Mortal sins you may not know you are committing

As Lent is quickly approaching, many of us will make a dash to the confessional and try to fulfill our obligation for the season. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is under utilized and experienced by most Catholics. Many have convinced themselves they do not need the sacrament or have not been “that bad”.  There are sins, however, we commit daily for which we stand accountable to the Lord that we may not realize are even sins.

Jesus warns his disciples in Matthew 5 of dangerous and soul killing sins that many of us ignore. Jesus references the 10 Commandments, which we all should recognize as mortal sins, when he digs a little deeper into how we violate these commands.

“You heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison……You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:21-25, 27-28)

So much for the “I can look but not touch” mentality many individuals have when it comes to other women or men with whom they are not in a relationship. Jesus says if you even lust after a person you see then you have committed adultery if you are married. He says if you are angry with someone and have not forgiven them then you are guilty of murder.

It is easy to read the commandments and think “well I haven’t killed anyone” or “I haven’t stolen from anyone” but how often do we really examine the truth behind how Jesus teaches us to view these commands? We cannot bring our gifts of praise, worship, adoration, and prayer to the Lord and expect Him to bless them when we are angry at someone, have an unforgiving attitude toward them, and are lusting after others who are not our spouse. We cannot expect God to bless us when we steal from our employer by cutting corners on our time and work product or when we steal from the IRS by ‘exaggerating’ on our taxes.

Lent provides us an opportunity to start over with a clean slate. We are given the chance to run to the Sacrament of Reconciliation throughout the year. It is even more crucial we go to Confession during Lent. It is during this season that we recognize and honor the sacrifice the Lord Jesus made for us to forgive us of our sins. The least we can do is be honest and transparent about our actions and feelings in Confession.