Do regular Catholics (like me) really commit so many mortal sins? Really?!

[Cat]

I’m not talking about scrupulosity. I’m talking about actually committing mortal sin at least a few times a month. Good for OP that she/he doesn’t commit mortal sins, but hearing how little OP sins does very little to encourage the rest of us.

I’m the OP, and I’m sorry that I’m not encouraging to you.

Does it help any for you to know that I am 57 (almost 58) years old, and I have been close to Jesus since I was 7 years old (I was Protestant for the first 47 years of my life, and we “accepted Jesus as our Savior”–that’s how I was close to Him).

As Christians get older in this life, they should be becoming more holy and sinning less. Doesn’t that make sense? Isn’t that what our Church teaches?

Isn’t that what saints are–people who have gotten to a place in their lives, either here on earth, or in purgatory, where sin is no longer in their lives?

Aren’t we all in the process of becoming saints? So doesn’t that mean we should sin less?

Believe me, Mongol, certain sins, especially the sex sins, become less appealing as you get older and suffer more physical and mental pain from various ailments.

And keep in mind that even though there is no “obligation” for Evangelical Protestants to attend church, we did so out of a “moral obligation.” When people missed church in the various Evangelical Protestant churches that I was involved with, other people CALLED them to find out if everything was OK. Most of us not only attended church twice on Sundays (morning and evening worship services), but we also attend Wednesday prayer meeting (or we were involved in working with one of the many family-centered church activities on Wednesday evenings–for me, it was Children’s Choir and Pioneer Clubs, or whatever children’s club was meeting in any given church). And on top of all this, most of us attended at least ONE church-sponsored Bible study and often another Bible study offered in the city, something like Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).

And keep in mind that an Evangelical Protestant worship service usually lasts a minimum of an hour and a half–the SERMON usually lasted at least 30-40 minutes, and sometimes an hour! If the pastor’s sermons were less than 20 minutes, he (never a she in Evangelical Protestant churches) could count on a visit from the Church Board asking if he was “carnal” or “falling away.” !! And the standard “Praise and Worship” portion of the worship service usually lasts at least 20 minutes!

So the “obligation” to attend one little ol’ Mass that usually doesn’t even last one hour is easy for someone like me! And I am fortunate to live in a city where Masses are offered many times on Saturday evening and Sunday throughout the day, so I have no trouble finding a Mass even when I work or have a social event.

As for the other commonly-committed mortal sins listed several times earlier in this thread–I have never lived with my husband out of wedlock, and as a woman, I don’t have the problems with visual sexual stimulation–I can look at a cute guy and think, “What a cute guy!” without lusting after him.

And I don’t drink alcohol and never have (my family is a long line of teetotalers), so drunkenness is never a problem for me.

I’m talking lightly here, but I think you have raised a very serious question–if we are not becoming less sinful in this earthly life, then…why not? I think I’ll start another thread for this one, because it’s a good question. We SHOULD be getting less attracted to sin and more attracted to holiness. Shouldn’t we? Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen to Christians who are living close to Jesus and the Church?

 

[Cat]

I started the new thread over in the Spirituality section. Visit it!

 

[bibcat]

Anger is considered a deadly sin. But anger is a naturally occurring emotion. Some people feel more of it than others, depending upon brain chemistry etc. So how can anger be a sin? Now if I commit a hurtful act as a result of that anger, yes, of course that’s a sin. Won’t comment on the other deadly sins just yet, but obviously envy is, as it’s covered by the last 2 commandments.

 

[backtocatholic]

Cat. This is the most intelligent response I’ve seen on this thread. The issues and sins we struggle with will depend on our stage in life. In my case the sins I struggle with are pride and judgemental thoughts - ironically since coming back to the church. I also have difficulties differenciating venial from mortal sin. I came back to the church last year and believe me - my life was one big mortal sin. I really struggle with confession because I arrive in with a list so long it is impossible to get through it and I find it difficult to prioritise and summarise my sins.

