Category: commercials

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Sin on Sale – 50 Percent Off – But Beware of the Side Effects

I usually like to keep things light on Friday evening when I post. And the video at the bottom of the page is something of a spoof on drug commercials, treating sin like a drug. Wait till you hear the side-effects disclaimer at the end. 🙂

I also thought today of doing a little post on the sins that cry to heaven for vengeance since I was talking to a parishioner today, who is suffering because his employer has not paid him for three weeks. The employer, a government agency says this is due to “administrative difficulties” in the bureaucracy where he works. He was angry (rightfully so) and getting desperate. I reminded him that withholding wages was a sin that cried to heaven and that God was angry with him. The rest of our conversation I’ll keep private.

With that painful situation in mind and how the negligent sin of one affects another, it occurs to me offer a few lists of sins, that may prove as helpful reminders to all of us in our struggle against it. Sometimes it helps to see sin in categories and to be able to “name the demons,” as a help to combat them. These are just a few helpful lists. There are others and I invite you to add to them. For the sake of brevity, I do not fully develop them all.

In keeping with the video below, consider these lists a kind of “Sin on Sale” a clearance sale if you will. The lists below can be purchased separately or together in packages. But do beware of the potential and likely side-effects!

The sins that cry to heaven for vengeance: (CCC 1867)

  1. Murder (Gn 4:10),
  2. Sodomy (Gn 17:20-21),
  3. Oppression of the poor (Ex 2:23),
  4. Defrauding workers of their just wages (Jas 5:4).

Seven Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Greed
  3. Lust
  4. Anger
  5. Gluttony
  6. Envy
  7. Sloth

Sins against the Holy Spirit:

  1. Despair,
  2. Presumption,
  3. Envy,
  4. Obstinacy in sin,
  5. Final impenitence,
  6. Deliberate resistance to the known truth.

Sins against faith: (CCC 2088-2089)

  1. Hesitating doubt – delaying the overcoming of doubts, difficulties, or objections due to indifference or laziness
  2. Voluntary doubt – disregarding of the truth or on-going resistance to overcoming doubt.
  3. Incredulity – willful refusal to assent to revealed truths of the faith.
  4. Heresy – the choosing and over-emphasizing of certain truths of the faith to the exclusion of others.
  5. Schism – Refusal of submission to the Pope or Catholic communion.
  6. Apostasy – Total repudiation of the Christian faith.

Sins against God’s love: (CCC 2094)

  1. Indifference
  2. Ingratitude
  3. Lukewarmness
  4. Sloth – sorrow or aversion at the good things offers to the soul
  5. Hatred of God – usually rooted in prideful notion that refuses to be second to God.

Sins against the Honor that is Due to God – (CCC 2111-2117)

  1. Superstition – the elevation of certain practices such that they are regarded as more important or powerful than prayer or trust in God.
  2. Idolatry – divinizing what is not God, false worship, holding creatures more precious than the one Creator who is God.
  3. Divination – undertaking practices meant to disclose the future, e.g. horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, recourse to mediums etc.
  4. Magic and spiritism – attempts to tame occult powers and place them at our service, or to have power over others in this way.

Sins of Irreligion: (CCC 2118-2128)

  1. Tempting God – Putting God to the test
  2. Sacrilege – stealing sacred things, profaning sacraments or liturgical actions, desecration or speaking irreverently of sacred persons, places or things that are blessed or consecrated to God.
  3. Simony – Buying or selling spiritual things, seeking to profit on them merely because they are blessed.
  4. Atheism – Denying the existence of God, to include the practical atheism of materialism and utopian notions that man can save himself.
  5. Agnosticism – an indifference toward God that refrains form formally denying his existence.

Sins against the name of God: (CCC 2142-2155)

  1. Promises – infidelity to promises or oaths made with God’s name
  2. Profanity – using God’s name in vain ways that do not respect its sacred character, (e.g. empty expressions like “Oh my God!”
  3. Blasphemy – to speak ill of God, trivialize, curse or ridicule him. By extension, to ridicule sacred things or the Saints.
  4. Swearing – calling God to witness in matters that are trivial. Also swearing a false oath, committing perjury when under oath.
  5. Cursing – using God’s name to curse or call down evil on others.

Sins against the Lord’s Day: (CCC 2185)

  1. Refusing the worship owed God
  2. Refusing the joy proper to the Lord’s day
  3. Refusing the relaxation of mind and body commanded on the Lord’s day.
  4. Refusing reasonable works of mercy proper to the Lord’s day.

