It’s normal to be afraid of being bitten by a snake, whose deadly poison kills in just a few minutes. This is especially true in places where such a danger is a reality and not just a remote possibility: one walks through the natural habitat of these perilous creatures with redoubled attention to any suspicious movement….and if possible one even tries to avoid such places.
However, few are those who fear an incomparably more lethal species, whose sting causes a tremendouly more grave death – that of the soul, separating one from God for all eternity! We are speaking about sin. Yes sin, whose gravity is such that numerous saints and spiritual authors felt the need to expound upon it with perfect clarity, so as to avoid any vague expressions that could be used as by our human tendency — so typical in our fallen nature — to pay less attention to the realities of the life to come.
That’s why it seems timely to recall some important points of the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church on this topic. Read on…