Despite all this I feel that I have received tremendous graces from confession and find that the issues I am struggling with are getting better.

I feel that we can get lost in rules and checklists and often forget the true meaning of christianity.

 

[ProVobis]

I feel that we can get lost in rules and checklists and often forget the true meaning of christianity.

Yes, but if we feel we’re no longer sinners, then of what value is Christianity to us?

Holiness is indeed a worthwhile goal, but Christ didn’t die for sin rationalization and intentional ignorance. And it seems there is plenty of that going around, I’m sorry.

And Cat, why do you feel there’s less likelihood that women are prone to sexual sin, et ceteris paribus? There seems to be an imbalance there somewhere.

 

[pnewton]

Yes, but if we feel we’re no longer sinners, then of what value is Christianity to us?

Holiness is indeed a worthwhile goal, but Christ didn’t die for sin rationalization and intentional ignorance. And it seems there is plenty of that going around, I’m sorry.

I do not think Cat is talking about rationalization. As to how much ignorance is intentional, I also think there is a lot of real ignorance going around. Whether many are receiving communion in a state or mortal sin or not, that depends directly on the question at hand, as to whether we commit a lot of mortal sin, so it cannot serve as evidence that a lot of mortal sin exists.

Rationalization of sin is always a problem, but it should only be a problem when we consider our own sin, which we should always take with zero tolerance. I would say the more one grows in holiness, the more one is sensitive to their own sin, not less. However, when it comes to the sins of others, it is not that we rationalize their sin. We can’t do so as that too is a judgment. Rather we simply avoid rash judgment and do not impute guilt of mortal sin to them, nor assume they are free of the guilty of mortal sin. Simply do not judge one way or another.

In fact, I have to think that this whole thread is by its nature very subjective, as it is only within ourselves we have any decent judgment, and even then we can be self-deceived.

 

[Millie123]

I’m a regular devout Catholic woman, who comes from a devout Catholic family and my answer to your thread title is Yes I believe that regular Catholics do struggle with mortal sin, even Catholic women.

I believe that women are just as prone to the sex sins as men. If you look at society the aim nowadays is to sexualize young girls at an early age. I believe that I was sexualized at a very young age which was extremely damaging to my soul, and made me prone to the sex sins, which is still a struggle against, as I try to live my adult life as a devout Catholic. I remember my parents, themselves very devout Catholics, trying to shield me from the secular view of sex. However as a smal school child, my friend (who was another small school age child) would draw me graphic pictures of the sex act and genitalia.

Nowadays we have planned parenthood going into schools to teach children sex ed. I’ve personally known people who have placed their daughters on birth control from the time of their first period. Once my young 14 year old cousin, whose parents are devout Catholics, posted pictures of her cleavage on Facebook.

Like I said, I believe that children are being sexualized at a very young age…even Catholic ones. For me personally once I learned about sex (way before I was ready) it seemed so appealing that it opened a huge can of worms, it was impossible to bring my innocence back again…it was so damaging that it made me prone to the sex sins, which I am still struggling with many years later as a regular devout Catholic woman.

 

[ProVobis]

Whether many are receiving communion in a state or mortal sin or not, that depends directly on the question at hand, as to whether we commit a lot of mortal sin

pn, actually my argument goes beyond whether we are technically allowed to receive communion. There is always confession at our disposal and we should be fessing up to what we did wrong, not trying to find reasons why we don’t have to go to confession. I don’t think we as Catholics appreciate the most precious gift of all, that of God’s forgiveness through confession.

When we get pulled over by a cop, I’ll bet most of us (and I know I’m one of them) who look for any excuse to get out of a ticket. We’ll even question his radar gun. But we’ve been taught to do that. And this kind of teaching only tries to get us out of our responsibilities to society and to God. Cat herself shows how drinking alcohol is most dangerous, yet we all seem to find a way out of owning up to those responsibilities associated with it. I’ve confessed to drinking and overeating because I’m more worried about my role in society than whether I can go to communion or not.

