Are these Mortal sins?

[mymamamary]

Dear Forum:

I wonder are these mortal sins:

1. I was talking about how Chick-Fil-A has cool mascots and I started (with my big mouth) talking about how the Mcdonald clown mascot looks like a pedophile. Then I noticed what I was saying and woke up and I stopped calling the mascot a “pedophile”, I then corrected myself by saying that perhaps the man under the suit is a nice guy, I just dont like the clown look. I just dont like clown get-ups, they creep me out, big time.
2. Kids made impure jokes (my friends make these kind of jokes unfortunately). I dont like them, but after 3 years and my final 4th with them in high school, I cant just ignore them. They would be good kids but the teaching was bad via the parents.
3. I also had something like this:

I noticed that a Girl was good looking, but I stopped myself and started saying inside of my head “JESUS I trust in YOU” and then I gave thanks to the LORD and asked HIM to bless the person and to protect her. I dont even know if the thought was impure perhaps, but I prayed. I dont know fully if the thought persisted. Mortal sin?

1. If at times I feel tempted to envy and I ask the LORD to bless the person and I give thanks, is this a sign that i’m not giving in??

Are any of these a mortal sin? I just feel so dirty and sinful

Please help!!

 

[JD27076]

Well I don’t know.

The general rule of thumb is, if you doubt its a mortal sin, it probably isn’t a mortal sin. It’s extremely hard for a devout Catholic to commit mortal sins. Unless you know you will be committing such mortal sin, it’s not a mortal sin.

So I would say to go to confession and discuss this…since I do not know the whole situation of your mind processes.
The mind is a very complex machine that no one really understands. Just go to confession and be relieved.

 

[underacloud]

A person, such as yourself, afflicted with many doubts about mortal sins should seek the advice of a regular confessor (or spiritual director).

But I will comment on one issue…if noticing that a girl (or guy, for girls) is good looking was a mortal sin, then seemingly God has set us all up for failure. Being attracted to the opposite sex is part of God’s plan for humanity and there is nothing wrong with it. When we overly dwell on such attractions and objectify people, we can commit the sin of lust. But mere attraction itself is not at all sinful.

 

[Veronica97]

I am scrupulous and I find this Examination of Conscience helpful b/c it divides sins into mortal and venial under each commandment. Now of course, we must have full knowledge and full consent as well, but at least it helps me figure out what grave matter is. catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf

It doesn’t sound to me like anything you have done is of grave matter, and the one thing that COULD have been grave matter (calling the clown a pedophile) just kind of slipped out of your mouth, making it a venial sin b/c you didn’t say something mean purposefully.

 

[RPRPsych]

I am scrupulous and I find this Examination of Conscience helpful b/c it divides sins into mortal and venial under each commandment. Now of course, we must have full knowledge and full consent as well, but at least it helps me figure out what grave matter is. catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf

It doesn’t sound to me like anything you have done is of grave matter, and the one thing that COULD have been grave matter (calling the clown a pedophile) just kind of slipped out of your mouth, making it a venial sin b/c you didn’t say something mean purposefully.

Nice list.

I see “playing Dungeons and Dragons” is a violation of the First Commandment. When did we Catholics begin following Jack Chick?

Also, “Involvement in Eastern Philosophies?” I’m not sure about that, what if it was part of the course content or syllabus at school or college (in India, we all have to study this stuff as part of History in high school)?

And “Pride” is only a venial sin? I’m sure Lucifer would love to hear that.

Such lists are useful only as an aide-memoire, and can be a stumbling block to the scrupulous. OP, if you still have any doubts, I’d recommend confessing them anyway, and talking it over with a priest.

 

[mymamamary]

Thats just it, I feel as if these are forced on me, against my will kind of thing. I dont like the thoughts of impurity or envy, I pray, hoping that will rid me of the thought(s), and even yet, the stupid thoughts persist. I want to rid myself of this junk, but I feel forced and because I feel forced and tempted, I feel as if I have sinned.

Now, the Mcdonalds Clown thing, that was moment of obnoxity with my friends, When I realized what I was saying, I changed the tone immediatley by saying “well maybe the guy underneath the suit is nice, but the costume, no offense is like a pedophile”

Im still not sure, though thanks for the list Veronica97!!

