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What Are Sins Of The Flesh

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: It’s true that some people in the Church give more attention to sins of the flesh than of the spirit.

There are various reasons for that. For one thing, sins of the flesh are more external and can have a quicker and lasting impact on individuals and families and societies. We can think of some of the fallout from sins of the flesh, including divorce, broken families, abortion, and injuries and deaths from drunken driving.

It’s not correct to say that there are “no victims” in fornication. Many people have been left heartbroken because of promiscuity. And many children have been born of fornication and grow up without a stable home life.

Fornication can lead to a greater incidence of divorce later, since spouses didn’t learn the virtue of chastity during their time in the single life. And, of course, there are the countless abortions and subsequent psychological and physical problems that many women suffer because of those abortions.

Moreover, sins of the flesh are popular — which is why they are especially insidious.

This doesn’t mean that other sins aren’t worse. Murder is certainly at a different level than fornication. And, regrettably, many people fail to see the grave nature of sins such as racism, anger, detraction and greed.

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If Jesus showed mercy toward tax collectors and prostitutes, it’s partly because they were some of the most repentant people.

(By the way, Ask a Priest can’t recall anyone ever complaining about “the churches” speaking up too much about contraception.)

The point is, a whole range of grave sins can lead to the eternal loss of a soul. The devil will be content with any sin that leads a soul to hell.

In any case, a soul lost because of sins of impurity will find little comfort in knowing that others in hell are suffering worse for their sins.

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