explain.

Remember that nothing happens without God's permission and He needs to sometimes allow evil to occur in this world for His own reasons (possibly as a form of punishment for many cases).

And God's wisdom and reasons cannot always be understood at all, beyond our human understanding (we'll try our best though):


Case 1) A very wealthy but also very corrupt politician seems to have it all - lots of money, properties here and there, family, wife and lots of kids, seems to get away with graft and corruption everytime, etc.

At first glance, one may wonder "Why all the injustice? This man cheats and steals from tapayers' money (your money!) yet here he is, all safe and free....and happy to boot.

Happy? Hmmm, I don't think so.

He doesn't sleep well at night, always worrying if he'll eventually get caught. He plans his next moves of escape and deceit, amidst sleepless nights. His conscience hounds him on the money that is not really his and on the people he had to step on to get to his current lofty position.

And miles away, a poor but humble and honest man sleeps peacefully......

The politician's family? They look so completely happy to other people. But do you really know what the truth is behind the public eye?

All for show when outside. The truth is, the parents are so busy they hardly have time for their children. One of the children has a drug addiction problem, one has problems with failing grades in school, the other is a juvenile delinquent involved in a gang, fights, etc.

Stereotype? No, hard to believe but this is as true as it can get. It is more common than you think.

In this world there is always a price to pay and the price for sin is always high indeed, always.


Case 2) A good man - honest, close to God, always helping others, always with something good to say to somebody, serves the Church well, etc.

Then he gets accused of a crime he didn't commit and goes to jail. His name and reputation is shattered, his family falls apart, people accuse him unjustly, etc.

So what happened? How can God let such a good, holy man go to this end? Why?

We can surmise that God allowed this to happen for His reasons, His higher reasons.

This man is being used by God as a model for others to follow. If he remains in God through all the hardships and trials, he would be accomplishing his God-given mission.

We all need somebody to look up to, a role model for us to learn from. Especially in times of trials, this becomes all the more important.

So when some crisis happens to you or our loved ones, this good man's example of faith, courage and eventual triumph over great odds shall see you through.

Remember the saying "After the storm....the calm sea."


Case 3) A mafia boss - he seems to live an ideal life (similar to the politician example above), has so much money, lots of properties, wife and kids, he's got the fame of a celebrity, lots of henchmen and bodyguards, various businesses (both legal and illegal!), etc. Name it, he's got it.

People may ask "Why the injustice? Why does God allow an evil man like this to prosper? There are so many other men, honest good men who deserve the good life more."

First off, a life of crime when chosen has only one road - the road to destruction. It is always a life of sadness, a life where there is no peace. Without peace of heart and mind, a person cannot find happiness.

This mafia boss lives that life. There is no peace for him. His smile is only for the camera.

Behind the limelights though, his dirty conscience eats him up alive. It is a wonder, no small miracle if he can sleep soundly at night at all. He most probably has to use sleeping pills or tranquilizers.

And that's only for starters. When he goes out of his house, he always has to fear for his life. He needs to surround himself with a lot of bodyguards just to assure his safety.

Rich or poor matters little to the bullet. Anybody is vulnerable. Even President Kennedy was not immune to it!

You see, a mafia boss will inevitably have enemies because of struggles for power and territorial disputes.

It's also observable that people like him and his group seem to attract trouble, violence, bloodshed, etc. or a mix of these like a magnet. There's like this aura of "negative energy", if you will, around them or when you're near them that you can actually feel. Strange indeed.....

After this revelation, I don't think anyone can still argue God's justice on this person. He definitely does not live "the good life!"


Case 4) World wars - Why do wars occur? World wars have been occurring since time immemorial. These have claimed countless lives, wrecked economies, harbored hatred and fear, etc. Why would a loving, all-merciful God allow war to happen?

It's hard, but war is allowed by God to happen as a form of chastisement or punishment usually for "collective sin."

A single person's sin is an individual's sin. Collective sin is a combination of many people's sins.

Say, a whole nation's people approve of abortion. Or the majority of the nation's people support an unrighteous war. There are many examples from history.

In World War 2, a whole nation literally supported the invasion of other countries.

Yes, the people of Germany gave no opposition to Adolph Hitler's dreams of empire, of conquest. They were beguiled, charmed by the fiery speeches of a sweet-talking madman, Hitler.

They fell under his spell, mainly convincing them that Germans were the "master race" and that it was their inherent right to conquer. He also manipulated them into believing the lie that they had to attack other nations in order to protect themselves from being attacked first.

Sure, it was self-defense. Oh really now....

Let's take a more recent occurrence.

At this point in time (year 2008), the United States is besieged with so many problems. The housing bubble and credit crunch, among other factors, have hurt the economy in a way not seen since the Great Depression.

The US economy may be headed towards a recession (if not already in it!).

One can rightfully ask: "Why is this happening?"

Well, if in terms of "collectve sins", it doesn't take a genius to see the morality in the States going downward drastically through the years. Yup, time to be honest here.

I'll say the truth here though. Among all the countries in the world, the United States is the country that's capable and most worthy of being the world leader.

Let me explain.

Look, you really have to see the alternatives.

China? They're a world power now, sure, but are other nations willing to look up to communist Chinese for leadership?

The massacre at Tiananmen Square is enough reason. Also, their lack of good English-speaking skills makes it all the more unlikely. English, being the currently accepted universal language is key.

Japan? It's another world power. But the Japanese lack a sense of oneness, they seem to be "too distant" from other races.

They do not possess a clear role of leadership especially compared to Americans. Again, their lack of English-speaking skills is also a factor.

The Europeans? Germany, France or Russia maybe? However, again Europeans are not fluent with the English language compared to the Americans. But more importantly, (not to be offensive or racist here, ok?) Europeans seem to have this "distance".

Just a theory here, possibly the pride of being the original "Old World" powers make the Europeans seem a little too, well, unfriendly?

This leaves us with the Americans. One can say that compared to the Europeans, Japanese, or the Chinese, Americans are a friendlier race. They usually are compassionate people even to their enemies.

A good proof of this is the word "Joe". This word is widely recognized by different races of different people around the world as referring to an American person.

In the news, you see videos and pictures of Americans giving candy bars, chewing gum, etc. to the masses even in times of war.

It seems that Americans are informal by nature, in relative comparison to the Europeans, Chinese and Japanese (observably very formal people!). This informality and friendly, compassionate nature usually makes the American race in a lot more friendly terms with different races, people of many different culures.