 

[backtocatholic]

I am not saying we should forget about or rationalize sin. In fact, I spend all day trying to make sure I don’t commit a mortal sin. I spend hours wondering about things like if I can go to the shops, book a flight online etc. on a Sunday even though I have already attended mass and kept time for family. I also spend hours trying to guard and analyse my thoughts.

I feel that by concentrating on growing spiritually we should be automatically sinning less.

 

[Millie123]

I feel that by concentrating on growing spiritually we should be automatically sinning less.

I don’t think that’s true for everyone. For some Catholics yes, but for others even as they strive to grow in holiness and spirituality, some devout Catholics will still have to struggle against their habitual grave sins as heavy burdensome crosses. Kind of like recovering drug addicts, they may fully strive to have a clean healthy lifestyle…but they may still struggle to control their desire for the drug as a burdensome heavy cross, and that cross may have to be carried through life.

 

[backtocatholic]

The shopping on Sunday is something I’d like to hear other people’s views on. At the moment I feel that grocery shopping is OK but only for essential items but I’m never sure where to draw the line. If I get a bad thought, say a thought of contempt I immediately try and replace it with a better thought but am never sure if I am fighting it properly.

 

[backtocatholic]

I am not saying we should forget about or rationalize sin. In fact, I spend all day trying to make sure I don’t commit a mortal sin. I spend hours wondering about things like if I can go to the shops, book a flight online etc. on a Sunday even though I have already attended mass and kept time for family. I also spend hours trying to guard and analyse my thoughts.

I feel that by concentrating on growing spiritually we should be automatically sinning less.

 

[Millie123]

I feel that by concentrating on growing spiritually we should be automatically sinning less.

I think that when we convince ourselves that we are safe from sinning because of how spiritual we are then we are indeed at great risk of stumbling and falling.

Kind of like saint Peter who had a great love for Christ convinced himself of his great love for God…surely he would never deny Christ, he didn’t believe that he would stumble and fall. And yet he did. The devil wants us to believe that we are safe from sinning…even with our deep spirituality none of us are safe from sin

 

[babochka]

I feel that by concentrating on growing spiritually we should be automatically sinning less.

Maybe, but at the same time, as we grow spiritually, our own blind spots and the depth of our sins are also revealed to us. Many saints that we see as holy were overwhelmed by their own sense of sinfulness.

A few years ago, my confessor said something to me that was life-changing. He made a recommendation that I do something that I didn’t feel comfortable with. I countered that I didn’t know if I could do that because I’m shy. He told me that my shyness is pride. It was such an eye opening comment! I had never been able to see that in myself and I began to realize all the times that I failed to do the right thing because I allowed my pride (everybody will notice me, what will people think, etc.) to hold me back. It opened up for me an entirely new level of sin that I had never before considered.

 

[jinglebelle]

As many of you know, I (and my husband) converted to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism in 2004. We are 57 years old, and were enthusiastic, uber-involved Evangelical Protestants.

Over the years that I have been involved with CAF, I’ve read many threads and posts in which a Catholic states that they have committed a mortal sin, or several mortal sins.

Really?!

I go to Confession at least every few months, but in the decade that I have been Catholic, I have only committed mortal sin a few times, and it was the “m” word sin. The older I get, the less of a problem this is for me. I guess that’s one advantage of growing old.

I honestly am not aware of any mortal sins in my life. My husband is the same way.

I assume that since we are not aware of committing any mortal sins, that we have not committed any, since one of the requirements for a sin to be mortal is being aware that it is a sin and deliberately choosing to commit it anyway and disregard our Lord Jesus.

My husband and I commit plenty of venial sins, mainly sins of overindulgence, laziness, carelessness, or just failing to be enthusiastic about the Lord Jesus and our Church. These are what we confess, and it is so wonderful to receive forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and start over with a clean heart.

