"What is Conscience?"

By Paul Dion, STL

This will take us down some rather interesting paths. Go for it!

A great many of us consider a lot of things when we consider behavior, ours and that of others. We look around to see if anyone is watching. We review the ten commandments, the civil law, the rules of the "game", the "political" impact of our actions.

The question for this week then is:

"What is conscience, and what role does it play in our Christian lives?"


This is not a pop quiz - there are no pass or fail marks. Nor is this an intellectual exercise. It is a mere opportunity to look into your hearts and let your spirituality speak out. If you are too shy, you can always post anonymously.

So let us know what you think. Post a thought today.

What commandments require restitution?

By Paul Dion, STL

I decided that I would make this week's burning question a challenge for you all. You all know that Catholics believe that sinful acts against God's wishes can be forgiven by participating in the sacrament of Penance.

What is essentially required for this sacramental forgiveness is a truthful and complete confession to a priest, a firm resolve to avoid the behavior in the future and atoning reparation. The reparation can be a good act or several good acts of varying degrees of "difficulty" or proximity of relationship with the sin(s) for which absolution has been granted.

There are however sins against three specific commandments that require restitution to effect complete atonement and divine forgiveness.

Here's the Burning Question: Name the three commandments.

It's all yours. Tell us what you think.

"What is the Worst Sin?"

By Paul Dion, STL, ParishWorld Theology Editor

Rarely do we at ParishWorld.net dedicate so much space to "sin". This time we do. Since we celebrate the mystery of the breadth and the depth of God's love and glory, we grow up with the deep faith that He has the power to create, to support and to save anyone. ParishWorld.net is a part of that faith and we are happy that you accompany us down the road of faith.

Interestingly there are other forces on the Internet that are not as positively dedicated as we are. Sometimes questions do arise about sin and its consequences. Lately there has been a discussion about the worst sin. It seems to be a strange question.

Every sin insults God, and what could be worse than that? In the same thought, every sin insults His creatures too, including the sinner himself. So often, when we consider the concept of sin, we don't include ourselves as being the object of our own insult. We insult our souls, our heart, our mind, our body, our family and the wider community of those with whom we keep company every day.

So, allow us to ask the question, "What is the Worst Sin?" Consider this question not only in the context of an insult to God, but in the context of the greatest possible damage that we could do both to God and to ourselves through sin.

What do you think it is? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Share your comments with the rest of the world.

CLICK HERE to view the answers to this burning question.

Is there such a thing as sinning by omission?

By Paul Dion, STL

Most of the time when we seek guideposts for our behavior, we look for guidance concerning the acts that we should do to be righteous.  By the same token we seek to name the acts that we should not do so as not to commit sin.  It is therefore common practice to run to the Ten Commandments in our mind thereby reminding ourselves to do the acts that they dictate to us.  When we have done that we also tend to realize that these same commandments tell us to avoid certain behaviors because they are bad.

The question before us now though aims at something different.  The question is, “Is it sinful to refrain from doing good things that are expected from us by God?”  To be practical, the question could be:

“Is it sinful not to pray?”

“Is it sinful not to go to confession for long periods of time? [Years, for example]

“Is it sinful to avoid helping someone who needs help when it would be possible, in fact, to render aid?

“Is it sinful to stay away from visiting parents confined in a nursing home?

“Is it sinful to refrain from supporting the parish where we attach our religious practice?

“Is it sinful to not instruct our children about God and about praying to God?

In short, is it sinful to lurk in the shadows and not be a participating member of the Communion of Saints?

Click here for the answer to the Burning Question.

"Is it a sin to look to the horoscope for serious "guidance" in our lives?"

By Paul Dion, STL

Hey, Bro, what sign are you?
Aquarius, dude. You?

Pisces. Slick and smoothe in your wave.

What's your lady's sign?

She's a Scorpio. Good fit, I'll say.

My, my, what is going on here? This is a conversation that I overheard just outside the door of the Adult Confirmation catechism session. Two nice Catholic young men sizing one another up to see if they were going to be able to have a stable and friendly relationship if their Zodiac signs were right. I just shook my head and made a note that the next time I am in the room with this group that I would have a little fun with them about star alignments and what they mean to us...and what they don't mean.

Why would Catholics be intrigued by such fantasies? Would western Catholics have the same "matches" and "mismatches" as eastern ones? Would I be in in trouble if my western "pisces" were to be in conflict with my eastern "ox"?

When I was in parochial school some years ago, we were warned by the nuns that believing in the dictates of the Zodiac was against the first comandment. That didn't stop some of us from checking the horoscope in the newspaper every day to see what was going to happen to us the next day. (We had an evening newspaper.) Our big excuse was that it was only fun. Our big reason was that the stuff we read never happened anyway. I have to admit that a couple of us were more serious about checking out the stars than others.

Our question this week therefore is: "Is it against the first commandment to look to the horoscope for serious "guidance" in our lives?

Don't just say "yes" or "no", give us a reason why you have the opinion that you throw out on the table.

Click here to read the answer to the burning question.

Is Gambling a Sin?

By Paul Dion, STL


Catholics have often been accused of being very loose with their morals with regards certain human activities. After all, we drink, we dance, we play cards and we even gamble.

Gambling is considered to be rather nasty because it seems to take away from God the determination of what is going to happen next. It puts the welfare of the gambler at the mercy of the "odds" and not into the hands of God where it belongs.

Gambling is an insult to God's Providence. The gambler is trying to achieve a treasure that has not been foreseen by God, thereby manifesting a lack of trust in the all - loving Creator and Savior.

Now, in any man's language, isn't that a sin? So tell me, Gambler, are you holdin' or foldin' as God looks you in the eyes and dares you to up the ante?

You're right, the Burning Question of the week is, "Is it a sin to gamble?"

Are you reading this from the "hot spot" at your favorite casino? What about the recreational trips to the casino? Church Bingo? Are they all sins? Where do we draw the line?

Share your thoughts with us. Post a comment today.