Is Lack Of Faith A Sin?
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“O God, let all the nations praise you!”Ps. 67
It is a grave sin the lack of faith in God; it can be mortal, because it separates us and deprives us of God, of communion and of divine life, because faith is precisely the basic thing to access these free gifts to receive God Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our souls. There are many quotations that refer to this in the New Testament; the just live by faith (Rom 1:17) which tells us that without faith he has no life, as the word repeats insistently. Of course, only God sees hearts and only He knows in each case whether or not the decision not to believe in Him is guilty; therefore, only He can know.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life…. He who believes in him is not condemned; but He who does not believe has already been condemned For he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”John 3:16,36
“He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”Mark 16:16
This tells us that without faith we continue in death, for To have eternal life we need to open our hearts to Him by faith.
“Jesus answered them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But you say, ‘We see,’ and that is the proof of your sin.”Juan 9:41
Say that they see, it is like saying that they know the truth, but it is not possible if they He rejects the one who is the truth, and is considered a liar. It is the sin of Adam and Eve, and of the same devil, who takes for a liar God who is the pure truth, and closing himself to the truth, he has chosen lies and remains in darkness. Truth is what teaches us knowledge through faith, so We Should Seek Faith to have the truth and the life, for as the Word insists only by faith do you have eternal Life. And Faith is reached by the preaching of the gospel (Rom 10:14) so keep an open ear.
Many men still prefer darkness to light, the deception of the evil one to obedience and divine truth. The sin would be not to seek the light and the truth, to stagnate in the search turning a deaf ear to God and the Church, because this is the cause of not having faith; they decide to believe other voices, less reliable than that of God, that of the world, demon or ego. God tells us something, but the devil arrives who takes God for a liar and many prefer to believe the lies of the devil, wanting to be like gods, and bite the bait with the deadly bait. The devil is the father of lies and lies come from within:
“The serpent said to the woman: You shall not die: but God knows that the dav they eat of him. their eyes will be opened, and they will be like God, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3,4
Of course, just the opposite happened.
Many do not want to listen, they decide not to believe, because they do not want God in their lives, and therefore they leave Him out, losing the giver of eternal Life. This is the great mortal sin, the mortal decision that deprives many of the divine life that Christ came to give us even though it cost him to assume our human condition, consequence of sin and suffer humiliations, calumnies, tortures and death. Many however decide to blindly look the other way and not receive that love and life from God.
“When he comes, he will refute the world concerning sin, the way of righteousness, and judgment… What sin? That they didn’t believe in me.”Juan 16:8
Readings for the Week
Sunday: Is 56:1, 6-7/Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (4)/Rom 11:13-15, 29-32/Mt 15:21-28
Monday: Jgs 2:11-19/Ps 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43ab and 44/Mt 19:16-22
Tuesday: Jgs 6:11-24a/Ps 85:9, 11-12, 13-14/Mt 19:23-30
Wednesday: Jgs 9:6-15/Ps 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7/Mt 20:1-16
Thursday: RV 21:9b-14/Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18/Jn 1:45-51
Friday: Ru 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22/Ps 146:5-Sab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10/Mt 22:34-40
Saturday: Ru 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17/ Ps 128:1b-2, 3, 4, 5/Mt 23:1-12
Next Sunday: Is 22:19-23/Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8/Rom 11:33-36/Mt 16:13-20
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: St. Pius X, Pope
Tuesday: The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday: St. Rose of Lima, Virgin
Thursday: St. Bartholomew, Apostle
Friday: St. Louis; St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest
Next Sunday: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time