Dealing with Sin
February 15, 2026 The concept of sin for most Catholics is essentially identified with going against the rules set out in the Bible, especially in the ten commandments. And then in today’s Gospel we have Jesus coming and adding to th ose rules by interpreting many of them even more stringently with the phrase, ’You have heard that it was said….But I say to you’’ These many rules that Christi ans , especially Catholics who have the additional burden of Church rules, seem to have to follow, h ave given rise to a frequently voiced criticism of Christianity as a religion that encourages its adherents to feel guilty , and ‘Catholic guilt’ has even become a comic trope in American pop culture. The latter is generally described as an unhealthy and scrupulous sense of remorse, that is said to be fostered in Catholics right from the time they are children and which retains its hold over them into their adult lives. And thinkers like Nietzs...
