5/25 THE BOOK OF HEAVEN AND THE BALTIMORE CATECHISM NO. 3
The Book of Heaven and the Baltimore Catechism No. 3
LESSON SIXTH: On Sin and Its Kinds – Part 2 of 3
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287. How can we know what sins are considered mortal?
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We can know what sins are considered mortal from Holy Scripture; from the teaching of the Church, and from the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church.
Volume 35 – September 6, 1937
See, the great necessity to possess our Divine Will and to live in It? With It we can do everything: deliver our most beautiful works; maintain our scope in force; form the Lives of our Being – as many as we want. Without our Will all is hampered: obstructed, our Love; obstructed, our Power; arrested, our works. One could say that we remain as a God mute for the creatures. What ingratitude! What a crime, to reduce Us to silence! While we wanted to honor the creatures with our Life in them – as the residences for our delights and wonders – they have rejected us, not giving us the freedom to form that Life. In our place they gave residence to passions, sin and the most ugly vices. Poor man, without our Will. Without divine purpose! It would be as if he wanted to live without breath, heartbeat or blood circulation, which are the foundations of human life
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288. Why is it wrong to judge others guilty of sin?
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It is wrong to judge others guilty of sin because we cannot know for certain that their sinful act was committed with sufficient reflection and full consent of the will.
Volume 1
‘Lord’, I said to Him, ‘I lack everything – I have nothing.’ “Well then”, He said to me, “do not fear, little by little we will do everything. I Myself know how weak you are, but it is from Me that you must draw strength.” (I don’t remember it in sequence, but I will say what I can) And He added: “I want you to be always upright in your operating – with one eye look at Me, and with the other eye look at what you are doing. I want creatures to disappear from you completely. If you receive a command, do not look at the people, no – but you must think that I Myself want you to do what you are being commanded. So, with your eye fixed in Me, you will not judge anyone, you will not look at whether the thing is painful or enjoyable – whether you can do it or not. Closing your eyes to all this, you will open them to look at Me alone; you will take Me together with you, thinking that my gaze is fixed on you, and you will say to Me: ‘Lord, for You alone I do this; for You alone I want to work – no longer a slave of the creatures.’ So, if you walk, if you work, if you speak – in anything you do, your only aim must be that of pleasing Me alone. Oh! how many defects you will avoid, if you do this.”
1289. What sin does he commit who without sufficient reason believes another guilty of sin?
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He who without sufficient reason believes another guilty of sin commits a sin of rash judgment.
Volume 10 – January 19, 1911
“My beautiful daughter – but beautiful of my own beauty, you afflict yourself because of the things they say?
Do not afflict yourself. Ask father B., poor child of Mine, how much he suffered because of Me from his superiors, from his brothers and from others, to the point of declaring him a fool, an enchanter, and of making it a duty for themselves to penalize him. And what was his crime? Love! Feeling ashamed of their lives compared to his, they waged war on him, and still do. Ah! how costly is the crime of love! Love costs Me much, and much it costs my dear children! But I love him very much, and because of what he has suffered, I have given him Myself as reward, and I dwell in him. Poor son of Mine, they don’t leave him alone; they spy on him everywhere, which they don’t do to others – to find, who knows, some matter on which to correct him and mortify him. But since I am with him, I render their arts vain. Give him courage, but – oh! how terrible will be the judgment I will make on those who dare to mistreat my dear children!”
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290. What is venial sin?
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Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance, or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.
Volume 3 – January 5, 1900
“My daughter, sin is a poisonous and deadly embrace to the soul, if it is grave; and not only to her, but also to all the virtues present in the soul. If then it is venial, it is a wounding embrace, which renders the soul very weak and infirm, and together with her the virtues which she had acquired also become infirm. What a deadly weapon sin is! Sin alone can wound and give death to the soul! Nothing else can harm her, nothing else but sin alone renders her opprobrious and odious before Me.”
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291. Can we always distinguish venial from mortal sin?
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We cannot always distinguish venial from mortal sin, and in such cases we must leave the decision to our confessor.