Sins Against life: (CCC 2268-2283)

  1. Intentional homicide – all unjust killing
  2. Abortion
  3. Euthanasia
  4. Suicide
  5. Acting with reckless disregard for the safety and life of our self or others

Sins against Chastity: (CCC 2351-2357)

  1. Lust – willfully entertaining inordinate or disordered desires for sexual pleasure
  2. Masturbation
  3. Fornication
  4. Adultery
  5. Pornography
  6. Prostitution
  7. Rape
  8. Homosexual Activity

Sins of Injustice and theft: (CCC 2409ff)

  1. Theft
  2. Deliberately keeping lent things
  3. Damaging the goods of others without restitution
  4. Fraud
  5. Paying unjust wages
  6. Forcing up prices
  7. Refusing to pay debts
  8. Work poorly done
  9. Tax evasion
  10. Forgery
  11. Excessive and wasteful practices
  12. Hoarding
  13. Excessive and unnecessary exploitation of natural resources
  14. Refusing our legitimate obligations to the community
  15. Refusing our legitimate obligations to the poor

Just a few helpful lists drawn from the Catechism with reference also to the Catholic Source Book and other places.

So there it is a clearance sale on sin. Now here’s a word from our sponsor!


Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: Sin on Sale – 50 Percent Off – But Beware of the Side Effects

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The Sovereignty and Stewardship of Man Over Creation, as Seen in a Commercial

The advertisement below depicts all kinds of animals screaming in fear at the thought of a shark. Sharks do indeed inspire fear.

What is interesting is that Scripture says it is not sharks that inspire fear among the animals; it is we:

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand (Gen 9:1-2).

While some larger animals occasionally attack (and even kill) human beings, such occurrences are rare and typically a result of fear we have incited in them. Even the fiercest predators generally avoid us, only engaging when they feel threatened. We are not a staple of any animal’s diet. In this matter we are unique, and we manifest the authority and stewardship God gave us over all living things.

Consider well, then, our dignity and responsibility as those appointed by God to oversee His creation.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: The Sovereignty and Stewardship of Man Over Creation as Seen in a Commercial

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It Happened on Our Watch, as Seen in a Commercial

There are many causes for our cultural meltdown, but given our directive to be Christ’s light to the world, we must admit that to some degree we are answerable for the current state of affairs. The cauldron in Europe resulted in two World Wars largely fought in “Christian” Europe. Further, the widespread abandonment of the Faith in Europe does not bode well for anyone. We in the West often point to cite disarray and corruption in places like Africa, but Europe has been the site of bloodbaths for thousands of years, the last two thousand of which happened in a supposedly Christian Europe. In the past several decades we have seen an utter moral rebellion in the wake of a century of European war. Yes, we who would preach Christ cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility for the condition the world.

When I saw the commercial below, I felt a twinge of guilt. The words of a poem by William Butler Yeats came to mind:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed,
and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Yes, something struck me. In the commercial, anarchy, destruction, injustice, violence, and pure chaos are shown. Yet all the while our superhero, with his “bat phone” screeching in the background signaling a call for help, is wholly distracted, mindlessly flipping through the channels unaware that the world around him is descending right into Hell. He is turned inward, focused on his own little world.

Is this what we’re doing? Are we the superhero slouching on the couch as the world and Western culture descend into a maelstrom? We see the things of which Yeats wrote: lost innocence, the blood-dimmed tide of the 20th century with perhaps more than 100 million people put to death in war and for ideological reasons, and moral anarchy swept in by the four horsemen of the apocalypse—relativism, secularism, individualism, and the sexual revolution.

While the wicked have been marching with passionate intensity, the good have largely been asleep, lacking the zeal for battle. All around us are divorce, abortion, teenage pregnancy, rampant sexually transmitted diseases, broken families, increasing lack of self-control and discipline, declining school test scores and graduation rates, the inability to live within our means, rising poverty rates for children, drug and alcohol addiction, plummeting Church attendance—the list could go on and on.

Where have we been as a Church—as Christians—in a world gone mad? Where, for example, was the Church in 1969, when “no-fault divorce” laws began to be passed? It would seem that we were inwardly focused: moving furniture around in our sanctuaries; tuning our guitars; and having endless debates about liturgy, Church authority, and why women can’t be ordained. These are not unimportant issues, but while we were so focused on them, we lost the culture.

Yes, it happened on our watch. I am old enough that I can no longer heap all the blame on the previous generation. Even during my relatively short lifetime, I have seen the world as I knew it largely swept away, especially in terms of family life. Now it is up to me to try to make a difference.

How about you? It will take courage and an increasing conviction to live the Catholic faith openly. No more of this “undercover Catholic” stuff; no more trying to fit in and be liked. It is long past midnight for our culture, our families, and our children.

There is something very wrong with the scenario in the commercial: the superhero ignores the cries for help. It’s time for our superhero to get off the couch, pick up the phone, re-engage, and get to work. It is interesting to note that the movie he is watching shows a wolf being set loose. Jesus says, Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (Matt 7:15). Indeed, many wolves preaching (false) tolerance and spouting other pleasantries have badly misled people and spread error, calling “good” what is sinful and misrepresenting biblical tradition.

