Drunkedness and mortal sin

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Drunkeness is always grave matter, but it is not always a mortal sin. To be a mortal sin the drunkerd must have full knowledge that he was going to drink a lot and the gravity of that action, and fully consent to it as well.

Drunkeness that isn’t desired though is not a mortal sin, but should still be confessed. Remember mortal sins are very serious sins; you must really have the intent to do evil when you commit them. However, when you can bring your self to do these grave acts with malicious intent. It does a lot damage to the soul.
 
Do I believe he is in hell from his drinking? Absolutely not! If you mention your night of getting drunk on wine to your parish priest in confession and he probably wouldn’t say a word about it.
 
I don’t think that being drunk is a sin, unless you choose to act reckless from it. Yes, sometimes you are so far gone that you don’t even know what’s happening anymore… but really, you still have an idea of whats going on… Case in point:

There was a man that woke up with the worst hangover of his life. The room was a mess, and when he looked in the mirror he had a huge black eye. However, he smells breakfast being cooked in the kitchen, and there is a rose in the vase by his bed. He walks in the kitchen and said “what happened?!” His wife says “You came in the house, ran into the door and got a black eye, you ran into things all over the house, made a huge mess and were very loud.” He answers “why are you being so sweet about it?” She said “I went to take your clothes off for you while you were passing out. You jumped up and screamed ‘stay away from me! i’m married!!!’”
 
I’m just going to toss this out htere.

I don’t pretend to know how to answer this question conclusively. However I do not know what to think of questions such as this that are relative in nature (we also often question when desire turns to lust…along with other examples).

We speak of Catholicism being an objective truth but we also speak of some grey areas where some behavior crosses over from venial to mortal sin.

An abstact example might be:

According to some charts I have seen:

I am 230lbs therefore I can have 2 beers an hour for the first 1 hours then 1 beer an hour following - no sin

If I have 2 beers an hour for the first 2 hours then 1 beer an hour following - venial sin

If I have 3 beers an hour for the first 2 hours then 1 beer an hour following - mortal sin

So I die and during my particular judgement God says to me, “if only you hadn’t had the 1 budweiser on june the 7th 1999 you’d go to heaven, but off to hell with you”.

This seems ludicrous to me yet it is so often the topic of posts in these forums. There MUST be a better answer.

One time in the confessional I questioned whether something I had done was a Mortal sin or not, the Priest said to me, “if you commited a mortal sin you would know it”.

It seems to me the “full consent” may be where people get confused on this matter.

If an individual thinks, “I am going to get hammered tonight and I don’t care what-so-ever what God thinks of this” - mortal

If an individual thinks, “I am going to have a few beers with some friends tonight and I hope I can control myself because if I get hammered I am disgracing myself before my God”, then succums to social anxiety and has a few too many – venial

Anybody’s answer to questions like these are only opinions. And you will get nearly as many answers as people you ask (priests included). On many things in our faith, we are on our own.
 
it makes you wonder if banning alcohol altogether would be a good idea. Too many grey areas regarding excess. suppose the same could be said for food. Thanks for chatting, everyone!
 
lwest said:
it makes you wonder if banning alcohol altogether would be a good idea. Too many grey areas regarding excess. suppose the same could be said for food. Thanks for chatting, everyone!
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not grey.

one needs the virtue of temperance…

not giving up food and drink.
 
Being really drunk can be a mortal sin (with the other two aspects met – full knowledge and full consent). A complete loss of reason would be mortal. (like you do not remember what you did…or do not know right from wrong etc…)

If one forsees one will lose ones reason completely it would thus be a grave matter to drink that amount of alcohol.

To partially loose ones reason knowingly is venial. (but he can still judge right from wrong etc…) for instance you know you have had enough and still keep drinking knowing you can loose your reason partially…

Of course one should not drive etc.

immoderate drinking is sinful …reasonable drinking can be good. “God gave men wine to gladden their hearts…”

Moderate drinking is not a sin. And thus to feel some effects and enjoy the drink is not a sin…

of course if one is an alocholic one should stay away from it…

or if for some other reason of health etc. (or moderate it accordingly)

(From my memory and a work called “To Settle your Conscience” by Kucharek …OSV)
 
lwest said:
it makes you wonder if banning alcohol altogether would be a good idea. Too many grey areas regarding excess. suppose the same could be said for food. Thanks for chatting, everyone!
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It is not use but abuse. Every thing that goes into the body has some effect on how we precive reality i.e. eating an apple when tired gives us energy. even the air we breath can alter how we view the world such as meditative breathing exercises. We worrship a god who turned water into wine so clearly he does not think drinking is wrong. Compare drugs/alcohol to a knife. a knife can be used to cut plants and make a salad or be used by a doctor to cut out diseased fleash or it can be used to murder. So to can drugs/alcohol be used in the same way to relax to heal such as native american peyote healing ceromonies or can destroy a person in the grips of addiction.
 
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