Thomas Dubay on venial sins

I should point out that yesterday's post was entirely from my retreat notes-- the thoughts of Thomas Dubay, primarily. I'll try to make that more clear.

Father Thomas Dubay says:

"Even though they are not colossal, they remain disorders. [venial sins] They cool but do not extinguish the love relationship with God and our neighbor. Ordinary gossiping and overeating are examples. The reader should note that when we speak above about 'willed venial sins' the first adjective is important indeed....

To snap at a person usually is a free action and thus with guilt. We ordinarily can control what we say. If one has the habit of snapping when annoyed, he ought to work at getting rid of the habit. Another example: it is not a sin to feel grouchy-- after all, while we cannot control how we feel, we can make an effort to be pleasant even on a hard day."

OK. Here' my reaction:

At first reading, my reaction to these passages was an awareness of my own guilt. As I read it again I'm wondering about his use of the word "ordinarily." Are there times, then, when overeating, for example, might not be a sin? I'm sure that there are. When it's compulsive behavior it may not be willed with complete freedom. How about his "We ordinarily can control what we say." Does this allow for times when there really is a certain lack of control? I'm hoping. LOL I must say there are times when I am really upset that I feel it's five minutes later that I truly find out what I just said-- as I replay it in my head and gasp... Maybe this is rationalization. There is certainly some guilt in this area in my life.