Email received from Cami Murphy on the 7 deadly sins part of her presentation during the Summer Spiritual Retreat

Email received from Cami Murphy on the 7 deadly sins

These are my notes, which come partly from a website for Catholic Bible 101, a page on the 7 deadly sins, and partly just from things I have read or been told in the past:

1.  Lust- focus on pleasure to the point that we treat other persons as objects for our pleasure. (Of course, most Catholics know that fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and masturbation are mortal sins.) Chastity overcomes the sin of lust.(Chastity is the giving of self according to God's will for the vocation that we are in: matrimony, priesthood, religious life, or Christian single life.)

2.  Greed- Compulsive need for more, more, more for me, me, me. The part in Finding Nemo of the seagulls calling, "mine, mine, mine..." reminds me of greed. Generosity overcomes the sin of greed.

3.  Gluttony- an excess of anything (food, drink, toys television, entertainment, sex, or company). Temperance overcomes gluttony.

4.  Envy- Envy loves what other people possess rather than what is Good, Beautiful, and True. Brotherly love overcomes envy.

5.  Anger- Anger can be as mild as impatience and, of course, as grievous as murder. Hatred and unforgiveness are also mortal sins, if a person is not working to overcome them. Meekness overcomes anger.

6.  Pride- the "unholy trinity" of "me, myself, and I, instead of the Most Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Humility overcomes pride. 3 ways to destroy pride:

·         Be grateful to anyone and everyone. Treat even the things people are expected to do as great gifts.

·         Beg forgiveness of God for the sin of pride. Go before Him in prayer every day, or even every few hours, to beg His forgiveness for our pride.

·         Ask God for a spirit of humility and gratitude.

7. Sloth is not caring enough to put forth the effort to grow spiritually, or (according to Fr. Moreno) not sharing the spiritual 

         gifts that we receive. Diligence overcomes sloth.

I didn't remember to say this during the retreat, but these sins truly become deadly sins (according to Fr. Moreno) when they totally separate us from God, and they are then mortal sins. For instance, greed can be a mortal sin if we are totally concerned with obtaining "more, more, more" money or things, to the extent that we have no room in our hearts and souls for God.