Of course, it's not all roses. We're not saying the Americans are perfect, not by a long shot. Like all races they do have their weaknesses as we all do.

It could be the price of being the largest, richest economy in the world. There is so much materialism and consumerism in the US now, that morality has suffered a lot in return.

Take for example the now popular case "Roe vs. Wade", which led courts to ultimately legalize abortion. Now, over ten million babies a year are being aborted in the US alone, a staggering figure by any point of view!

San Francisco has become a haven for homosexuals. A new perversion has emerged, the legalization of so-called "same sex marriage".

The US has also seen a recent wave of mass killings, particularly schools and shopping malls. Hostage-taking usually takes place, the hostages are killed and the hostage-taker kills himself.

In a lot of incidents, there's just people being shot at random by the gunman or gunmen. The lenient laws on gun ownership is much to blame for these.

So are the numerous problems affecting the US now just a result of coincidence? Some accident perhaps?

Of course not. We can clearly observe the truth that the major social and economic problems happening in the US can be said to be directly related to the increasing moral degradation in the US.

This simply means the more morality goes down in the US, the more problems will occur. Yup, a clear case of cause and effect, this is truly universal law. These problems are the effect, and people's "collective sins" are the cause of this effect.

It's a "multiplier effect" of each individual person's sins, slowly but surely adding to each other and increasing the overall sins of all. Again, this overall sin is what is called "collective sin".

One could argue though "Why only the US? Other countries are a lot worse in terms of morality. Say, legalization of prostitution in Holland, honor killings in the Middle East, high suicide rate in Japan, forced abortion in China, etc."

Good point. However, we can also argue that the God is stricter with the US because the US plays a more special role as the leader of nations, something most nations are not capable of.

More power, more responsibility. This is a universal law. Assuming all things equal, the collective sins of people in the US will have more punishments than the collective sins of another country's people.

It cannot be the same because God needs to discipline the US more, so as to be a good example and model country to others.

Reality and the Human Mind

The human mind was created by God to "conceive" reality. Meaning, reality has always been there before us.

God gave us a mind to see reality as He made it, as it truly exists. He made reality as He saw fit, in His genius.

So the human mind cannot create its own reality, nor can it re-create existing reality either.

The mind was not made to change reality but to understand it.

So if the mind is not used to understand reality and accept it as it is, then the mind loses its purpose.

Take for example the truth that God exists.

What if all the people in the world suddenly turned atheist (God forbid!) and stopped believing in God's existence?

Would that, in any way, affect or change the truth that God exists? Would God stop existing?

Of course not. God has always existed before time, before we were even created. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Or if everybody stopped believing the planets exist (which they do not physically see), does that make the planets disappear?

It is important to know about this because there has been a recent surge in a belief called "relativism".

Relativism is a belief that there are no absolute truths, that truth is or can be subjective.

You may not realize it as it can be so subtle. It happens around us more often than we think.

Ever heard a relative or friend say "Oh, just do what you think is right." after you asked him or her what to do.

Or when you ask somebody "Hey, do you think I did the right thing?", you get this reply: "You only did what you thought was right."

Yup, that's relativism. So anybody can decide what is right and wrong huh? Whatever happened to what God and the Bible teaches?

God is the Supreme Authority, not any angel, man or woman.

Ironically, the statement of relativism that "There are no absolute truths" is self-contradictory!

By stating that as its own truth, relativism contradicts its own belief that there are no truths (everything being subjective or relative).

The evil and error of relativism can be seen and felt on both a personal and a world-wide scale.

Examples of the deadly tentacles of relativism spreading around the world are all over the news.
You see prostitution being legalized in some countries already like in Holland, while in most countries it is illegal.

Abortion is legal in some states in the United States, while illegal in some. It's as if the US isn't one country anymore really. All in the name of human rights, etc.

It's supposed to be the "United States" not the "Divided States".

So you see, one of the major reasons we shall always need God is because of this.

We humans beings will always need God as the supreme and absolute rule of law.

We need God as the higher being to rule over us, to decide and teach us what is right and what is wrong.

The alternative is chaos and disorder by relativism. Each person or persons of authority having their own opinion or version of wrong and right.

Imagine the president of one country declaring murder is not a crime, that he (and his trusted advisors) believes murderers should not be punished.

Then other presidents of other countries declaring the opposite, of course, that murder is a crime punishable by law.

Then that errant president arguing "But who has the right to decide right and wrong? And by what authority? It's all relative or subjective."

Then he further argues that they all can agree to disagree, that they all are intelligent, educated people (thus who is more intelligent cannot be an issue here!), etc.

So how do you refute or counter his argument?

Do you see clearly the chaos and utter confusion the errors of relativism brings?

Each person of authority creating their own rules based on what is beneficial to them, and not necessarily what is morally correct or for the common good.

We need God and shall always need Him or there will be no end to what is wrong and what is right, to what is good and evil.

Only The Real Matters

We go through life searching, ever searching for answers...to some certain questions about life itself.

Why? Why do we do it? Why the need to do it?

When God creates a soul He puts inside that soul certain, unique characteristics. The Bible itself says "we were created in the image and likeness of God Himself".

Wow, what further proof of God's love do we still need?

One of the most important characteristics that God puts in our soulis called "natural law".

Natural law is defined as an automatic, almost subconscious knowledge of good and evil, of what is right and wrong.

Don't get confused though. What we call natural law is simply an"instinct" in us that makes us realize and feel that a certain act is wrong or right.

This is true irregardless of a person's religion, beliefs, culture, etc. It is therefore generic in us, something that is biological and cannot be said to be influenced by external, environmental factors.

Another proof supporting the truth of natural law is found in science. Scientific tests have shown that human babies already possess their unique personality traiits at the start.

It shows babies are either introvert, extrovert, or a more balanced mix of both from the start. That's why some babies are more passive than others and some more active.

This confirms the reason is biological and not environmental.

Without these scientfic proofs, people can often judge wrongly that a kid is shyer than others because the parents didn't bring him up well. Though, granted, traumatic events in a person's life can affect or alter personality it is not often the case.

This is not to say that parents' disciplining their children or bringing them up well is not important. No, on the contrary, it is very important to shaping a child.

The Holy Bible itself says in Proverbs (attributed to King Solomon himself!) "Bring up a child in ways that are of good, and he will never stray from that path in the future."

If the scientific tests are a basis though, the personality of a person, whether he or she is more of an extrovert, introvert, or a more balanced mix of both is based more on biological factors and not environmental.

We must defiine personality clearly though. It can often be confused with the spiritual level or what we call the "righteousness" of a person.

Personality can be defined as whether a person is more of an introvert, an extrovert, or a more balanced mix of the two. It is not in any way related to whether a person is good or bad.

Being an introvert or extrovert doesn't determine the spiritual level of a person.

If you're more of an introvert, shy and reserved, quiet type, how does that lead you to sin? It's the same with extrovert-type people.

Personality simply means you're either a more quiet type or the more talkative-type person.

So now that we know this, the next natural question would be "So what does determine the spiritual level or righteousness of a person?"

We already know it is not biological in nature. It means no person can be born "naturally evil" nor "naturally good". This is the main point.

If it's not biological, then what else is left?

Yes, there is only the environmental factor left. We can state that the spiritual level of a person is caused by environmental factors, not biological.

This also means being a good person or a bad person is definitely a choice.

Sin, by definition, has to be a choice of a person. If a person was forced to commit a sinful act, the act cannot be considered sin.

There are people who erroneously believe a person can be born evil, or has a tendency to do evil just because he/she was born that way.

This is why it's important to know the truth, that a good or bad person is not born but made.

Those who do sinful acts will never have an excuse now. They cannot state "this is my nature that's why I can't help it."

So remember and never forget: "Only the real matters. Reality is truth and truth is reality. Therefore, only the truth matters."

What is the meaning of suffering?

Oftentimes, we wonder what the true meaning of suffering is. Why do we have to suffer?

Sure, we need not really understand the meaning of happiness. When we are happy, we feel joy automatically.

A smile forms on our face, the adrenaline rush.... We feel no immediate need to understand the feeling of being happy.

We dwell on it, and consciously and subconsciously wish our feelings of joy last as long as possible and not end. Who doesn't want to be happy?

God created us to be happy. The need for happiness is as basic as the need to love and to be loved. The highest form of happiness is love, and must always be based on love.

Happiness from a source not based on love does not last as long, and the intensity is also lower. This is God's universal law.

Happiness from love is so instantaneous.

But it's not a perfect world. Suffering is as much a part of our life as happiness is. Two sides of the same coin, right?

If you will observe in life, majority of our life is still filled with blessings of joy and only minority of our life is laden with sufferings and pain.

It is not because we deserve it, most certainly not. Like the saints say "Not through any merit of mine, but only through God's grace."

God is so good that He still allows happiness to occur for the most part in a person's life. Sadness and sufferings usually occur only as a minority part of our lifetimes.

So back to our original question 'What is the meaning of suffering and why do we have to suffer?"

No one, not even the saints themselves or the brightest theologians have ever laid claim to having the ultimate answer to this question.

Any person who does claim it is speaking from a point of vanity, not reason.
What we can offer is what has been observed from the past and is being observed in the present.

Many of the answers themselves so far are still an ongoing study.

We can state that suffering is an occurrence in our life that actually has many purposes. God uses suffering in this world for a variety of reasons, not always obvious to us or the suffering person.

In this sense, the cause or causes of a particular suffering can be a case-to-case basis thing. There is no one particular cause (or causes) for every occurrence of suffering in a person's life.

In the New Testament, Jesus forgave the sins of people with diseases and disabilities who came to Him to be healed of their misery.

Diseases and disabilities cause misery or suffering to a person. We can note that Jesus forgave the person's sins first before declaring "Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace."

At this point, only then does the actual miraculous physical healing occurs.

So in that sense, it is clear that the sufferings, misery of a person may be the result of past and/or present unrepented sins by that person.

However, the danger here is the fallacy that the cause of a person suffering right now is from entirely the result of his/her past and/or present sins. That may be the case, but it may also be from a very different cause or causes.

The Bible reminds us that God's ways are higher than ours, His wisdom beyond ours (or even the angels and saints!). It says "For who can fathom the ways of God?"

We see a beggar in the street and may unjustly accuse or judge the person prematurely. Some may say "He's lazy".

Others may blame his misery on a mismanaged government, hard economic times, corrupt people in power, etc. or even a combination of these.

We would be at fault here when we judge this beggar and conclude immediately that he's suffering now because of his past and/or present sins.

The truth is, only God truly knows all the causes, all the reasons for a person's suffering. We as humans may be able to know some of the reasons or part of the reasons but that's about it.
Our knowledge is limited.

The point is we often judge other people prematurely, we view them negatively in advance. This is a form of discrimination in itself, a "superiority complex" attitude.

It's implying we are better than somebody. Jesus Himself said "Why do you notice the speck in your brother's eye, while not seeing the pillar in your own eye? Remove your own speck first, then you would be able to see more clearly."

The truth is therefore, only God has the right to judge. He knows us, sees our souls inside out.

Also, one of the major reasons for a person's suffering is God could be testing that person. It makes us realize how weak we truly are without God and how much we need Him.

Trials and sufferings make a person stronger, tougher in the end.

A person thoroughly tested is likened by the Bible to "gold purified by fire." Like gold has to be cleansed or purified by the fires of a furnace, so it is with the human soul.

You will see this truth in great men and women, especially the saints. They're honored as great because they suffered a lot, but more importantly overcame these great odds.

People like St. Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, to name but a few.

King Solomon of the Holy Bible, the wisest man and king who ever lived was the one who wrote Chapters 10-22 of the Bible's Book of Proverbs. He once said "The man who conquers himself is greater than the conqueror of cities."

It's that hard. We all have weaknesses along with our strengths. It's always wise to thank God for whatever happens to us, good or bad.

If we truly trust Jesus, then everything is for a higher purpose.

In times of good or plenty, we can thank God for the blessings, the happiness, knowing fully well not everybody has these blessings.

Also, reflecting on harder times, troubled times in our lives (and our family's lives)
in the past helps us truly appreciate what we have been given.

This is true whether these blessings are great or of the smallest blessings.

But in harder times, we should pray to God for deliverance but still thank Him for the blessings we still have as well as the blessings we had in the past.

Ironically, it is even more important in hard times to see our blessings.

It is so much harder to see our blessings during troubled times than normal times
or when everythng is going so well for us.

The 7 Virtues

The Holy Church has discovered seven holy virtues that fight or
defend against the seven deadly sins/vices. These serve as antidotes
to sin, like medicine to disease.

These seven virtues are (in no particular order except for humility)
humility, patience, vigilance/diligence, chastity, generosity,
abstinence, and kindness.


