Broke a promise- is this a sin?

[Timbothefiveth]

So at my martial arts class, after it’s over every night someone mops the floor. A few nights ago, figuring I really should be more charitable, I promised (so I wouldn’t just skip it) that I’d clean them next time. Well, tonight was next time, and I was going to clean them, but I’m getting up early tommorow for a sporting event and wanted to get home and practice, and people were staying and sparring a long time, so I figured I’ll clean them next time instead. Anything in the catechism to guide me on this?

 

[Pray4Life]

Yes, breaking promises is a sin, in this case probably a venial matter unless breaking it caused serious harm of some kind, but if in doubt, ask your confessor. Keep in mind that not keeping your words on small things damages people’s trust in you when it comes to larger ones- you don’t want to be the person full of promises to do good things who never actually ponies up. Better just to keep your mouth shut if you think you might not be able to do what you say you will, or to swallow the inconvenience if turns out to be harder to do than you expect!

I can’t think of any specific references to promises in the Catechism at the moment, I would think this would fall under the category of the 8th commandment- since not keeping your word is a dishonest action. Maybe someone else can clarify on that. Hope that helps!