The current political campaign has been full of ugliness — racism, misogyny, xenophobia, etc. But it wasn’t until there were apparent sexual violations that many people took notice. It looks as if sexual sin causes the biggest problems. That is not St. Paul’s perspective. When he lists “the works of the flesh” he certainly includes sexual sins: immorality, impurity, orgies. But he seems more concerned about what the tradition called the irascible appetites: “hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy.” For the Apostle, the things we do against love, against unity, against peace are more dangerous than the things we do to satisfy our desires. In our examination of conscience we should consider all these things.
