"Daddy, Why Can't I Stop Sinning?" And Other Conversations

"Daddy, why can't I stop sinning?" my seven year old asked me this evening. He wasn't overly upset, but was clearly wrestling with something.

"What do you mean, son?" I asked.

"I mean, I keep on doing bad things. I say bad things to Mommy, and even to God, when I get angry. Even in my mind. And it's like I can't stop."

I asked him to come over and sit on my lap. "Do you remember what happened in the Garden of Eden?" I asked him.

"Satan tricked Adam and Eve," he replied.

"Yes, and do you remember what that sin that we inherited from them was called?" I asked.

"Original Sin," he replied.

"Yes, that's right. That's why we need the grace that comes in Baptism, to wash away Original Sin."

"But then why do I keep on sinning?" he asked, with a quiver. "Why do I keep offending God?"

"Well, even though we baptism takes away Original Sin and the punishment due to sin, we still have a big word called concupiscence. The effect of Original Sin, why we do bad things, remains. That was the consequence of Adam's sin, that we have to deal with in our lives. Do you want to read some scripture to learn more about concupiscence?"

[Nods]

"This is from St. Paul's letter to the Romans":

"For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin" (Rom 7:14-25).

"You see, we all sin. Mommy sins and Daddy sins, and you sin too. But we have a Savior who died for us so that we don't have to suffer the punishment of Hell that we inherited from Adam. He gives us the grace to resist sin, but in our weakness we fall. But you can go into your war room and get on your knees and ask for God's forgiveness when you sin, when you say hurtful things or don't obey your mom and me, or even when you are angry with God and say mean things to Him. He loves you and He will forgive you if you are sorry. Does that make sense?"

"But what about the worst sins?" he asked.

"Let's read some more scripture. Do you want to?"

[Nods]

"Listen to this. This is also from Paul's letter to the Romans, the next chapter":

"Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:33-39)

"So you see my son, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. You can always repent, say you are sorry and resolve to amend your ways, and God will forgive your sins.  We are blessed to be Christians, because we have a Savior who loves us. You will make your first Confession next year. That is when you tell your sins to a priest, but it is actually Jesus acting in the person of the priest, who forgives you."

He was getting sleepy by this point. I could tell he was remorseful for his outbursts the other day. He did not want to sin, but kept sinning, even when he didn't want to. We spoke about the conscience, and how it is a great gift from God for us to know our sins, so that we can repent of them and seek forgiveness. Christ is the Divine Physician who wants us to be healthy, and sin makes us sick, but that he has the cure for that sickness.

He wanted to make up with his mother, but in private. He headed upstairs, wanting to be read to from his Catholic Bible. My son is a sinner like the rest of us. But like his namesake, he is a boy after God's own heart. And he has a great, great Savior in whom he can rest, for his yoke is easy, and his burden light.