1) Humility - This virtue is considered the source of all the other
virtues, and therefore the highest among all virtues. It is acts of
humility that leads to all other virtues. If pride/vanity, the
highest of the seven sins, is the source of all evil then humility is
the source of all good - being its exact opposite.

If we combine all the seven virtues (along with its sub-virtues),
what results? The result is love, love is produced. Love, then is the
summation of all the virtues. And let's never forget that "God is
love". He is the ultimate source of love, and all the holy virtues.

Love, the virtues, and all that is good and holy can never exist
without our Almighty God.

Why is it so hard to be humble? Humility is the highest of the seven
virtues but it is also correspondingly, the hardest among the virtues.

The saints themselves valued humility the most. They are the
happiest men and women in this world because of this - that the
secret of happiness is humility.

There's a wise saying: "Only the humble are happy."

In order to be happy, one must be grateful for one's blessings (both
good times and bad). But in order to be grateful, one must be humble
first. Therefore, only the humble are happy.

Only the grateful appreciate their blessings and are happy for it.
Only the humble are grateful. Therefore, only the humble are happy.


2) Patience - This virtue defeats anger, one of the seven deadly
sins/vices. Anger is like a raging fire and patience is the gushing
water that puts it out. Anger, along with lukewarmness, is one of the
most common or frequent among the seven sins.

How hard it is to be patient! You're patient one moment, then
impatient the next.

Why do we become angry in the first place? Analyze yourself when you
give way to your anger. You will notice the truth that you only
become angry when you lose your patience. You get impatient first
before it leads you to anger.

That's why people who are easily prone to anger (I'm sure you know a
lot!) are also impatient people. Being patient is not their cup of tea.

Say, some big-time politician who demands everybody's attention, and
can't be made waiting for her order in a restaurant. The arrogance
and impatience leads the politician to bad-mouth, even threaten the
restaurant's workers in a fit of rage.

When confronted by angry people, you will often be tempted to be
angry yourself. Don't fight fire with fire, you will only fan the
flames. Practice the virtue of patience instead.

It's hard of course, especially when you're being insulted by that
angry person. But if you become patient enough, long enough, you'll
see the angry person start calming down. It's a soothing effect.


3) Vigilance/Diligence - This virtue defeats lukewarmness, one of
the seven deadly sins/vices. Lukewarmness, along with anger, is one
of the most common or frequent of the seven sins.

Ever have the feeling of waking up one morning, feeling lazy? Your
movements are slow, monotonous, like a zombie even. You mutter "it's
just another day like all the rest." That's lukewarmness, you're
neither hot nor cold.

Lukewarmness is a lack of fire, a coldness toward the activities of
life. It is a laziness towards doing good works and spiritual duties,
which eventually only leads to laziness in all aspects of that
person's life.

Observe lukewarm people closely. People who are lukewarm are usually
the ones that avoid spiritual acts, or who do not give importance to
religious works or anything related to it. They prioritize other
things over the spiritual.

They say "I don't have time for the religious meetings at church".
These are the very people who suddenly have enough time for the mall
or the Super Bowl! Talk about double standards.

Then observe people who can fight lukewarmness, people who are full
of zest and joy for life. Their dynamism is amazing. They have that
big smile most of the time, they are always eager to serve God more
by serving others. They do not avoid their spiritual duties or good
works.

It affects their whole life.

These vigilant, dynamic people tend to excel in their daily lives as
well as their spiritual life. They're also the ones who are leaders
in industry, They are always a role model for others to follow and
are an amazing sight to behold!


4) Abstinence - This virtue defeats gluttony, one of the seven
deadly sins.

Why abstain? Abstinence is necessary to fight addictions or
obsessions in life, these things that can take over our lives.
Without the sacrifice of abstaining, we can become virtual "slaves of
our passions".

Addictions. There are quite a lot huh? There are addictions to
almost anything that is enjoyable or gives pleasure. There's
addictions to watching too much TV, addictions to food or over-eating
(gluttony), addictions to over-working (workaholism) as well as other
addictions.

There are, of course, greater, more dangerous forms of gluttony or
addiction. Drug addiction (narcotic drugs), gambling addiction,
alcohol addiction (alcoholism), etc. have literally destroyed lives
and families.

Why do gluttony, obsessions and addictions have to be so closely
related to something enjoyable or pleasurable? The answer lies in
hedonism. Hedonism is based on the "pleasure principle", a form of
idolatry towards pleasure. It is tied to the belief that pleasure is
a primary purpose of existence.

Pleasure was created by God as a gift to us. There is pleasure in
eating food, in delicious drinks, in sleeping, in achieving
something, pleasure in hard work, etc. God could've chosen to not put
pleasure in these, but He chose to. That alone is enough reason to be
more grateful.

Pleasure, however, becomes harmful when it becomes an addiction or
obsession to a person. When we over-indulge in something pleasurable,
the activity can take over our lives such that we can find it
extremely hard to live life without it. It controls a person, and
that person becomes the slave rather than the master of that passion
or activity.

Abstinence requires the sacrifice of not giving in to the addiction,
of avoiding the activity for a period of time. It is hard and often
takes an iron will, but with God's help through prayers, it has been
done and can always be done again. Abstinence works!


5) Chastity - This virtue defeats lust, one of the seven deadly
sins/vices.

Chastity, especially in today's modern world is getting harder and
harder to do for many people. The media and technology have
multiplied the evil tentacles of lust by unheard-of proportions
through the spread of pornography.

The fact that pornography is a multi-billion dollar business in the
US alone speaks for itself. It has led to increased rape of women,
abortions, promiscous sex, sexual perversions, etc.

Lust can be defined as a form of "addiction" or gluttony towards
sexual pleasure or the sexual act.

The practice of chastity is the best way to fight the fires of lust
when it tempts us. Lust is a "fire sin", it tends to try to arouse
our base passions, our instincts. Like dousing fire, we need the
water of chastity to put it out.

In this way, chastity can be a form of abstinence towards the sin of
lust.

To be chaste in today's modern smut-filled world is truly hard.
Chastity is a virtue that can be compared to a white robe. During our
birth, we are chaste by nature and our souls can be compared to a
white robe, untainted and pure, white as snow. Innocence is a virtue!

Innocence is not ignorance. The two are very different from each
other. Innocence is a virtue, while ignorance is not. Ignorance comes
from sin and can also lead to sin.

God made the virtue of innocence for an important purpose. A child,
for example, has innocence to protect him/her from matters that will
not be suitable for his/her young age. Hence, you cannot teach "adult
matters" like sex, alcohol, smoking, etc. to a child. The child will
not be "mature" enough to make the choices necessary on such
sensitive topics.