Well, fellow superheroes, the last time I checked, we are supposed to be salt and light for the world. It’s time—long past time—to bring Christ’s power back to this world. It’s time for us to get off the couch, pick up the phone, re-engage, and get to work.

Don’t just watch culture; direct it.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: It Happened on Our Watch, as Seen in a Commercial

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Understanding and Context Are Important, As Seen in a Commercial

Have you ever wondered what some of the crazy things we do look like to outsiders like our pets? The commercial below shows what a couple of cats might think as they watch the behavior at a Super Bowl party.

Every now and again it’s good to be able to laugh at ourselves and to realize that context is important.

As the cats observe the Super Bowl rituals (some of which are silly, some stupid, and some harmful) what they really lack is context. They don’t understand that people sometimes have fun by being goofy. They’re only cats; they don’t have intellects and cannot appreciate humor, friendly competition, or silliness.

On Fridays I like to feature a commercial or cartoon that is lighter fare, but there is still a point to be made.

Some people laugh at our Catholic rituals and traditions, mostly because they lack context and understanding. A commercial like this reminds us how important those are. Without them, many who criticize our faith show more about what they lack than what we do.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: Understanding and Context Are Important, As Seen in a Commercial

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What If God Stopped Watching?

The commercial below imagines that God’s cell phone battery has run out of juice and He can no longer “watch” the earth. The result? Complete chaos!

Of course if God really were to stop watching or regarding His creation, the actual result would be much worse than chaos; it would be complete annihilation. Fortunately, the truth is that He will not stop watching us.

What is common, though, is for us to stop watching Him. The result? Complete moral chaos! Utter confusion! Welcome to the post-modern, secular West. God is the source of our truth, but many have stopped watching Him, and so have become confused about even the most basic moral and physical realities. It’s time to replace our batteries and reconnect with God.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: What If God Stopped Watching?

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Anxiety and Its Remedies, as Seen in a Commercial

Despite all our time-saving devices and other modern conveniences, stress is still widespread in this modern age. We always seem to be in a hurry and worried over one thing or another. There appear to be two main sources of this near-constant anxiety.

First, we hold to the illusion that we are in control. Though we can control a lot of little things, those things are based on others we cannot control such as whether people we are depending on will arrive on time, or whether there will be a hurricane, or even the next beat of our heart. Thinking we can control life makes us much more anxious when things don’t turn out the way we expect. Accepting that we are not in control of most things can bring a paradoxical sense of peace. We learn to trust God and depend more on Him and others. Letting go of perfectionism is another way to bring internal peace.

A second source of our stress is that we want too much. This consumer age promises us more and more, but never mentions the bill. The more we have, the more there is to be managed and maintained. “More!” comes with a price, and anxiety is part of that price. Learning to be satisfied with and grateful for what we have can be another source of peace.

In the commercial below, a stressed-out man is reminded by a co-worker that he does not have to tackle life alone; others can help.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: Anxiety and Its Remedies As Seen in A Commercial

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If It’s Too Quiet to Sleep, Maybe We Have a Problem

I am surprised at how many people tell me that they cannot fall asleep without the television or radio on in the background. This is surely a sign of being overstimulated. Spiritually, it creates a condition wherein we can barely hear the still, small voice of God. In Kings, we read,

Elijah heard, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still, small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Samuel also heard the whisper of God in the night:

For the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. “Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:8-10).

The voice of the Lord can be lost in clamorous times. Many of us need to re-accustom ourselves to silence. We sometimes think to abstain from meat or wine, but do we ever consider abstaining from noise? Is not unplugging from the world for a time a sacrifice that might please God and bless us at the same time?

Psalm 74 says,

Arise, O God, and defend your cause!
Remember how the senseless revile you all the day.
Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the daily, increasing uproar of your foes.

Yes, Lord, from clamorous discord and distracting noise deliver us. Help us to find increasing joy in periods of holy silence. Our enemy, the devil, shouts and drones on. Lead us, O Lord, to quieter places; let us hear Your voice.

This commercial shows various people being lulled to sleep by the droning background noise from their smartphones.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: If It’s Too Quiet to Sleep, Maybe We Have a Problem

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When We Cast Off What Has Empowered Us, Only God Knows How Strange It Can Get – As Seen in a Commercial

The video below shows a world gone mad, a world in which chaos and unpredictability have taken over. Watch it and see the cause to which the commercial ascribes the problem. But allow it to be an allegory of what happens when:

● we let God’s presence die in our hearts and minds,
● we let natural law die in our culture, and
● we let time-tested and ancient wisdom die in our times.

Yes, as the commercial says, only God knows what awful, bizarre, unexpected, hideous, and devastating things can happen when we let important things die. Don’t miss the allegory; its message is powerful. A lot of unexpected things happen when we cast off what has empowered us.

Cross-posted at the Catholic Standard: When We Cast Off What Has Empowered Us, Only God Knows How Strange It Can Get – As Seen in a Commercial