Volume 13 – November 16, 1921
As man begins to fall into sin, he remains bound with the chains of his own sin; if it is grave, they are iron chains; if venial, they are chains of rope. So, as he tries to walk in good, he feels the hindrance of the chains, and his step remains hindered. This hindrance he feels wears him out, debilitates him, and leads him to new falls. If he operates, he feels the hindrance in his hands and remains almost as if he had no hands to do good. In seeing him bound like this, passions make feast and say: ‘The victory is ours’; and from king as he is, they render him slave of brutal passions. How abominable man is in the state of sin! And I, in order to break his chains, wanted to be bound and never wanted to be without chains, so as to keep my chains ever ready to break his. And when the blows and the shoves made Me fall, I stretched my hands toward him to untie him and render him free again.”
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292. Can slight offenses ever become mortal sins?
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Slight offenses can become mortal sins if we commit them through defiant contempt for God or His law; and also when they are followed by very evil consequences, which we foresee in committing them.
Volume 24 – April 22, 1928
My Will is light, while the human will is darkness; my Will is sanctity, while the human is sin; Mine is beauty and contains every good, while the human is ugliness and contains every evil. Therefore, by not doing my Will, the soul makes the light die, and gives death to sanctity, to beauty and to all goods; and by doing her will, she makes darkness rise, and gives life to sin, to ugliness and to all evils. Yet, doing their own will seems nothing to creatures, while they dig themselves an abyss of evils which leads them to the precipice. And then, does it seem trivial to you that while my Will brings them Its light, Its sanctity, Its beauty and all of Its goods, and only because It loves these creatures – It receives the affront of seeing Its light, Its sanctity, Its beauty and all of Its goods die in them? My Humanity felt so much this death which the human will gave to the light and sanctity of Its Will within the creatures, that one can say that this was the true death It felt, because It felt the torment and the weight of a death of an infinite light and sanctity, which creatures had dared to destroy within themselves. And my Humanity moaned and felt crushed by as many deaths for as many times as they had dared to give death to the light and sanctity of my Divine Will within them. What harm would it not be for nature if they made the light of the sun, the wind that purifies, the air that they breathe, die? There would be such disorder that creatures would all die. Yet, the light of my Will is more than sun for souls – more than wind that purifies and air that forms their breathing. So, from the disorder produced if they could make the light of the sun, the wind and the air die, you can comprehend the harm produced by not doing my adorable Will, which is the act of primary life and the center of all creatures.”
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293. Which are the effects of venial sin?
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The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our heart, the making us less worthy of Hishelp, and the weakening of the power to resist mortal sin.
Volume 22 – June 20, 1927
Each act of the human will has been a stone that covered the beautiful earth created by Me; each venial sinhas been a thorn, each grave sin has been a poison, and each good done outside of my Will has been likesand scattered over the land which, invading it completely, prevented the vegetation of even the smallest plantor some blade of grass which might sprout from underneath the stones. Now, my daughter, each act of yoursdone in my Will must remove one stone – and how many acts it takes to remove them all! And by nevergiving life to your will, you will call back the refulgent rays of the Sun of the Supreme Fiat to shine overthese tenebrous lands, and these rays will call the mighty wind of grace which, with empire, will stir all thatsand – that is, all that good done neither to do my Will, nor in It, nor out of love for Me, but good done toearn human esteem, glory and interest. Oh! how heavy this apparent good is – more than sand whichprevents the vegetation of souls and renders them so sterile as to arouse pity. Then, the Sun of my Will, withIts fecundity, will change the thorns into flowers and fruits, and the wind of my grace will be thecounterpoison and will pour life into souls.
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294. How can we know a thought, word or deed to be sinful?
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We can know a thought, word or deed to be sinful if it, or the neglect of it, is forbidden by any law of God orof His Church, or if it is opposed to any supernatural virtue.
Volume 4 – October 3, 1901
My daughter, there is no greater obstacle which prevents the union between creatures and Myself, and whichis opposed to my Grace, than one’s own will. You, by offering me your heart for my satisfaction, haveemptied yourself of yourself; and because of your emptying yourself of yourself, I will pour all of Myself intoyou, and from your heart a praise will come to Me which will carry the same notes as the praise that myHeart gives to my Father continuously, to satisfy for the glory that men do not give Him.”
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295. Which are the chief sources of sin?
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The chief sources of sin are seven:
1.Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth,and they are commonly called capital sins.
