Can thoughts that aren't actually sinful be sinful in curtain cases?

[Christ_Conquers]

Hi,
Are thoughts that aren’t sinful matter, but that could make you think/remind you of something gravely sinful, be grave matter? This is assuming that you don’t carry the thought further and think the actual sinful thought.

For example: let’s say that at one time the word “dentist” made me think of something sinful.
If I was tempted to think the word “dentist” (tempted because the connection between that thought and the sinful one) and then thought it, could it be sinful?

Thanks!

 

[Regina_Love]

No. A thought that is wrong only becomes a sin when you welcome it, and dwell on it. If you have a wrong thought, just reject it, and move on to a better thought or a good activity .

 

[IanGE]

I recall when I was in my early teens and my first girl-friend and I enjoyed some pretty heavy goodnight kisses. This was sixty years ago when holding hands started on the twenty-fifth date and even non-catholics didn’t just didn’t go beyond the much later kisses taught by Hollywood: prim, pursed-lip jobs. It was about then that I think our catechism was updated to include acts that put you “in the occasion of sin”. For example, kissing - which could lead further and further until, “Oh God, mortal sin - I can’t go to communion for 900 years cos I CAN’T tell Father!”
So I believe kissing fell into the venial category; come to think I confessed to that particular venial sin for years until I got married. Thinking about it now, I must have made many years of bad confessions because I wasn’t really sorry, didn’t really repent but had every intention of Sunday night goodnight kisses with Barbara after the movies!

 

[JRKH]

No. A thought that is wrong only becomes a sin when you welcome it, and dwell on it. If you have a wrong thought, just reject it, and move on to a better thought or a good activity .

THIS…

Peace
James

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Hi,
Are thoughts that aren’t sinful matter, but that could make you think/remind you of something gravely sinful, be grave matter? This is assuming that you don’t carry the thought further and think the actual sinful thought.

For example: let’s say that at one time the word “dentist” made me think of something sinful.
If I was tempted to think the word “dentist” (tempted because the connection between that thought and the sinful one) and then thought it, could it be sinful?

Thanks!

I think this could happen in one way.

Suppose I’m daydreaming about being some sort of superman, throwing arch villains off tall buildings, filling fictictious Mafia hoods full of lead etc. This might be the sort of thing an author may describe in a work of fiction. He’d need to think of these actions to be able to visualise the story.

I don’t think this is sinful, as the thoughts carry no intent. They’re purely an imaginary exercise.

But if I am angry with someone, to the point where I visualise throwing a real person off the Empire State Building, or shooting him in the kneecap, then these thoughts become sinful, as they have malicious intent behind them, and I would carry them out if I could.

To be sinful, there’d have to be wilful intent.