Did I Commit a Mortal Sin? (RE Breaking Promises)

[jcaus]

At what point does not fulfilling a promise become grave matter?

Some context: There’s a number of YouTube channels, websites, Instagram accounts, etc. that I’ve come across which I’ve listed to report because they violate the standard rules of practice by uploading pornographic content. They’re pretty disgusting. When I report them though it is pretty mentally and emotionally draining on myself. I’ve prayed to God that I’ll stop because it’s not healthy but three weeks later I have the thought that maybe I need to go back and report the others. I do that and end up in the same routine, like I’m caught in a loop.

I know breaking a vow with God is bad, and I honestly can’t remember if I ever promised God that I would stop doing this (I know I’ve prayed that I will move on), but whenever I’ve gone back and reported these accounts I’ve never thought of it as breaking a promise, but rather just coming out of retirement so to speak to help out. I probably have a similar problem whenever I’ve prayed to God and told Him that I’m going to stop watching a TV show or picking my nails. I don’t do it to neglect nor hurt Him. I would never do that. I only want to serve and glorify Him. Sometimes I feel like I make these commitments to stop only to then later find a reason to start again because my intentions are good.

I’ve been trying to contact a priest but they were unavailable at the moment. CAF has been a big help of late (there’s some seriously smart and kind people on here) and I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts. God bless you all

 

[rosejmj]

Well you don’t even know if you made a promise. So I doubt you committed a mortal sin. It also would depend how serious the promise you made to God is. If you just thought at some point " God, I promise I won’t do this again" I think that breaking the promise is at worst only venial sin. If you made a promise to God seriously, under the direction of a priest and even wrote it out, it would probably be much more serious if you broke it.

I’m not sure it’s good to put a lot of energy into reporting bad sites or channels. I’m not sure what it really does. Some sites won’t block pornographic stuff anyway. I definitely wouldn’t look for the channels just so you can block them. If you stumble upon them then you can report them. Really I think you could channel your good intentions in a more more useful activity, such as helping someone directly that struggles with porn addiction or something

 

[jcaus]

Thank you, rosejmj. I’ve never made a promise under the direction of a priest. I feel like a lot of the time when I made these resolutions to stop that I didn’t know breaking them would be as bad a thing as they are.

A lot of the time I probably put more into actually helping those who have been objectified on these channels. For example, if Mary Sue was an actress and she was the subject of victimisation on one of these YouTube channels, I’d go to her website and write something kind to her. I wouldn’t mention what had happened, but I thought it was right to go out of my way to treat her with dignity and show some care.

 

[rosejmj]

That sounds like a good idea. Maybe you can find ways of spreading the truth about pornography. It is great that you realize how harmful it can be and that you want to do something about it. It seems like you have really good intentions and you could use websites and social media to share your thoughts which may get people to think more about the effects of pornography. I don’t think there is any mortal sin involved although you can always bring it up in confession. Breaking a resolution is usually not a mortal sin St all. Everyone does it sonetimes because we are all weak. Just do the best you can. Of course someone who knows you better can give you better advice regarding your time spent in social media sites and other online platforms and your resolutions

 

[jcaus]

Thank you. I really appreciate your advice I will be keeping you in my prayers. May your life continue to glorify Him!

 

[CRV]

I honestly can’t remember if I ever promised God that I would stop doing this

To my way of thinking, a person who made a promise to another whether that person be a friend, spouse, family member, etc or God would know for certain that they did indeed promise such an such and would remember doing so quite clearly.

I told God some years ago after praying a particular prayer which is “to be done if possible on Thursday night from 11 o’clock to 12 midnight, or at least on the first Thursday of the month” , and it’s called An Hour of adoration with Jesus in his agony at Gethsemane. This prayer so moved me as it really shines the spotlight on Jesus’s sufferings from the Agony in the Garden to His crucifixion and death. I was in tears the first time and whilst I did consider if it was possible for me to do it every Thursday night - and I thought I could - so I told God I would. Only after some time of prayering every Thursday night did I fully realise that due to my chronic health issues, every Thursday night was not possible. So I went to my parish priest who was also my spiritual director briefly explained the matter and asked to be released from the obligation of every Thursday to just the first Thursday. Which He granted me.

Here are two articles I found of help back then when I had this issue arise:-
Frequently Asked Questions regarding VOWS AND PROMISES question 2 relates more to your issue.
I made a hasty promise to God, now what?