New 7 deadly sins... are you guilty???

Drug pushers, the obscenely rich, environmental polluters and “manipulative” genetic scientists beware – you may be in danger of losing your mortal soul unless you repent.

After 1,500 years the Vatican has brought the seven deadly sins up to date by adding seven new ones for the age of globalisation. The list, published yesterday in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, came as the Pope deplored the “decreasing sense of sin” in today’s “securalised world” and the falling numbers of Roman Catholics going to confession.

The Catholic Church divides sins into venial, or less serious, sins and mortal sins, which threaten the soul with eternal damnation unless absolved before death through confession and penitence.

It holds mortal sins to be “grave violations of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes”, including murder, contraception, abortion, perjury, adultery and lust.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell”.

Although there is no definitive list of mortal sins, many believers accept the broad seven deadly sins or capital vices laid down in the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great and popularised in the Middle Ages by Dante in The Inferno: lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride.

Christians are exhorted instead to adhere to the seven holy virtues: chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness and humility.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences, said after a week-long Lenten seminar for priests that surveys showed 60 per cent of Catholics in Italy no longer went to confession.

He said that priests must take account of “new sins which have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalisation”. Whereas sin in the past was thought of as being an invididual matter, it now had “social resonance”.

“You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbour’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos,” he said.

Bishop Girotti said that mortal sins also included taking or dealing in drugs, and social injustice which caused poverty or “the excessive accumulation of wealth by a few”.

He said that two mortal sins which continued to preoccupy the Vatican were abortion, which offended “the dignity and rights of women”, and paedophilia, which had even infected the clergy itself and so had exposed the “human and institutional fragility of the Church”.

The mass media had “blown up” the issue “to discredit the Church”, but the Church itself was taking steps to deal with it.

Addressing the Apostolic Penitentiary seminar, the Pope said there was “a certain disaffection” with confession among the faithful. Priests had to show “divine tenderness for penitent sinners” and admit their own failings.

“Those who trust in themselves and in their own merits are, as it were, blinded by their own ‘I’, and their hearts harden in sin. Those who recognise themselves as weak and sinful entrust themselves to God, and from Him obtain grace and forgiveness.”

The Pope also complained that an increasing number of people in the secularised West were “making do without God”.

He said that hedonism and consumerism had even invaded “the bosom of the Church itself, deeply undermining the Christian faith from within, and undermining the lifestyle and daily behaviour of believers”.

Eastern Catholics do not recognise the same distinction between mortal and venial sins as the Western or Latin Church does, nor does it believe that those people who die in a state of sin are condemned to automatic damnation.

The original offences and their punishments
Pride Broken on the wheel
Envy Put in freezing water
Gluttony Forced to eat rats, toads, and snakes
Lust Smothered in fire and brimstone
Anger Dismembered alive
Greed Put in cauldrons of boiling oil
SlothThrown in snake pits

for man kind.

Prompt: "If you could invent one thing to help man kind what would it be?"

There are so many issues and situations in this day and age that deserve our attention. Should we stop global warming first, how about the aids epidemic... both are issues which will inevitably harm us. Though, important I am going to go in another direction. I would work towards ending world hunger. Every country has starving children and adults. With the ability to feed themselves, I feel we could rid ourselves of many problems.
1. Reduce violence over food supply
2. Get rid of the militias hoarding the food in Africa

I would invent a new strand of rice, that is self multiplying and purifying.
There for you could drop one grain of rice into a pot and it would make enough
for you family and it would purify the cooking water.

Therefore, we would have more food and safer water.
The malaria epidemic would definitely become less of a risk
and so would the thousands of other diseases spread by water born germs.

Well there you go... you've got the idea now invent it already...

Your special place...

Prompt: "Where do you go when you want to get away from the pressures of Life, Family, Work, etc... write about that place."

When I lived at home, in Lancaster there was nowhere to go.
I would invest my time into re-arranging my room.
That was my salvation.
Now that I am away from that pit of despair...
I find myself at the beach if I want to relax.
There are a few places I like to go.

On West Cliff there are tide pools and it is
really nice to climb down onto the beach
and look at all the sea life.
There is a broken tree at this spots and the roots
stick really far out of the ground so you can sit on them.