Volume 1
On the other hand, with those who know themselves, I am generous in pouring my graces in torrents. Knowing very well that they can attribute nothing to themselves, they are grateful to Me, they hold it in thatesteem which befits it, and they live with the continuous fear that, if they do not correspond to Me, I may takeaway from them that which I gave, knowing that it is not something of their own. All the opposite in thehearts which reek of pride. I cannot even enter into their hearts because they are so swollen with themselvesthat there is no space in which to put Myself. The miserable ones take my graces into no account, and theygo from fall to fall, up to their ruin. Therefore, on this day I want you to make continuous acts of humility; Iwant you to be like a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, who can move neither a foot to take a step, nor ahand to work, but expects everything from his mother. In the same way, you will stay close to Me like a baby,always praying Me to assist you, to help you; always confessing to Me your nothingness – in sum, expectingeverything from Me.”
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296. What is pride?
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Pride is an excessive love of our own ability; so that we would rather sinfully disobey than humble ourselves.
Volume 3 – November 19, 1899
“My daughter, pride corrodes grace. In the hearts of the proud there is nothing but a void all full of smoke, which produces blindness. Pride does nothing but render oneself an idol, and so the proud soul does not have her God with her. By sin, she has tried to destroy Him in her heart, and raising an altar within her heart, she places herself on it, and she adores herself.”
Oh, God, what an abominable monster this vice is! It seems to me that if the soul is attentive not to let it
enter into herself, she is free of all other vices; but if, to her misfortune, she lets herself be dominated by it,
since it is a monstrous and wicked mother, it will deliver all of its naughty children for her, which are the other sins. Ah, Lord, keep it away from me!
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297. What effect has pride on our souls?
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Pride begets in our souls sinful ambition, vainglory, presumption and hypocrisy.
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, Our Lord made Himself seen once again with the crown of thorns on His head, all dripping with blood; and turning to me, He said: “Daughter, take a look at what men do to Me. In these sad times their pride is so great that they have poisoned all the air; and the stench that spreads everywhere is such that it has reached even before my throne in Heaven. They act in such a way as to close Heaven by themselves. The miserable ones do not have eyes to know the truth, because they are obfuscated by the sin of pride, followed by the other vices which they bring with themselves.
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298. What is covetousness?
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Covetousness is an excessive desire for worldly things.
Volume 6 – December 24, 1903
As soon as the soul begins to desire Me, I am conceived; the more she advances in her desire, the more I keep growing in the soul; and when this desire fills her whole interior and reaches the point of overflowing outside, then I am reborn in the whole of man – in his mind, in his mouth, in his works and steps. In the opposite way, the devil also makes his births in souls. As soon as the soul begins to desire and to want evil, the devil is conceived with his perverted works; and if this desire is nourished, the devil grows and fills all of man’s interior with passions, the most ugly and disgusting ones, and reaches the point of overflowing outside, as man lets all vices rush in. My daughter, how many births the devil makes in these most sad times! If men and demons had the power to do it, they would have destroyed my births in souls.”
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299. What effect has covetousness on our souls?
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Covetousness begets in our souls unkindness, dishonesty, deceit and want of charity.
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So, Jesus would come, He would take me in His arms, He would draw me close to His Heart, and – oh! how I would feel life come back to me. Then, He would pour a most sweet liqueur from His lips, and in this way the pains would mitigate. Other times, He would take me around together with Him. If there were sins of blasphemy, against charity and others, He would pour those poisonous bitters; if then there were sins of dishonesty, He would pour something of a stinking rottenness, and when I would return into myself, I could feel that stink so well, and the stench would be such, that it would revolt my stomach and I would feel faint. And sometimes, after taking food, when I would bring it up, I could feel that rot come out of my mouth, mixed with the food.
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300. What is lust?
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Lust is an excessive desire for the sinful pleasures forbidden by the Sixth Commandment.
Volume 4 – April 16, 1902
“My daughter, everything is in repressing the first motions; if the soul is attentive in this, everything will go well; but if she is not, at the first motions which are not repressed, passions will come out and break the divine fortress which surrounds the soul like a hedge in order to keep her well guarded, and to move away from her the enemies which always try to lay traps for her, and to harm the poor soul. However, if as soon as she perceives it, she enters into herself, humiliates herself, repents, and remedies it with courage, the divine fortress closes again around the soul; if on the other hand she does not remedy it, the divine fortress,
broken as it is, will let all vices rush in. Therefore, if you want the fortress not to leave you alone even for one instant, be attentive to the first motions, thoughts and words which are not upright and holy, because once the first ones have escaped you, it is no longer the soul that reigns, but rather, passions dominate.”
