Oh, the good I could have done! The sin of omission.

Many times, we waste our time on meaningless activities when we could have been doing something better. This is not to demean recreational activities as they can re-create/refresh ourselves. We can take them too far, however. Then, they become meaningless, like other activities we sometimes hide ourselves in. Your conscience, like mine, is probably already reminding you what they are.

These meaningless activities get in the way of the meaningful activities we could be doing. We constantly have to choose what activities we are to do. We only have 24 hours in a day and a choice to do one activity is a choice against other activities. So, are these meaningless activities a sin? That may depend. But, I recall that there is a sin of omission. Even at Mass during the Penitential Rite, we say, “I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.”

NOTE: The Penitential Rite has a few options, so you may not say this at Mass every time. The most common form is “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”

There are great things that we could have done in our life. Oh, the good God could have done if only we listened. Often, we know what the better activities are. But we also need to be aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit when we are doing a meaningless activity to stop and do what we should be doing. It may be as little as giving someone your undivided attention.

Jesus, I am sorry for the good that I have omitted. Please help me to see my meaningless activities and the meaningful activities that you would rather I do.