It will not be choice anymore, but a decision based on confusion,
misunderstanding and lack of knowledge.

Ignorance is very different. Say a person murdering a drug pusher
(ala vigilante punisher style), can justify his action by telling
himself that he is doiing good to society. He is clearly ignorant of
the truth that only God, who gave us life can take away life.Not any
human being nor even the state.

But it's not a perfect world. As we grow up, our innocence is
diminished, and we become familiar with sin.

Slowly, like a white robe being tainted with dirt, our soul
accumulates sin as time goes by. The blackness and darkness of sin
enters what was once pure.

We simply are not the same anymore. Something has changed. Sin
causes us to lose our innocence and we can feel this loss so
naturally, without even thinking about it.

It's that dark feeling, negative and fearful.... a lack of peace
that is the usual characteristic of sin.

Chastity can also be applied to married couples as well. Instead of
giving in to the sexual appetite too often (than normal!?), both
partners can practice "abstinence from sex" every once in a while.By
abstaining, we actually increase our own self-control, and we do not
become "slaves of our passion".

And it does help in "family planning", when you and your partner
can't afford another pregnancy. There's this difference in that you
are doing "birth control" the natural way, a way that's allowed by
the Church.

Chastity works!


6) Generosity - this virtue defeats greed or avarice, one of the
seven deadly sins.

We all know generous people. Why? Because there are so few of them!

In current times where economic hardships seem to occur more
frequently, it is getting harder to find generous people. It is
getting harder to be generous as we don't want to take risks with
the uncertain future.

Most people live from paycheck to paycheck. There's always concern
about monthly costs of living, rising prices of commodities, lack of
job security, lesser pension payments and shrinking value, etc.- not
to mention the volatility of oil prices in these times.

And every year, there's that economic reality called "inflation",
which simply means prices of goods and services tend to rise up, not
down.

Before this piece becomes an economics lesson, it's good to know
there's good news out there though.

There's a new trend and this one's something to really be happy
about. there's been a major increase in donations to charity by very
rich people.

If you've been reading the news recently, really rich people,
billionaires like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett (with their wives to
boot) have greatly increased their donations to charities especially
their own foundations.

And it's not just limited to the West. Recently, asian action
superstar Jackie Chan donated more than 33% of his fortune (millions
of dollars) to various charities and charitable causes. He was simply
following other asian tycoons who donated from their huge fortunes
before.

It just shows the great truth that people are by nature, kind-
hearted. People are willing to help and do good to others when given
the chance.


7) Kindness - this virtue defeats envy, one of the seven deadly sins.

When faced with temptations of envy, pray for kindness to enter your
heart.

Know that God is perfect, and He gives His gifts to each of us for
His own reasons.

We all have different gifts. We only become envious when we feel
someone was given more or we feel we deserve more from God.

But what is it really to be kind?

To be kind means so much more than it sounds. And especially, to be
kind to others is easier to say than to actually do wth consistency.

Our Lord Jesus Himself said it in the Bible: "Even the pagans love
their children."

Why?

Many people are usually kind to others so other people will also
repay that kindness. Say, a person helped somebody by giving that
person a loan to pay some hospital bills.

Worse comes to worse, that helpful person may in the future, ask for
some help from the person he/she helped previously. It's a "debt of
gratitude". Debt of gratitude by any other word, is still a debt, and
debts are meant to be paid at some future time.

I know this can confuse, but don't get me wrong here. The principle
of "debt of gratitude" is a splendid thing, amazing even. It is
kindness given, kindness repaid. It's a mutual action, one that
usually makes people do good things to others.

In this sense, it is truly mutually beneficial to people and
promotes doing good and avoiding doing evil to others (to avoid being
treated badly in turn).

But God, Jesus, calls us to do more. The Christian is called to do
so much more than that!

For the Christian, he/she is required to practice "agape" or
"unconditional love", the highest form of love. The true Christian
will help others even without anything in return.

For Christian life requires the highest of love which also requires
the hardest sacrifice, even sufferings. It in turn, however, gives
the happiest life possible in this world...and in the next.

The 7 Deadly Sins

The Church, through the ages, has discovered seven major weaknesses in men and women - known to us as the popular "Seven Deadly Sins". They are named as such because out of these seven primary sins, all other sins arise.

The seven deadly sins (known also as the "The Seven Vices" or the "Seven Capital Sins") are credited to an ancient Greek monastic theologian, named Evagrius of Pontus. The seven sins are (in no particular order): pride/vanity, anger, lukewarmness, lust, envy, greed, and gluttony.

God, in His love and mercy, has revealed to us "The Seven Virtues" through the Church. These seven virtues are antidotes against the seven sins/vices. These seven are:

1) Humility => Pride

2) Patience => Anger

3) Vigilance/Diligence => Lukewarmness

4) Chastity => Lust

5) Generosity => Greed/Avarice

6) Kindness => Envy

7) Abstinence => Gluttony

Humility is the source of all the virtues, just as pride is the source of all sins/vices.

Love, then, is the summation of all the virtues. And God is love.....

The "Seven Sins" in the common person are all rooted in the highest of all the seven sins - pride or vanity. Pride is the root of all the sins of men and women and is therefore the root of all evil.
The Seven Sins are:


1) Pride/vanity - defined by St. Thomas Aquinas as the "inordinate love for oneself". It is the cause of all sin and evil. The root of pride is man not subjecting himself to God's authority; of man's willful choosing of self over God.

It is that "thin line" between righteousness and self-righteousness.

It is clear that it is not wrong and only normal to love one's self. To love ourselves is self-preservation. What is wrong is to love ourselves too much, in an inordinate degree.

It becomes wrong when a person loves himself/herself so much that eventually, he or she loves himself/herself over God.

In all of mankind's history, there was never a sin no matter how small or great that did not have its root in pride or vanity. It is also therefore the most common sin.

Pride actually started not on Earth, but of all places, it started in Heaven! One of the highest ranked angels, Lucifer, was blessed by God with amazing gifts above most angels. He also possessed physical beauty, such as other angels looked up to him and music was said to accompany him wherever he was.

Instead of thanking God, this angel swelled up with pride and vanity at his God-given power and beauty. He eventually decided his power and gifts were not enough and desired to become as powerful as God Himself!

He tempted other angels in the process and had around 1/4 to 1/3 of the angels on his side. God chose a lower ranked angel, St. Michael the Archangel, to lead the majority of angels on God's side. St. Michael and the good angels defeated Lucifer and his evil angels in a great war.