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301. What effect has lust on our souls?
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Lust begets in our souls a distaste for holy things, a perverted conscience, a hatred for God, and it very frequently leads to a complete loss of faith.
Volume 12 – July 11, 1919
Therefore, if the heaven of our mind thinks in a saintly way, as thoughts are formed, stars, suns and beautiful comets are formed as well; and as our Angel sees them formed, he takes them and places them in the heaven of our intelligence. And if the heaven of our mind is holy, the gaze is holy, the word, the desire and the heartbeat are holy. Therefore, the gazes are stars, the word is light, the desire is comet that extends, the heartbeat is sun, and each one of the senses adorns its own heaven. On the other hand, if the mind is evil, nothing beautiful is formed; rather, such darkness spreads as to obscure the other heavens. So, the gaze sends flashes of impatience; the word thunders with blasphemies; the desires cast lightnings of brutal passions; the heart unleashes from its womb a devastating hail over all the works of the creature. Poor heavens, they are obscure – how pitiful they are!
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302. What is anger?
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Anger is an excessive emotion of the mind excited against any person or thing, or it is an excessive desire for revenge.
Volume 9 – November 20, 1909
“My daughter, one who takes the cross according to human views finds it muddy, and therefore heavier and more bitter. On the other hand, one who takes the cross according to divine views finds it full of light, light and sweet. In fact, the human views are without grace, strength and light, therefore she has the boldness to say: ‘Why did that person do that wrong to me? Why did this one cause me this displeasure, this alumny?’ And the soul fills herself with indignation, with anger, with revenge, and so the cross becomes muddy, dark, heavy and bitter. On the other hand, the divine views are full of grace, of strength and of light, therefore she does not have the boldness to say: ‘Lord, why did you do this to me?’ On the contrary, she humbles herself, she resigns herself, and the cross becomes light and brings her light and sweetness.” “she…hid them under her mantle, so that not one evil might be able to harm those people that her Maternal goodness held in her custody, guarded and defended “
Book of Heaven –June 6 A.D. 1935
How who lives in the Volition of God holds God himself in her power. The Queen of Heaven turns through all the nations in order to put in safety her children.
… “My daughter courage, everything will serve to the triumph of my Will, if I strike it is because I want to restore health, my love is so much, that when I can not conquer by way of love and graces, I seek to conquer by way of terror and fright, human weakness is so much that many times she doesn’t care for my graces, she is deaf to my voices, laughs at my love, but it is enough to touch (her) skin, to take away the necessary things to natural life, that she abases her arrogance, feels so humiliated that she makes herself a rag, and I do that which I want with her, especially if they don’t have a perfidious and obstinate will, it is enough one chastisement, to see herself on the edge of the sepulcher, that they return in my arms. You should know that I always love my children, my beloved creatures, I would eviscerate Myself in order not to see them stricken, so much so that in the deadly times to come, I have put them all in the hands of my Celestial Mama, to Her I have entrusted them, so that she holds them for Me under her secure mantle, I will give (to Her) all those that She will want, death itself won’t have power over those that will be in (the) custody of my Mama.” Now while he said this, my dear Jesus made me see with facts that the Sovereign Queen descended from Heaven with an indescribable Majesty, and a tenderness all Maternal, and turned in the midst of creatures, in all the nations and marked her dear children and those that should not be touched by the scourges, whomever my Celestial Mama touched, the scourges didn’t have power to touch the creatures. Sweet Jesus gave the right to his Mama to put in safety whom She pleased. How moving it was to see the Celestial Empress turn in all the parts of the world that she took between (her) Maternal hands, she assembled them to her breast, hid them under her mantle, so that not one evil might be able to harm those people that her Maternal goodness held in her custody, guarded and defended. Oh! If everyone might be able to see with how much love and tenderness the Celestial Queen did this office, they would cry from consolation and would love She who so very loves us.
Fiat!
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