 

[Veronica97]

*Nice list.

I see “playing Dungeons and Dragons” is a violation of the First Commandment. When did we Catholics begin following Jack Chick?

Also, “Involvement in Eastern Philosophies?” I’m not sure about that, what if it was part of the course content or syllabus at school or college (in India, we all have to study this stuff as part of History in high school)?

And “Pride” is only a venial sin? I’m sure Lucifer would love to hear that.

Such lists are useful only as an aide-memoire, and can be a stumbling block to the scrupulous. OP, if you still have any doubts, I’d recommend confessing them anyway, and talking it over with a priest.
*
“Playing dungeons and dragons” is not a mortal sin. It’s listed under “venial sins and imperfections.” It says right on the Examination of Conscience that the list makes no distinction between venial sins and imperfections b/c it is not always easy to make a distinction. (Because some things are very small or they are dispositions of the soul and not willful actions or b/c they are habitual.) The pride that made Lucifer fall was his idea that he was greater than God (or should be God). A venial type of pride might be that you worry what others will think of you if you drive your beat-up car to Mass or if you think that you are “better” than someone else b/c you read the Bible everyday. And I would think that “Involvement in Eastern Practices” would be that you decided to PRACTICE Buddhism or transcendental meditation. Reading about it for informational or historical purposes would be fine.

 

[Veronica97]

mymamamary,
If you don’t want the thoughts, they are not sinful! It sounds like you may have OCD, which I also have. The thoughts are tormenting and the more upset I get, the worse they become! Are you by any chance going to daily mass or can you get to more than one mass per week? I ask this b/c my husband noticed that when I was going to daily mass my scruples were better. Then the priest went on 3 weeks of vacation/retreat, and I got out the habit. The scruples came back BIG TIME. Now I’ve started going to daily mass again, and I’m starting to feel better. I also walked for an hour today–that helped too. I tried to keep very very busy and when the thoughts came, I prayed for the help of Mother Mary and prayed, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Also, try praying the Chaplet of St. Michael–it’s very powerful against evil. Please don’t worry anymore about the McDs clown…you’re human…it slipped out of your mouth without thinking…venial sin ONLY. As soon as you realized what you had said, you smoothed it over with your words.

 

[RedDuke50]

We all have thoughts slip into our minds that we don’t agree with. Even the Saints had bad thoughts slip into their minds, but they didn’t start focusing on them and adding their complete will to them.
I tend to be scrupulous myself and suffered from worries of such thoughts a lot, but what to do is say a quick aspiration (like how you say, “Jesus I trust in You”) and get your mind focused on something else. Do not stress about it too much or it will just get bigger.

You praying for the person can be a sign you aren’t giving in to your envy. It shows that you are trying to stop it, that your envious thoughts or whatever is not to your liking.
Take all of these questions to Confession (prefferably a regular confessor) and explain each one to him (while not taking too much time, unless it is an appointment) so he can give you feedback and learn more about how to help you. Hope I helped.

 

[ExCatholicGuy]

Dear Forum:

I wonder are these mortal sins:

1. I was talking about how Chick-Fil-A has cool mascots and I started (with my big mouth) talking about how the Mcdonald clown mascot looks like a pedophile. Then I noticed what I was saying and woke up and I stopped calling the mascot a “pedophile”, I then corrected myself by saying that perhaps the man under the suit is a nice guy, I just dont like the clown look. I just dont like clown get-ups, they creep me out, big time.

Forget Ronald McD - how about the Burger King “king”? Now that

 

[paulrus]

None of those seem like mortal sins to me. Even the comment you made about Ronald McDonald; you only said he looked like a pedophile, not that he was one. If you really think he does look like one, then it’s arguably not sinful at all, though maybe you could have put it more delicately. It certainly doesn’t rise to the level of mortal sin. Besides, you were referring to the character of Ronald McDonald, not the guy playing him, so your comment was being directed at a fictional person, which I also would think would lessen the seriousness of it.

