Habitual Sins and Contrition

"The Miraculous Draught of Fishes" by Raphael

When one deals with a habitual sin, it can be difficult to arrive at proper contrition. True contrition necessitates that you reject the sin and resolve to never commit it again; however, because of our fallen nature, it is not unlikely that despite our best intentions, we will succumb to temptation and descend into that sin again. We acknowledge this in an attempt to be realistic about ourselves and the situation, but often it gives the effect of despair. The past is gloomy from those sins already committed, the present is dark because we are still committing the sin, and the future looms ominously because this is a habitual sin and the temptation, at least, will most certainly occur again.

What should our outlook be under these circumstances? It is possible the habitual sinner will equate the occurrence of the temptation with the occurrence of the sin itself, assuming the success of the devil’s efforts and an inevitable fall from a state of grace. In this sense, the sinner has already ‘given up’ trying to break the chain of sin formed by habit.

However, the past is only an indication of the trials we will face and not a determination of our future actions. We can certainly look to the past to ascertain the obstacles of the future and even learn from our past failures in terms of what aided us or hindered us from clearing those hurdles.  Though, it is not true that because we have stumbled over the same obstacle again and again, we are incapable of achieving breaks in the chain. It is definitely a slow process and success will be elusive at the beginning, but we must be careful to not assume the devil’s triumph, just because he tempts us.

Therefore, we return to the question of contrition: what should be the elements of our contrition, especially for the difficult case of habitual sins? Peter told Christ, “Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) This certainly seems like despair at first glance, but Peter’s desire to be with Christ is so strong that at his invitation, he leaves everything to follow him. He was so eager to be with Jesus that despite his unworthiness, he was willing to give up all he owned to be with him.

So on the one hand, we must acknowledge our unworthiness; for the slightest sin, much less a habitual sin committed several times, without God’s mercy is enough to damn us to Hell forever. This acknowledgement must not, however, prohibit us from recognizing the profound, all-consuming desire we have for Christ. We may need to apologize seventy times seven times, but we must never cease to proclaim our love for him who loved us so much as to give his life for us. In our sorrow, we must beat our breasts lamenting, “mea culpa” then shout joyously, “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” for His Divine Mercy.

Boromir: The Type of All Men

My favorite character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is Boromir, son of Denethor the Steward of Gondor at the time of the War of the Ring. He is my favorite character because he is the image of man imperfect, bearing qualities of weakness and pride, but also traits of courage and perseverance. His character is a mix of strengths and weaknesses in varying degrees, and he remains the most "human" member of the Fellowship (literally, actually, because the only other man of the Fellowship, Aragorn, was raised in Rivendell).

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Boromir is the member of the fellowship about whom the reader is always in doubt. He very strongly voices his opinion and motives at the Council of Elrond, making him appear to be the only member of the chosen Fellowship that is not completely “on board” with the plan to destroy the One Ring. He holds the dream that one day, Men will overthrow the rule of Sauron through strength of arms and bring peace to Middle Earth. Since Sauron’s rule in the land of Mordor began, the Men of the old kingdom of Numenor and the new kingdom of Gondor have lived in the shadow of the evil that dwelt behind the Black Mountains. Sauron attempted his advances, but Gondor has always possessed the strength to keep him at bay. But with each passing day, Sauron grows in strength and pushes the defenses of Men to their limits, inching ever closer to the breaking point. Realizing the proximity of this breaking point at the Council, Boromir, Captain of Gondor, enthusiastically calls for the Ring to be brought to Gondor with the persuasion of a military general, rallying the spirits of his troops before battle. Maybe the reader is swept up into this call to arms and hope that Man can defeat evil, but ultimately, this is cast as false wisdom and the Fellowship choose the path to destroy the Ring.

Mankind often hopes to defeat evil by his own strength and perseverance. He seeks to impose what is right by exerting control on those things exterior to him. However, he often neglects those things that hide within the darkest recesses of his own heart. Pride, the source of the Fall of Man, always struggles in the heart of all Men, festering and lusting to exert full control over all Men. Ultimately, Boromir's swelling pride drives him to take the Ring from Frodo, even at the expense of taking Frodo's life as well.

However, for all his faults, Boromir possesses a vulnerable humility. Though he does not completely agree with or understand the direction the Council has decided to take in destroying the Ring, he puts aside his pride and joins the Fellowship as a protector of the Ring-bearer. Although he frequently wishes to appear courageous and strong-willed, he is humbled by the smallest of things that causes him to fall. And I don't think Boromir should be considered completely unaware of his vulnerability to this temptation. The extended version of The Two Towers film illustrates this well. Boromir's father, Denethor, sends him to Rivendell to attend the council that will decide what to do with the Ring. Boromir first is reluctant because he knows the Ring to have been the death of Isildur, the man who took the Ring from Sauron for his own. So even he recognizes his own weakness and fears its control over him. 

My favorite part of the whole trilogy is at the beginning of The Two Towers when Aragorn, attempting to regroup the fellowship on Parth Galen after searching for Frodo, discovers Boromir, pierced by many arrows while defending the hobbits, Merry and Pippin. He confesses his failure and begs Aragorn for forgiveness. (though certainly not to be taken literally, this calls to my mind, very vividly, the spirit of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation) 

Man will fall because his nature is fallen. He stumbles because he clings to his own brokenness and not to the source of his salvation. But a true man realizes that he can always be forgiven if he seeks forgiveness and resolves to fight once more. I imagine I would like Boromir significantly less (or dislike him) if after he had fallen, he went off into the forest to despair and bemoan his failure, turning his back on his friends and loved ones. Instead, it's very crucial to note that even after committing so grave a sin, he returns to the aid of Merry and Pippin and gives his life in an attempt to preserve their safety. Boromir did not choose to be a Judas, but instead a Peter, who after breaking his oath of fidelity to the mission of the Fellowship and betraying his friend, Frodo, he returns to the fight and dies a martyr for his friends.