God banished Lucifer and the evil angels out of Heaven, and straight into a dark pit called Hell. From that day forward, Lucifer's name became Satan. He and all the evil angels lost their natural angelic beauty and their sin corrupted their spirits forever.

It was Satan (in a serpent's form) that tempted our first parents to commit the first sin, "original sin", in the garden of Eden. Amazingly, he tempted them by a similar attack of
pride - he told Eve that she and Adam will become gods if they ate of the fruit forbidden by God. And they did.

The virtue that fights against pride/vanity is the highest virtue of all - humility. Since pride is the highest vice/sin, it is defeated by the greatest virtue, the virtue of humility.

Truly, humility is the hardest virtue to master. First, it is so hard to reach a certain level of humility. Second, assuming you do reach that level, it is so much harder to maintain it!

The truth is, in order to maintain a certain degree of humility much vigilance is needed. If you acquired a certain degree of humility at a certain moment, (say, right this moment) you will find that your humility level can go down as fast as a running cheetah. Just like that.

It is that hard. You really need to guard against pride as often as possible, as in every moment. It is hard but possible as the saints and holy people have shown us.

By our human strength alone, constant humility is impossible. But with God's grace (which we ask by prayer) it is indeed possible and necessary.


2) Anger - also known as "wrath". It is a sin that occurs when a person chooses hatred instead of love, resulting in a fury of emotions that overcome reason.

It is only justified when reason is still present when the strong emotions occur as the person does not lose control of himself/herself. Anger, if not tempered, can result in harm (physically or verbally) to another person who is the object of that hatred.

Anger is so common, it can occur right after we had a bad waking up in the morning!

How many times have we justified anger, saying "He/she caused me to lose my temper! It's only right I got mad." See the pride present in this self-righteousness example?

It's that pride that makes us prefer hatred 'instead of forgiveness or understanding. Hatred can turn into anger eventually. It's like a powder keg just waiting to be lit.

Of the "Seven Virtues", the virtue of "patience" is the antidote against "anger".

The more we understand or try to understand a person the more we become patient with that person.

As the popular Bible verse of St Paul says: "Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not keep a record of wrongs."


3) Lukewarmness - The sin of lukewarmness (or sloth) is defined by St Thomas Aquinas as "a form of sadness characterized by a lack of enthusiasm or fire in the accomplishment of spiritual works particularly those that demand more sacrifice".

It is neither being hot nor cold. A soul in lukewarmness is like a "living dead", doing duties without much love but out of obligation only. He/she lives life in a routine manner and possibly has forgotten what he/she is doing something for and why!

The lukewarm person lacks the love for God and this is the primary reason for lukewarmness.

The sad truth is that person may have started out strong, being very enthusiastic about serving God and others, praying, good works, etc.

But somewhere along the way, the person lost the "zeal", that fiery enthusiasm in doing good, and pretty much these things became routinary for him/her.

The fruits of lukewarmness are common indeed - sadness, laziness, taking our blessings for granted, taking people for granted, taking the gift of life for granted, etc.

From time to time, even the most persevering person is tempted to be lukewarm, lazy in his/her duties (spiritual duties, financial duties, family duties, livelihood duties, and all other duties).

Most people think it's only natural to be lukewarm from time to time. That's why they give in, because it is so common and they see other "lukewarm people". No, this is a grave error.

The key difference between the lukewarm person and the "diligent/vigilant person" is that the diligent person knows "lukewarmness" is one of the seven deadly sins and so guards against it constantly.

He/she knows lukewarmess/laziness is a "spiritual abnormality" in our soul and the spiritual life. If you love God enough more than yourself or anyone and anything, lukewarmness or any form of laziness can never overcome you at all in the first place.

From time to time we may fall to lukewarmness. Our sinful nature ("original sin" which was inherited from Adam and Eve) may defeat our nature as "children created in the image and likeness of God".

When this happens, we must do as the saints do when they sin. They immediately get back up from the fall of sin. They humble themselves and admit their sin, pray for forgiveness and go to confession. Basically, they never delay the repentance but act upon the sin as soon as possible.

And it works......

If God is the source of all love and true happiness can only come from love, how then can a person serve God in an authentic way and not be extremely happy doing it? It is impossible to love God and not be happy at the same time!

When lukwarmness occurs, there is a noticeable sadness that always takes place. This "sadness" is a major sign of lukewarmness. It can only occur when there is a lesser love for God somewhere in the process of service.

When Jesus Christ our Lord appeared to Saint Sister Faustina, He emphasized the hurt He feels from lukewarm souls. These are souls whom He has blessed but somehow, over time, they forgot God's blessings and the need to be grateful.

Two major reasons for lukewarmness:

1) We become less humble when we forget the blessings that were given us by God. To maintain our humility, constantly reminding ourselves (and others) of God's blessings is a must. Humility and gratefulness is the key to loving God more and more.

It is not only hard; it is impossible to love God (and others as well as yourself!) without humility and gratefulness. This is a universal law of God.

2) When we forget that life is short, we become vulnerable to lukewarmness. A person tends to lose the urgency of living a holy life - a prayerful life and accomplishing good works.

So the need for urgency is a major purpose in constantly meditating and reminding ourselves of the mortality of our lives. As Mama Mary said to the visionaries at Medjugorje "Never forget that your life is but a passing flower."

Of the seven virtues, the virtue that defeats lukewarmness is vigilance/dynamism.


4) Lust - The sin of lust is an abnormal desire for sexual immorality of the human body. Since our body is the temple of God the Holy Spirit Himself, this sin degrades the holiness of our bodies and makes it unsuitable for God to dwell within.

Lust is actually an idolatry - an idolization of the flesh, specifically idolization of the sexual/carnal pleasures of the body. In the Old Testament, the city of Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by God Himsef because the people there were caught up in various sins of lust.

St. Paul stated "Do you not know that your bodies are holy, and are the temple of God the Holy Spirit? He dwells within our body, so be aware of sexual immorality of the body. So use your bodies only for God's glory."

"Any other sin is a sin against others. But the sin of lust and immorality is a sin against one's own body."

As an analogy, God created food for us to be pleasurable and tasteful. However, the primary purpose of food is the well-being and nutritional needs of our body. The pleasure and taste serve only a secondary purpose.

Exactly the same principle can be applied to the gift of sex. Sex is a holy gift from God and He gave this to both men and women as a pleasurable means for procreation. But when men and women abuse this holy gift, they commit the sin of lust.

