Youcat commented through CCC - Question n. 67 - Part III.

YOUCAT Question n. 67 - Part III.  What is sin?

(Youcat answer - repeated) At the core of sin is a rejection of God and the refusal to accept his love. This is manifested in a disregard for his commandments.     

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 1848) As St. Paul affirms, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom 5:20). But to do its work grace must uncover sin so as to convert our hearts and bestow on us "righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 5:21). Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin: Conversion requires convincing of sin; it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being a proof of the action of the Spirit of truth in man's inmost being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love: "Receive the Holy Spirit." Thus in this "convincing concerning sin" we discover a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience and the gift of the certainty of redemption. The Spirit of truth is the Consoler (John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem, 31 § 2).    

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Sin is more than incorrect behavior; it is not just a psychological weakness. In the deepest sense every rejection or destruction of something good is the rejection of good in itself, the rejection of God. In its most profound and terrible dimension, sin is separation from God and, thus, separation from the source of life. That is why death is another consequence of sin. Only through Jesus do we understand the abysmal dimension of sin: Jesus suffered God’s rejection in his own flesh. He took upon himself the deadly power of sin so that it would not strike us. The term that we use for this is redemption. …

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 1870) "God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all" (Rom 11:32). (CCC 1846) The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners (Cf. Lk 15). The angel announced to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). The same is true of the Eucharist, the sacrament of redemption: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28).    

(This question:  What is sin? is continued)