As for that list, I was also puzzled by the inclusion of “playing Dungeons and Dragons” under violations of the First Commandment. I’ve never played the game myself, but I don’t see how playing a game is sinful at all, even venial, unless played to the point where you neglect other obligations. Even then, why would D&D be singled out? Am I missing something here?

 

[DexUK]

Dear Forum:

I wonder are these mortal sins:

1. I was talking about how Chick-Fil-A has cool mascots and I started (with my big mouth) talking about how the Mcdonald clown mascot looks like a pedophile. Then I noticed what I was saying and woke up and I stopped calling the mascot a “pedophile”, I then corrected myself by saying that perhaps the man under the suit is a nice guy, I just dont like the clown look. I just dont like clown get-ups, they creep me out, big time.
2. Kids made impure jokes (my friends make these kind of jokes unfortunately). I dont like them, but after 3 years and my final 4th with them in high school, I cant just ignore them. They would be good kids but the teaching was bad via the parents.
3. I also had something like this:

I noticed that a Girl was good looking, but I stopped myself and started saying inside of my head “JESUS I trust in YOU” and then I gave thanks to the LORD and asked HIM to bless the person and to protect her. I dont even know if the thought was impure perhaps, but I prayed. I dont know fully if the thought persisted. Mortal sin?

1. If at times I feel tempted to envy and I ask the LORD to bless the person and I give thanks, is this a sign that i’m not giving in??

Are any of these a mortal sin? I just feel so dirty and sinful

Please help!!

1. No - a, because it’s just a crass remark about a fictional character based on the characteristics imbued by its writers. I wouldn’t go so far as to call the clown a ‘pedophile’ but I too find the character creepy. You might be being a bit rude, but that’s not sinful. You can’t bear false witness against something or someone who doesn’t actually exist in real life.
2. Difficult to say since you’ve not said what you’ve done other than listen to other people making jokes. If that was all, you’re not in control of their potty mouths, so no, you’re not sinning. It’s up to you if you want to find better behaved friends though, and be wary of them tempting you into actual immoral behaviour.
3. Recognising attractiveness in a person is instinctive. How would we choose the person we wish to marry otherwise? You definitely did not sin, because you did not allow yourself to dwell on impure thoughts and over and above that, you very commendably and actively sought grace and blessing for another human being. You did a Good Thing!
4. Temptation is not sinful in and of itself. It’s your actions that matter, not what you’re tempted to do. Remember our Blessed Lord spend 40 days in the Wilderness and endured the temptations of Satan. Did our spotless Saviour sin? I think you know the answer to that one…

So no, I can’t see anything you described as mortally sinful.

Relax, and blessed be.

 

[RPRPsych]

None of those seem like mortal sins to me. Even the comment you made about Ronald McDonald; you only said he looked like a pedophile, not that he was one. If you really think he does look like one, then it’s arguably not sinful at all, though maybe you could have put it more delicately. It certainly doesn’t rise to the level of mortal sin. Besides, you were referring to the character of Ronald McDonald, not the guy playing him, so your comment was being directed at a fictional person, which I also would think would lessen the seriousness of it.

As for that list, I was also puzzled by the inclusion of “playing Dungeons and Dragons” under violations of the First Commandment. I’ve never played the game myself, but I don’t see how playing a game is sinful at all, even venial, unless played to the point where you neglect other obligations. Even then, why would D&D be singled out? Am I missing something here?

I share your puzzlement. The poster above me has tried to explain it, but I think it’s part of a widespread misconception that playing RPGs somehow involves dabbling in the occult. I agree that playing any game (even Solitaire on my laptop) to the point of neglecting my duties is sinful, but it seems a bit funny to single out D&D in this way. I personally have never played D&D, but I do enjoy playing offbeat story-based RPGs on my PC By this logic, shouldn’t playing a first-person shooter count as a violation of “Thou Shalt Not Kill”?

 

[Veronica97]

I know this is an old thread, but I just found out that the Examination of Conscience by Father Robert Altier that I had linked to above is copyrighted and so I wanted to give the link where you can buy one for $1.25. I just destroyed the copy I have and will order a legal copy now because I really like this Examination of Conscience. catholicparents.org/examination_of_conscience.html