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The Seven Capital Sins
Fulton Sheen correlated the Seven Last Words from the Cross with these Seven Capital Sins and shows how when we make God the enemy, we can never be sure that we have won the day. When God is our ally, as He was on the Cross, we can be sure that the victory is ours.
108 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
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174 people want to read
About the author
Fulton J. Sheen
522 books742 followersFulton John Sheen was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois, in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York. He resigned as bishop of Rochester in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales.
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 7, 2021
Seriously amazing. This book completely changed my view on the sins and made me understand what virtues I should personally work on to avoid certain sins. I love Fulton Sheen!
December 21, 2020
Excellent book and easy to read
This book breaks down the seven deadly sins and how Jesus atoned for each of them from the cross. As usual Fulton Sheen delivers to the point examples and what we can do to fix the problems that create attachments tons in in our life.
This book breaks down the seven deadly sins and how Jesus atoned for each of them from the cross. As usual Fulton Sheen delivers to the point examples and what we can do to fix the problems that create attachments tons in in our life.
November 26, 2019
Abp Fulton Sheen to był człowiek, którego każda książka wgniata w fotel i nie pozwala długo się z niego podnieść.
June 1, 2020
Klasyka
To nie jest zwykła książka. Nie czyta się jej tak jak każdą lepszą, ona jest inna. Autor prowadzi czytelnika przez Ukrzyżowanie Chrystusa, pokazując nasze wady. Moim zdaniem świetna jeżeli chcesz zrobić rachunek sumienia. Podczas lektury tej książki zobaczyłem w sobie kilka wad, których wcześniej nie dostrzegłem. Bardzo dobrze się czyta i też bardzo polecam, aby poznać bardziej siebie i to co trzeba jeszcze w sobie zmienić.
To nie jest zwykła książka. Nie czyta się jej tak jak każdą lepszą, ona jest inna. Autor prowadzi czytelnika przez Ukrzyżowanie Chrystusa, pokazując nasze wady. Moim zdaniem świetna jeżeli chcesz zrobić rachunek sumienia. Podczas lektury tej książki zobaczyłem w sobie kilka wad, których wcześniej nie dostrzegłem. Bardzo dobrze się czyta i też bardzo polecam, aby poznać bardziej siebie i to co trzeba jeszcze w sobie zmienić.
April 27, 2021
I would argue that every person who professes the Christian faith needs to read this book. Bishop Sheen relates how all of the words Christ said as he hung on the cross relate to the seven deadly sins (pride, gluttony, lust, envy, etc.) I will leave a few of the passages that made an impact on me.
“while they were most certain they knew what they were doing, He seizes upon the only possible palliation of their crime, and urges it upon His Heavenly Father with all the ardor of a merciful Heart: ignorance - “they know not what they do.” If they did know what they were doing as they fastened Love to a tree, and still went on doing it, they would never be saved.... (about repentant people) it is not their conscious wisdom that saves them; it is their unconscious ignorance.”
“If during life we forgive others from our hearts, on judgment day the all wise God will permit something very unusual to himself: he will forget how to add and will know only how to subtract. He who has a memory from all eternity will no longer remember our sins. Thus we will be saved once again through divine “ignorance.” By forgiving others on the ground that they know not what they do, our Lord will forgive us on the ground that he no longer remembers what we did.”
“When others visit violence upon us, we too often forget how little we know about their hearts and say: “I cannot see that there is the slightest excuse, they know very well what they are doing.” And yet in exactly the same circumstances, Jesus found an excuse: “they know not what they do.””
“while they were most certain they knew what they were doing, He seizes upon the only possible palliation of their crime, and urges it upon His Heavenly Father with all the ardor of a merciful Heart: ignorance - “they know not what they do.” If they did know what they were doing as they fastened Love to a tree, and still went on doing it, they would never be saved.... (about repentant people) it is not their conscious wisdom that saves them; it is their unconscious ignorance.”
“If during life we forgive others from our hearts, on judgment day the all wise God will permit something very unusual to himself: he will forget how to add and will know only how to subtract. He who has a memory from all eternity will no longer remember our sins. Thus we will be saved once again through divine “ignorance.” By forgiving others on the ground that they know not what they do, our Lord will forgive us on the ground that he no longer remembers what we did.”
“When others visit violence upon us, we too often forget how little we know about their hearts and say: “I cannot see that there is the slightest excuse, they know very well what they are doing.” And yet in exactly the same circumstances, Jesus found an excuse: “they know not what they do.””
March 2, 2020
A collection of powerful homilies which equates to probably one of the most solid guides available RE: The Seven Capital Sins - Fulton Sheen strongly, and remarkably, connects the sins to the seven final statements of Christ during his Passion. While I didn’t enjoy the book as much as Sheen’s autobiography, it is still a very solid read for a relatively short book. I feel uncomfortable giving the book anything less than 5 stars given its strength - good for reference.
February 17, 2008
Though short, this text, which treats the last words of Christ with meditations on the seven capital sins, was challenging to read in a profound and good way. At times, if one reads too casually, Archbishop Sheen seems to be stretching to make the connections between specific words and a given capital sin. However, when one reflects and considers, one finds the connections drawn to be not only reasonable, but helpful and satisfying.
January 10, 2017
Capital Vices
Know them, understand them, but do not harbor them in your heart for you shall surely die, unless you relent and atone for the transgression.
Know them, understand them, but do not harbor them in your heart for you shall surely die, unless you relent and atone for the transgression.
September 22, 2018
I saved the higher number of quotations from this book than any else one.
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March 31, 2018This book was a graduation gift given to me by Murphy Sankay in Makurdi-Nigeria.
I read it within 3 months...not because it was voluminous in pages but because the depths of the concepts in the book weighed more than the number of pages. I needed time to digest its content every time I read a bit of it.
Fulton Sheen, as in all his books/teachings, addressed fundamental contemporary issues and used the last words of Christ to show how Christ's cross/crucifixion/death provides/provided answers to man's biggest demons: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger/wrath, envy and pride.
Even if you do not believe in God or Jesus or the Bible, reading this from the lens of an unbeliever will open your mind to a better way of living happier and at peace with oneself and others.
I recommend this book for all peoples.
I read it within 3 months...not because it was voluminous in pages but because the depths of the concepts in the book weighed more than the number of pages. I needed time to digest its content every time I read a bit of it.
Fulton Sheen, as in all his books/teachings, addressed fundamental contemporary issues and used the last words of Christ to show how Christ's cross/crucifixion/death provides/provided answers to man's biggest demons: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger/wrath, envy and pride.
Even if you do not believe in God or Jesus or the Bible, reading this from the lens of an unbeliever will open your mind to a better way of living happier and at peace with oneself and others.
I recommend this book for all peoples.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews