Luke 16:29
“They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.”
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When you steal, you committed a sin. When you lust or covet another man’s wife, it is a grave sin. How about seeing a person in pain, lying on the street and instead of helping, you just go your way. Is it a sin? Or seeing someone hungry and yet you do nothing?
Sad to say, but yes… you could be committing the sin of omission.
The “sin of omission” is defined as the willful neglect or positive refusal to perform some good action that one's conscience urges one to do. Its gravity depends on the importance of what should have been done, on the person's willfulness, and the circumstances of the situation.
Our relationship with God is not only one of being aware of what evil we do, but also being aware of the good we don't do. The good things we are called to do are not to be done only when it is convenient for us, but at all times.
In today’s gospel, the rich man was thrown to hell NOT because he maltreated Lazarus, but rather, since he did not do anything to alleviate the poor man’s suffering and pain. The rich man, as he saw the beggar starving at his doorstep and could easily have reached out to him and helped Lazarus to become well again.
What we fail to do can make us just as guilty as what we do. A sin is a wrong choice, and to decide not to do something is just as much of a choice as to decide to do something.
Let us pray +
I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do. May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen +
Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
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