Spot number 2 is on Seabright where I use to live.
If you drive down the street from my old house
there is a nice beach.
From here you can see 2 lighthouses and there is
a cliff with ropes around it that you can walk on.
If you are feeling daring you can leave the sanctuary of
the ropes and climb out on the rocks.
There is a weird metal pole on the rocks.
I like to climb to this and then just sit above the ocean
and watch time pass.
I can get a lot of writing done here.

My 3rd destination... I don't actually go to because it's not really mine.
There is a spot under a bridge, near the harbor.
At night it is really quiet and you can hear the boats
and the water lapping against the harbor and it's really nice.
This spot is the farthest away though and I don't go there.
But I like it alot.

I'm back!!!

Today's Prompt...
Make a list of 40 things that have happened to you
in the last month. Then look back and describe your favorite.

1. Got upgraded to 30+ hours a week at work.
2. Applied to be a cook at work.
3. Went bowling for Sci-Fi night on Wednesday.
4. Joined a bowling league.
5. Partied with the bowling kids from my league.
6. Saw Sex and the City the Movie!!!
7 Watched Murder, INC.
8 Moved out of my Apartment and into Emily's house.
9. My cat ran away
10. Met a cute boy at work.
11. Got over the cute boy at work...
12. I've bet a bunch of new cool people
13. Hung out with Jay while he was here from ENgland!!!
14. Celebrated Laura's Birthday!
15. Started blogging again.
16. Hooked up.
17. Watched Fireworks.
18. Met Elsa and she is tight! Go twin!!!
19. Became addicted to the Fucking Harshmellows... rgh.
20. Became a better bowler.
21. Helped clean the house.
22. Babysitting
23. Catsitting
24. Ride my bike
25. Fall off my bike
26. I went to Gilroy
27. Drove to the site of the Fires
28. Sat at the Harbor just to think.
29. Went on a boat
30. Read 3 books... starting 4 today!
31. Watched all of weeds!!!
32. Planned for Teddi coming to visit soon!!!!!!!!!
33. I was sad over missing Tierney/Evan/Dan's graduations.
34. Planned my parent's wedding.
35. Signed up for my fall classes!
36. Started dancing again.
37. Worked on my tan
38. Failed miserably at getting a tan.... ;*(
39. Let my hair grow long
40. Designed my next tattoo.

Ok so that was really hard making that long of a list.
I chose to write about number 40.
My next tattoo!

There are two things I want.
A. The earth on the top of my back. With the words "In our hands"
B. Stars on my side. Right side.

What do you think?
I'm leaning towards the earth.
Yeah. I think I want that first...

Have any ideas for me????

Kitty goes purrrrrrr.

My cat is sleeping right on my head.
It is hard to see and type.
I can't fall asleep.
I have work tomorrow at 12...
but alas, I am not asleep.
Oh well.
I am working at the Ice Cream Sundae place tomorrow.
That should be fun.
I wish people would not be so crazy.
Like I wish, I could understand you better.
Or you would let me in more...
I might have met a boy.
Hmm, more on that later.
I've only told one person.
I'll keep it that way...
I'm going to pass out now.
P.S... I no longer hate Facebook!
I actually love it.
After the myspace fiasco tonight....
I now loathe myspace.

I got a job!

I now work at the
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Whoop Whoop.
I start training tomorrow
and then start work on saturday.
I am excited!

Breathe in Pink... Exhale Blue.

It's raining it's pouring
my dumb ass cat is snoring.
When I arrived home tonight
a gigantic spider was hanging from
the stairway outside my front door.
UGH.
I mean huge.
Atleast 1.5 inches long.
It's legs were all sprawled out and yucky.
In general, it was just disgusting.

Another generality....
People need to calm down.
Stop worrying so much.
It freaks me out.
If you would just breathe,
calm down and go with the flow.
Life would get better.
Don't sweat the small stuff,
and don't worry about every little thing.
Occupy yourself with thoughts of... well yourself.
When you stop worrying about others, things will fall into place
and then you can put an effort to helping others.
The ones that actually need your help, not the ones,
who you think need your help.
If they want it, they will ask.
If they don't, don't take offense.
Go with the flow man.
Breathe.
Smell the flowers.
Listen to the ocean... or W/E is in your area....Sirens....birds...cats.
Life's a garden dig it.
You just need to RELAX.
You are going to have a stroke... or a major meltdown.