God's primary purpose for sex is for the great gift of procreation, no less than the creation of a new life. The pleasure in sex serves only a secondary purpose. Also, this sexual pleasure is only allowed for married couples.

The Church is also strict in only allowing the use of NFP or "natural family planning". So popular forms of contraceptives like condoms, pills, etc. are not allowed.

Lust, according to the teachings of the Church, has six types or species. These six are fornication, adultery, incest, seduction, rape, unnatural vice.

1) Fornication - is normal, but unlawful sex between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman . You see this trend nowadays in the modern world with colorful terms like "sexual promiscuity", "free sex", etc. all in the name of the so-called "sexual revolution".

The "modernization" of sex has produced an overly liberated view of the sexual act. The sexual act is seen as just any ordinary act which tends to justify sexual promiscuity or liberated sex activities between single, unmarried people.

The truth that sex is and has always been a holy, and therefore special act given by God Almighty Himself to both men and women is the first major flaw of "liberated sex". It cannot be treated as ordinary, like animals "doing it" anywhere on the street.

2) Adultery - is normal, but unlawful sex between a married person and a single person, or between two married people not married to each other.

We all know about stories regarding the sin of adultery in some poor couple's marriage. People we may know personally, whose marriages end up in disaster (or divorce?) when one of the partners (sometimes even both!) become unfaithful and cheat on the other.

Yeah, it's hard to be loyal to one partner, hey nobody said it's going to be easy. But when temptations to cheat do come, go back to basics and think back. "What made you become attracted to your partner?" Think of all the good times and hard times you had together. Think also of the "marriage vow" you both made in front of God and man.

Remember that no person or partner is perfect. It is said that a man starts cheating if he starts to look for the missing 10% his wife doesn't have. He may look for this in another woman.

The secret is this: Appreciate the 90% your wife already has, the good times you shared together and the bad times you endured together. Do this well, and you will fight the temptation to cheat everytime.

3) Incest - is the use of unlawful sex by a man and a woman who are related by ties of blood, or of affinity - that is, a relationship from a marriage.

It has all the terrible characters of lust, with the violation of justice (if either party is married) and violation of the holy virtue of piety.

Incest is so repugnant, it is taboo to even talk about it or mention it in ordinary human discussions. Most cultures around the world recognize its evil and disastrous effect on families and society as a whole.

To have sexual activity with someone of your blood is horrifying, to say the least. Yet, even in the Old Testament, one of King David's sons committed incest with his sister.

During World War 2, at the "Rape of Nanking" incident in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were killed in China, forced incestous acts occurred. The Japanese soldiers forced some Chinese family members to rape each other - fathers raping daughters, brothers raping sisters, etc. If they refused, their whole family was killed.

A similar incident occurred during the 1998 riots in Indonesia, under President's Suharto. Under threat of death, a Chinese family's members were also forced to rape each other - the father raping his daughter and the brother raping a sister.

4) Seduction - is the sexual violation of a virgin. It is a species of lust and is a grievous sin.

5) Rape - is the forceful sexual violation of a person. Violence used can often cause great physical and mental trauma to the victim, as well as death.

6) Unnatural vice - the lustful perversion of normal and natural sexual processes. It is considered the worst type of lust because it goes against the order of nature itself.

Unnatural vice includes lustful acts that can only be considered sodomistic: homosexuality (sexual acts w/ the same gender), bisexuality (sexual acts w/ both same and opposite genders), pedophilia (sex w/ children), bestiality (sex w/ animals), necrophilia (sex w/corpses), etc.

Remember also that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed by God (fireballs from the sky) because of the lustful, sodomistic acts the people did there. Specifically, the sin of homosexuality was prevalent.

Homosexuality has sadly increased its presence in our modern times. We're still in a state of shock at recent events of legalized "same-sex marriages" which started in San Francisco, USA, and is threatening to expand its evil in other areas of the US and the world.

Homosexuals have argued that the "definition" of marriage could include marital union between the same sex. Marriage is traditionally defined as "marital union between two people", and is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Homosexuals have wrongly argued that the statement "marital union between two people" can possibly include two people of the same gender. The Church has always maintained that only opposite genders are allowed to marry.

The Holy Bible is clear that God created both man and woman for marital union and sexual union, that God will never approve of same-sex unions or marriage.

Unbelievable. I never thought such an act was even possible. Same-sex marriage was never an issue a generation ago, as such a horrible thought was virtually unheard of!

But these are different times. The "culture of death" has caused the increase of homosexuality, as well as its other evil allies including increase in abortions, increase in divorce rates, increase in single motherhood, rise of radical feminism, and many others.

Homosexuality has to acknowledge its major flaws. The case against homosexuality:

1) If you believe that God is perfect (and He is), then you must trust Him that the gender He created you with right now is best for you. A perfect god will never make mistakes.

Homosexuals who blame God or who believe their current gender does not suit them, that they're better off as the opposite gender go against the truth that God is perfect.

2) As stated before, in the Holy Bible, God created only two genders at the garden of Eden. There is no such thing as a third sex/gender. Homosexuality is a sin, invented by men and women. It is not a normal part of creation, and is not of God's natural order. It is an abomination to God's perfect design.

3) Homosexuals who defend their acts of lust are clearly going against God's law, and are openly defying God Himself. It is an act of open rebellion, the cause of which is the source of all sin - pride.

Proud people choose to be their own god by making their own rules and not subjecting themselves to God's authority.

4) There's this deception that homosexuality is biological in nature, that therefore it is innate and cannot be changed. This is a big lie and many homosexuals fall into this trap. The tendency is to not fight homosexual feelings and behavior anymore in the belief that it is somehow "natural".

Don't. There's a lot of ongoing debate and research even right now on the causes of homosexuality but one thing is clear: there is no clear evidence that homosexuality is biological, genetic, hereditary or innate.

The evidence actually points more toward environmental factors being the cause of homosexuality, rather than biological ones. Usually, "father figure problems", lack of communicaton/closeness to a father or acceptance/bonding problems with members of the same gender.

Just look at babies and see that there is no discernible homosexual behavior. This is clear proof that homosexuality is not biological.

Of the seven virtues, the virtue that defeats lust is chastity.


5) Greed - is the inordinate desire for material/wealth or mental gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called avarice or covetousness.

Greed is more commonly known to occur in the greed for material gain. We call a person greedy or selfish when he/she is too possessive of material goods, money, property. We all know people like that, and we ourselves do fall to it as well - some more than others.

