The World Cup begins tomorrow, and many will watch the matches. Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together. Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life. #ApostolicJourney
@paulsen_smw I wonder if they are going to use the TBS/CBS feed for this year's Final Four/Championship game. Last year, they used CBS.
I remember when the Banchero vs. Love UNC-Duke matchup, and even the Kansas vs. UNC matchup, used the ESPN International broadcast feed.
How to Confess Sexual Sins: A Guide to a Sincere & Healing Confession🇻🇦
(Mortal Sins Do Not Expire)
Confession is a powerful sacrament of healing, offering God’s mercy & grace to those who repent. Among the sins people struggle with, sexual sins can be particularly difficult to confess due to shame or fear. However, God’s love is greater than any sin, & He invites us to seek His forgiveness with a sincere heart.
Understanding Sexual Sins
Sexual sins fall under the Sixth & Ninth Commandments: “You shall not commit adultery” & “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” These sins involve actions or thoughts that misuse the gift of human sexuality, which God designed for marriage. Here are some of the most common sexual sins:
1. Lust
Lust is the disordered desire for sexual pleasure outside of God’s plan. It turns people into objects for gratification rather than respecting them as persons made in God’s image.
2. Pornography
Viewing or consuming pornographic content distorts the purpose of sexuality, promotes impurity, & can lead to addiction, damaging relationships & one’s view of love.
3. Masturbation
This act involves seeking sexual pleasure alone, which contradicts the self-giving nature of love that sexuality is meant to express. The Catechism acknowledges factors that may reduce guilt (like habit or immaturity), but it remains a sin.
4. Premarital Sex (Fornication)
Sex outside of marriage goes against God’s design for intimacy to be a total self-giving within the sacrament of matrimony. It often leads to emotional & spiritual wounds.
5. Adultery
Being unfaithful to one’s spouse violates the sacred bond of marriage & breaks trust, harming families & relationships.
6. Homosexual Acts
While the Church teaches that persons with same-sex attraction must be treated with dignity & love, engaging in homosexual acts is considered sinful because they are not open to life & the complementarity of male & female.
7. Contraception
The use of artificial means to prevent conception separates the unitive & procreative aspects of marital love, contradicting God’s plan for sexuality.
8. Prostitution
Selling or buying sexual services reduces the dignity of the person to an object of pleasure, exploiting human weakness.
9. Rape & Sexual Abuse
These gravely sinful acts violate human dignity & cause deep trauma to victims. Justice & reparation must accompany confession in such cases.
10. Impure Thoughts & Desires
Entertaining sexual fantasies or desires that are not directed toward one’s spouse in marriage can be sinful when done deliberately.