Sins of omission are rarely confessed in the sacrament of penance and, however, they are more common than we think, so we must be alert.
hen we pray the act of contrition we say: “I confess before Almighty God, and before you, brothers, that I have sinned greatly in thought, word, deed and omission …”
However, perhaps we have not thought about this serious issue. What does omit mean? and above all, what are the sins of omission?
Sin with the senses
We know, from what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, that sin is an offense against God (CIC 1850), and is defined like this:
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and a right conscience; It is a lack of true love for God and for one’s neighbor, due to a perverse attachment to certain goods. It hurts the nature of man and attacks human solidarity (CIC 1849).
We also know that there are venial sins and serious or mortal sins that destroy the sanctifying grace of our soul. And we understand that we can sin with our senses and with our mind. However, we can also sin with what we stop doing.
© ptrabattoni
What can we omit?
The dictionary defines the word omit as “Refrain from doing something.” So how can abstaining be a sin? For if we refrain from doing evil, we can also refrain from doing good. For example:
- Ignoring the need of the poor, omitting to provide help.
- Stop giving good advice to those who seek us, knowing that we could do it.
- Not listening to those who require relief, claiming not to have time.
- Preventing someone from committing a sin because we don’t want problems
Omission to do good
It is important that we understand that Christians should not only not commit bad actions, as stated in the ten commandments of God’s law or the commandments of Holy Mother Church. Complying with the commandments is very good, but it is not everything.
It is here that we encounter the next step toward holiness: doing good, exercising charity, treating others as we want to be treated, and everything that our Lord Jesus Christ came to teach by word and example.
works of mercy
Becoming one with those who suffer in body, mind and spirit, detaching ourselves from our selfishness and comfort, is what the Lord expects of his true followers: to shake off laziness and indifference and to sympathize with those who suffer, resolving together with them their needs.
Jesus, the Lord, was very clear: “As they did it to the least of my brothers, they did it to me” ( Mt 25, 40 ).
It is time for us to do a good examination of conscience and the next time we confess, we say how many and what our sins of omission have been, because perhaps we did not know that those can also make us lose Heaven.
