I have been stressing in this article that we must, if we are to spiritually grow, know the worship practices of our Church and the theology that supports these practices. I have stressed that we must reassess our understanding of the Catholic faith as it is held in our Greek Catholic Church. It is not the same as the Roman Catholic Church. Both are equally Catholic! They are different. I say this because our theology and liturgical practices are different.

For example what does our Church mean when she asks God to forgive our sins and our transgressions which are either voluntary and involuntary. I suspect that few have ever given these words a second thought. In our Liturgy we say that we: prostrate ourselves before Your [God’s] mercy for our sins and for our transgressions. And in another prayer we ask God to: forgive us every voluntary and involuntary offense. We must ask: What are voluntary and involuntary offenses? The prayer does not say sins! We must also ask: What is the difference between sins and transgressions?

Some may argue that it is all just a matter of semantics. I really don’t think this is true! For example, in the Western world a distinction has been made between venial and mortal sin. I am sure that everyone reading this article will admit that they see sin in this fashion. And yet, these categories do not exist in the Eastern Church according to our theology. Sin is sin!

The Greek word for sin, amartia, means to miss the mark. As Christians, the mark or target for which we aim is a Christ-like life, one lived to the best of our ability in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ. When we miss this mark, when we fail to hit this mark, we sin. Murder is a sin. Pride and envy are sins. Stealing a car or a candy bar is a sin. While refusing to attend the Liturgy is a sin, it is also a sin to attend the Liturgy with hatred for others in our hearts.

Missing the mark is missing the mark. If we aim at the bullseye and miss, it makes no difference if it is by an inch or a yard. In both cases, we have failed to achieve that for which we strive. Hopefully these words will challenge my readers to think.