What Is an Occasion of Sin?
What Is an Occasion of Sin?In the form of the Act of Contrition that many of us learned as children, the final line reads, “I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasion of sin.” It’s easy to understand why we should “sin no more,” but what is a “occasion of sin,” what makes it “near,” and why should we avoid it?Answer: An occasion of sin, Fr. John A. Hardon writes in his indispensable Modern Catholic Dictionary (compare prices), is “Any person, place, or thing that of its nature or because of human frailty can lead one to do wrong, thereby committing sin.” Certain things, such as pornographic images, are always, by their nature, occasions of sin. Others, such as alcoholic beverages, may not be an occasion of sin for one person but may be for another, because of his particular weakness. There are two types of occasions of sin: remote and near (
