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brian
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Chicago South Burbs, Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 720 |
| First Name: | brian | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | methodist, evangelical, anglican, catholic |
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Posted: Wed Oct 24th, 2007 11:58 pm |
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Say a person (hypothetical situation but similar to one that has come up a few times) was deciding to give some particular food (lets just say its granola bars) up for the day as a penitential act or mortification etc. It is not a friday or holy day penance but a personal commitment. What if later in the day their mind is elsewhere or they are distracted and they see some of this particular food laying around and out of habit they just grab one and start eating it.
Is this a sin or simply forgetting something? Should the person feel worse because they failed at something they wanted to do for God or should they be happy and humble since they were not actually required to perform this task in the first place.And lastly, say they were starting to eat the granola bar and half way through eating it, it jumps in their mind that they were not supposed to be eating granola bars today. What then should they do? Is it better to throw the rest away (even if somebody else paid for it) and go back directly to fulfilling the commintment, or is itbetter to finish the food so as to not be wasteful.
On the one hand I would think you should stop as soon as you remember because failing to follow through with what you commit to God is maybe worse than wasting food , on the other it seems wrong to just throw something uneaten away especially if someone else paid for it and you took it out of their hospitality. Not at a dinner, but just going through their pantry or something and asking to take something. Any thoughts?
Brian
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1715 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 12:55 am |
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Brian, who decided that he would not eat X that day? You. Who’s in charge of what you decide? You.
Sure, you meant the sacrificial act as an homage to God. But you forgot. Well, people forget. No harm done. You’re human.
You made the decision; you can change your mind just as easily as you can forget. You’re not breaking a vow. You’re not violating a Church rule. It’s your “rule,” your call.
God’s will is not involved here. So what’s the problem? Just do what you want.
David
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faithfl1
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 64 |
| First Name: | Sharon | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | protestant, non-denominational (born-again), Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 01:03 pm |
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| Sometimes I struggle with guilt over doing something like this. No matter if it's food or gossiping or judging other's. I say, "I'm not going to judge other's anymore." Then wouldn't you know, I don't like what someone did or how they acted in a certain situation or whatever, and I judge that person's actions. So, then, I just ask God to please forgive me and I will try harder. We are humans and we all sin. God does not judge us so harshly that we have to feel so much guilt over such minor matters. He IS pleased when we choose to do something to Honor Him, but, does not damn us for breaking a rule that he hasn't required us to follow. If we commited a terrible sin that's a different story. So I think you should just ask Him for forgiveness and try a little harder. It is good that you are practicing obedience, but don't beat yourself up and worry so much about it. God Bless!
____________________
Sharon S.
...I love you, Lord, my strength Psalm 18:2
I have the strength for everything through Him who empowers me. Phil 4:13
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brian
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Chicago South Burbs, Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 720 |
| First Name: | brian | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | methodist, evangelical, anglican, catholic |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 01:29 pm |
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Thanks for your help. I was still curious as to whether it is better once you started to break a rul accidentally if it is best to finish enjoying what you started in thanksgiving (unless it is a sin) or to immediately stop and get back to your chosen discipline. Or is that what David meant when he said, do whatever you want. Saying I can go either direction at this point? I was just wondering if maybe it was fundamentally wrong to waste food, therfore best just to finish something if you started.
And what if it was not a personal commitment but it was a Friday of Lent and you sort of grabbed something that a group of people were sharing at work like a chicken mcnuget or something, if you realized that you were not supposed to be eating it. Should you immediately stop eating it and spit it out, or finish the piece of meet that you picked up in thanksgiving, or something else? I mean, I realize now not to worry so much if it is a personal thing, but I am still curious if it is better to finish or not, and I am also curious how this situation changes if it is a required abstinence that you fail.
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1715 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Oct 25th, 2007 03:34 pm |
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Brian, my point was there is no sin involved, no matter what you do, because you are the one who proposed to do it. It wasn’t a sin to do it, and it wasn’t a sin not to do it. So how could it be a sin to fail to do it when you had proposed to do it?
Now Sharon’s situation is a little different. There are commandments against judging our neighbor, gossiping, etc. To violate these, even when one has made the intention not to, is still a sin, although if the fall is through weakness (as it usually is), it is not a mortal sin.
This is what you are speaking of in your second situation, Brian. The Church has imposed abstinence on Fridays during Lent. (Actually, as I was reminding someone yesterday, Friday abstinence is still the universal rule, and it has not been abrogated even in the United States. However, the American bishops have offered additional options for Friday penance, and one may choose among those options.) If you then slip up by forgetting it’s a Friday in Lent and you are supposed to be abstaining, this would be a venial sin. Not mortal because you really intended to do what the Church commands. But still a sin because you did eat meat when you weren’t supposed to. So it’s venial. (The sin, by the way, would be failing to keep track of when you are supposed to abstain, not the actual partaking of meat. In other words, you were shirking your responsibility.)
Should you finish that meat once you start? It depends on how much you’ve already eaten, what else is available and at what cost. In other words, use your judgment. The only way the sin could become mortal is if you then decided that the Church was wrong to impose such a discipline on you, and you are going to eat meat no matter what. And that is not what your attitude was a moment ago, so how could it change so much and so quickly?
If you think it better just to finish the Chicken McNugget, go ahead. It doesn’t matter now. And if you think it will help, you can abstain on Saturday to make up, although I fail to see this as a real solution. The solution is to be more conscious and responsible about your ordinary acts.
David
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