So…what exactly do all of these Catholics do that is mortal sin?! And how much of this is just scrupulosity? I’m having a hard time believing that so many Catholics who have been in the Church longer than we have are committing so many mortal sins.

OTOH, do my husband and I have dull consciences because we were raised in the Evangelical Protestant churches where all our sins, past, present, and FUTURE, are forgiven? Are we perhaps the worst sinners of all because of our unawareness of our many serious sins each day?

|NO

 

[steve_b]

A thesaurous is not the Church. If you want to think your opinion is fact and definitive, fine. I still consider it an opinion.

A thesaurus list words which may be used as synonyms. In the Church theology, a distinction is made in documents like the one quoted here. That is why two word are used, not one.

As I’ve said, I’m NOT giving my opinion on this.

Fr. John Hardon is a highly respected resource. Fr Hardon equates the terms seriously offensive, mortally sinful., gravely sinful, and grave sin together. He doesn’t seperate them.

GRAVE SIN (all emphasis mine. note: grave, serious, and mortal are used inerchangably)

**GRAVE SIN **

"The transgression of a divine law in a grievous matter with full knowledge and consent.

The matter may be serious either in itself (as blasphemy) or because of the circumstances (as striking one’s father or mother) or on account of its purpose (as telling a lie in order to destroy a person’s character). Sufficient knowledge of the serious nature of a sinful action is present if one is clearly conscious that the act is mortally sinful, say because the Scriptures or the Church identify certain acts as seriously offensive to God. It is enough that one knows that what one intends to do may be a mortal sin, but does it anyhow. Indifference to the laws of God is equivalent to disobeying them. Full consent is present when one freely wills to commit an action although one clearly knows it is gravely sinful. No sin is committed if one does not will the deed, no matter how clear one’s knowledge may be. After all, the essence of sin is in the free will. Thus, too, a person does not sin who, with the best of will, cannot dispel obscene or blasphemous thoughts and desires, even though he or she well knows they are gravely sinful. The resolution to perform an action is not the same as the pleasure or satisfaction experienced in the emotions, nor the same as a compulsive idea, “I like the sin.” One sign of partial knowledge or not full consent would be the fact that a person does not complete an action when this can easily be done, or is so minded that the person would rather die than commit a grave sin."

 

[switalabe]

How is it possible to commit “serial” mortal sins? If a mortal sin completely separates one from the grace of God – surely one cannot separate oneself completely twice? If I chop off my limb, I cannot chop it off again – unless it’s been reattached – right?

 

[ProVobis]

How is it possible to commit “serial” mortal sins? If a mortal sin completely separates one from the grace of God – surely one cannot separate oneself completely twice? If I chop off my limb, I cannot chop it off again – unless it’s been reattached – right?

Further separation from God just means one more sin to confess when you want to reconciled. Sorry I can’t fit that into your limb analogy.

 

[ProVobis]

The shopping on Sunday is something I’d like to hear other people’s views on. At the moment I feel that grocery shopping is OK but only for essential items but I’m never sure where to draw the line.

The way to look at that IMO is to imagine no one comes to work on Sunday. No one in emergency rooms, no one at gas stations, no police or firemen, no one cooking or serving meals at restaurants, no one playing professional sports, and so on. Some would consider that a good thing, but until we automate everything, some manual labor is indeed needed on Sundays so that families could spend time together.

 

[Millie123]

How is it possible to commit “serial” mortal sins? If a mortal sin completely separates one from the grace of God – surely one cannot separate oneself completely twice? If I chop off my limb, I cannot chop it off again – unless it’s been reattached – right?

Someone can commit multiple crimes can’t they? A long while ago I was reading a spiritual book by some Saint (Can’t remember the name). There was a part of the book where The author was talking about hell and why it is important for those who may be in mortal sin to not continue to add to their grievous offenses. If they were to die unrepentant then those sins would be adding to their punishment in hell, those sins will be addressed, a soul’s punishment can be increased for their many unrepented mortal sins.