This episode moves from a lighthearted family practice of setting “New Year’s disciplines” into a serious, practical conversation on Josef Pieper’s The Concept of Sin. Adam and David argue that modern culture often avoids the word “sin” not because sin disappeared, but because the concept of sin has been replaced with softer language: mistakes, weakness, psychological explanations, or vague “bad choices.” Pieper’s central claim, they explain, is that sin is not merely a moral misstep but a rejection of reality itself.

The conversation ties sin directly to freedom. Only a truly free person can sin, because sin requires knowledge, responsibility, and the willful refusal of the good. Drawing on the Catechism, they frame sin as an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience, as well as a failure in love caused by disordered attachment to lesser goods. Sin is not “missing the mark” in the sense of trying hard and falling short; it is a refusal, a “no” to what is.

They also explore how every sin involves untruthfulness and self-deception. To commit sin, a person constructs a false account of reality that makes the act seem reasonable. This helps explain why rationalization demands constant outside validation and why modern life often tries to remove guilt without removing sin. Against that, the hosts emphasize that forgiveness presupposes guilt, and sin can only be understood alongside grace.

Practical takeaways include building a daily examination of conscience, paying attention to patterns and triggers, naming both sins of commission and omission, and running to confession with regularity. The episode closes with a fatherly focus: how to speak about sin with children truthfully without crushing them, holding together mercy and clarity so that kids learn both the seriousness of sin and the permanence of love.

Key topics covered

1. A family approach to New Year’s disciplines: spiritual, virtue-driven, and “free choice” goals
2. Why “the concept of sin” has faded while sin itself has not
3. Pieper’s claim: before sin is a moral issue, it is a metaphysical issue
4. Sin, freedom, and responsibility: why only the free can sin
5. Why sin is more than “missing the mark”: refusal vs. mistake
6. Sin as rejection of reality and the link to truth and the transcendentals
7. The role of self-deception and rationalization in every sinful act
8. Grace and forgiveness: why forgiveness presupposes guilt
9. Vice vs. sin and how habitual patterns can erode clarity and hope
10. Examination of conscience, confession, and spiritual “trench warfare”
11. Parenting: naming sin without demoralizing children, holding truth with mercy

Notable references mentioned

1. Josef Pieper, The Concept of Sin
2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1849 (definition of sin)
3. St. Paul on grace abounding where sin increases

1. The “joyful demeanor” that opens doors to talking about Jesus (without getting weird).
2. A godfather breakfast on a baptism anniversary becomes a living lesson in evangelization.
3. “Five seconds” theology: most of our daily encounters are brief—so what do we do with them?

1. Time accelerates as you age; “someday” becomes a trap.
2. Many men feel stuck for 10–15 years—spiritually, vocationally, relationally, and in work.
3. The antidote isn’t bigger ambition—it’s better order.

Aquinas method: name the end (happiness), then rule out false ends.

1. Wealth: money is a means, not a final end.
2. Honor / reputation: depends on others; happiness must be stable and interior.
3. Power: instrumental, addictive, and easily disguised as “leadership.”
4. Pleasure: real and good, but cannot be the end—pleasure perfects an act, it doesn’t define the goal.

1. Perfect happiness is the vision of God (beatific vision).
2. We can’t fully attain it in this life, but we can live an imperfect happiness by ordering our lives toward it.
3. Key shift: beatitude, not optimization.

Three filters for any resolution:

1. Is it ordered toward the highest good? (God, truth, contemplation)
2. Does it support your vocation? (husband/father, priest, etc.)
3. Does it treat lesser goods as means? (money, status, comfort serve the mission)

1. “Not huge shifts—small profitable habits that stick.”
2. Guarding silence and adding a few more minutes of contemplative prayer.
3. A reminder: you can “succeed” without prayer, but not in the way a Christian wants to succeed.

1. Gratitude grounds you in the present and breaks the “always next” mindset.

Cy Kellett, host of Catholic Answers Live, joins the Catholic Man Show for a wide-ranging and surprisingly practical conversation on evangelization. If the idea of “sharing your faith” makes you uncomfortable, intimidated, or quietly guilty, this episode is for you.

The guys talk about why evangelization feels scary for normal Catholics in the pews, why it is not optional, and why God never asked you to be effective. He only asked you to be faithful. Cy explains why pressure to “get results” is misplaced, how discouragement is the devil’s favorite weapon against evangelists, and why introverts might actually be better at sharing the Gospel than extroverts.

They also dig into what the Gospel actually is, why “God loves you” is true but incomplete, and how the full Christian story speaks directly to the modern world’s confusion about meaning, identity, and purpose. From street evangelization to talking with adult children who have drifted from the faith, Cy offers clarity, encouragement, and concrete advice rooted in real experience.

This is an episode about integrity, prayer, the sacraments, and learning how to talk about Jesus in a way that is honest, human, and real.

In this episode:

1. Why evangelization feels intimidating for ordinary Catholics
2. Why you are not called to be effective, only faithful
3. How discouragement shuts down evangelization
4. The difference between proclamation and debate
5. Why introverts can be excellent evangelists
6. What the Gospel actually is, beyond “God loves you”
7. How modern culture misunderstands science and human dignity
8. Why evangelization always includes words, not just example
9. The role of prayer and the Eucharist in sustaining evangelists
10. Why the goal is winning souls, not arguments
11. Cy’s new book, How to Talk About Jesus with Anybody

Guest:

Cy Kellett, host of Catholic Answers Live and co-author of How to Talk About Jesus with Anybody

Book mentioned:

How to Talk About Jesus with Anybody by Steve Dawson with Cy Kellett