One of the direct fruits of greed is called "possessiveness" or "jealousy". Greed is usually associated with a person who has an inordinate desire for more - more money, more power, more things, etc. Possessiveness or jealousy is similar yet dfferent. It is an inordinate desire to retain or keep someone or something, even when it's time to let go. It is an inability to let go of someone or something, an over-attachment.

A possessive or jealous person is incapable of being generous to others, an unwillingness to share to other people.

So greed also occurs in the inordinate desire for more mental gain, a possessive or jealous type of greed.

The veteran superstar basketball player who bullies and downplays a new player in the team who shows talent is showing a mental greed. By refusing to be generous to others, he is showing a selfish attitude and greediness. He cannot take it when others outshine him or take his place.

Or a rich person who fears losing his life because he has become over-attached or possessive of money and worldly goods. He finds it hard to let go of his possessions and his life. Knowing life must end one day, he fears death like a plague.

The fear of loss can make one possessive. Say, in a man-woman relationship. The woman decides to break up with the man but the man cannot let go of her. He has become over-attached to her and feels he cannot live life without her.

Such possessiveness can lead to severe depressions, extreme sadness, health problems, etc. One must know how to let go when it's time to do so.

When you analyze the cause of greed, the desire for more even beyond reason and the unwillingness to let go when needed is related to too much love for oneself - in psychology, an over-inflated ego.

When one goes into greed, only one's own self is important. The love for God and others disappears. No one and nothing else matters but the self. The greedy person exists in a vacuum as if he or she were an island among people.

And sometimes envy can make people go into greed. When one feels that another person has more than him/her, that person can try to "match" the other person's possessions/achievements, to the point of acquiring more and more.

Of the seven virtues, the virtue that defeats greed is the virtue of generosity. By being more generous to others, the possessive nature of the self or our ego is restrained and overcome.


6) Envy/covetousness - is the desire for other people's traits, talents, possessions, status, achievements, etc. It is desiring something (or someone!) which someone has, but which the envious person lacks or doesn't have.

We all fall from time to time to the sin of envy. God, in His mercy and infinite generosity has blessed each and every person with exactly the right gifts. He gave us both strengths and weaknesses to make us truly unique. Thus, there is no excuse for envy.

No person is perfect. The person whom you envy could feel the same way towards you. Say, you envy someone for being a good singer (while you're only average in singing). Who knows? He/she could be envious of your great dancing skills, since he/she is a poor dancer.

The saying goes "You only want what you do not have."

Envy is a sin that says "God is not giving me enough, compared to other people". There is that constant need to compare yourself to others who you perceive are doing better than you. Hence the popular saying "Keeping up with the Joneses" is rooted in the sin of envy.

The envious person does not see his/her blessings from God, but only sees what others have. He/she has this "tunnel vision", and there is little or no gratefulness to God who gives all gifts. Thus, the grace of God is not seen or appreciated by a person in envy.

God is perfect. He does not make mistakes in giving the appropriate gifts to each person as He sees fit. The envious person is guilty therefore of accusing our perfect God of being unfair or impartial.

Envy can also make a person greedy. Thus we can say that envy can lead to greed/avarice, which is, like envy, also one of the seven deadly sins/vices. Say a person becomes envious of a neighbor wth a bigger house, he then strives to equal or surpass that person's achievement.

That envious person can be influenced by greed, as he aspires to acquire more and more money, goods, possessions. The sheer materialism can simpy overwhelm that person. And when one is greedy, one is also hesitant to give, to be generous to others. There's a fear of loss.

Envy can also lead a person into gluttony. Gluttony, like envy and greed, is also one of the seven deadly sins/vices.

Say, a person envies her friend's luxurious cars, this person over-works herself with endless hours of work. Eventually, she becomes a workaholic, a person addicted to work. Thus, the person falls into gluttony - a workaholic glutton.

Out of the seven virtues, the virtue that defeats envy is kindness. Kindness makes a person's envy go away because the person's eyes are opened to the truth of God's generosity to all His children.

No person is ever created perfect. The best tennis player may be a poor soccer player, the person with a sexy body may not be the most intelligent, the intellectual may not have good physical health, etc. We all have unique God-given gifts, strengths as well as weaknesses to balance.

In the end, no one can ever have an excuse to justify envy. When you're feeling envious, remember to be kind because God is kind to you and to others. Immediately think about what you have, what God has given you instead of what you do not have!


7) Gluttony - is defined as any activity that is obsessive in nature, an addiction that corrupts the soul. It is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one needs or requires.

This sin truly has one of the most varied forms ever known to man. When gluttony is mentioned, people usually associate it immediately with food addiction, or food gluttons. It is one of the most common forms of gluttony, but food gluttony is really just one among many other forms.

Basically, any activity we do that becomes too addicting or we become too obsessed about turns us into gluttons. Addiction/obsession is the trademark of gluttony.

The businessman who tries to be on top of his competitors works hard day and night. He loves his business, he loves working hard, he loves the challenge, and of course he loves the happiness of success, the thrill of every sale and euphoric feeling.

It doesn't mean businessmen are all workaholics, but a lot of them are. It is perfectly normal to enjoy your business or your work, but you have to be careful. Too much obsession with work, business or with sucess itself can lead to workaholism.

The key is balance. We have to lead a more balanced life. It can't be all work, and it can't be all play either.

The teenager who tries to "fit in", experiments with narcotic drugs. It starts with doing it for the fun of it, to be accepted by her peers, to shrug off peer pressure, and to be "cool".

Small doses turn to bigger ones. Marijuana turns to stronger drugs, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, etc. Before she even realizes it, she is a drug addict, a drug glutton.

A man, out of work, turns to TV viewing as an outlet, an escape from the harsh reality of not having a job. The normal viewing of a few hours turns into hours and hours of more viewing. Eventually, he becomes a "couch potato", a TV addict.

Or the elderly woman who, out of boredom, tries to spice up life by playing games at the casino. She enjoys herself too much and goes back everyday for more. She becomes a gambling addict.

One thing common in all addicts/gluttons is most of them are in a "state of denial". You tell them about their addiction and they deny it. It is hard for their ego to accept the reality of it.

Of the seven virtues, the virtue that defeats gluttony is abstinence. By abstaining from something we like or some activity we like, we make a sacrifice. We do not easily give in to what we want.

Without abstinence and sacrifice, we can become "slaves of our passion", like an animal only following its instinct without any self-control or discipline.