Live Life Fully Alive

    What does it mean to live life as man fully alive? This answer took a whole school year to find out. We are called out each and everyday to live our lives to the fullest. By doing this, we are giving glory to God. How does living life out give glory to God you might ask? God created us to live our lives out in a certain way. Therefore by living life out as God has commanded us to do so gives glory to him. All things give glory to God. Even trees and squirrels give glory to God in everything they do, they simply live their lives out as God had planned, as squirrels and trees. Now you may be asking how does God want us to live out our life? Live your life to your greatest potential. Never give half effort, always go all out. Live your life out while daily thinking WWJD? or “What would Jesus do?”. By doing this, we think out our every decision and choose wisely in order to give glory to God. Overall living life as man fully alive makes you a happier person. You will feel more complete and important in life. Everyone around you would describe you as a great holy person who truly lives life as man fully alive.

Venial Sin

     The less serious sin is call a venial sin. Venial sins are less serious. After venial sins there is not a complete separation from God. For a sin to be considered venial it has to either not concern a grave manner  not be committed with full knowledge, or not committed with complete or deliberate consent. Venial sin can be compared to pushing your friend in the hall. He may be mad at you, but you are still friends. We can come back into communion with God easily. Venial sins are not to be brushed to the side though. Repeated small breaks in your relationship can build up and if left unpaired can separate you from God.

Original Sin

     We tend to view Original Sin as a punishment, yet it is far from that. Original Sin is the act that Adam and Eve committed by turning away from God and choosing to eat the fruit. Adam and Eve abused their freedom that God had granted them. Original sin wasn't the act of picking the fruit from the forbidden tree; it was a sin of disobedience or choosing to turn away from God. In doing so they lost preternatural gifts or the gift of immunity from sickness, death and concupiscence. Through Original Sin Adam and Eve also lost original holiness and original justice. Original holiness is the harmony between Adam, Eve, and God before original sin. Original justice is gift of supernatural and preternatural gifts. We are not entitled to original holiness and justice. They are gifts from God. Original sin is not an actual sin for us; it is more of an absence in our soul. Original sin is a stain that darkens human will, intellect, and introduces concupiscence. It also weakens our connection with God. All human beings are stained with original sin except Mary and Jesus. Concupiscence is the tendency towards sin. It makes sin more appealing to us than the right thing to do. Concupiscence clouds our intellect and will. Original sin is passed from parent to offspring at conception. Understating original sin and how it works in our world today can help one make the right choices. By understanding original sin you can understand concupiscence. Through one’s understanding of concupiscence he or she can come to understand the reasons we sin. We sin because our intellects and will and clouded and therefore we tend to find sin attractive and appealing to us. Through the understanding of original sin one can come to the conclusion that sin is always bad and turns you away from God no matter how appealing it looks. We can learn to try and do the right thing despite our attraction towards sin in order to bring ourselves closer to God. Through studying and understanding original sin one can come to the conclusion that original sin is not our fault. Adam and Eve chose not to accept a gift. We are not living in a state without original justice or holiness as punishment. We are living in a world that did not accept a great gift from God. God could have never given us a choice to choose, but if He did He would have been limited our freedom. We are made in the image and likeness of God, therefore we have intellect, free will, the capacity to love and we have a soul. Original sin is not a punishment, just the lack of a gift.

Call To Holiness

     We are all called to holiness. The Church calls this the Universal Call to Holiness. God calls each and everyone of us to live our lives to our fullest potential. To be holy, does not mean to be perfect, it means to live a life of seeking God. Holiness is rooted in baptism, when we are united with the Holy Spirit. We are brought into communion with the Blessed Trinity. According to John Paul II holiness is not only a state, it is a task. All Christians should strive to live a better and full Christian life with God. All relationships grow through communication, and we communicate with God through prayer. Prayer allows us to grow closer and more personal with God, therefore making us more holy. The Universal Call to Holiness is a call to be a good faithful Christian.