Habitualness Diminishes Both Guilt and Merit?

[DianaCC]

If a sin is less guilty when committed out of habit, then is a good deed less good when committed out of habit too? Like for example, if you always cuss, and then you cuss, you’re not as free, so you are less guilty, because of the force of habit. Does it work both ways for good deeds that you do out of habit?

 

[Barbkw]

Of course not.

One act turns a person away from God.

The other act makes us one with God.

 

[prstoessel]

If a sin is less guilty when committed out of habit, then is a good deed less good when committed out of habit too? Like for example, if you always cuss, and then you cuss, you’re not as free, so you are less guilty, because of the force of habit. Does it work both ways for good deeds that you do out of habit?

Culpability of sin is a separate matter of the wrong-doing itself. If something is wrong or evil, there is nothing that changes that. Culpability of sin has to do with the person’s knowledge and consent in doing the evil act.

If you do good deeds out of habit, you did not get there by accident. Rather it likely took many years of patience and prayer to put into practice the virtues needed to do such good works.

 

[Bookcat]

If a sin is less guilty when committed out of habit, then is a good deed less good when committed out of habit too? Like for example, if you always cuss, and then you cuss, you’re not as free, so you are less guilty, because of the force of habit. Does it work both ways for good deeds that you do out of habit?

Nope…that is the very nature of VIRTUE

A virtue is a good habitus…via the repetition of good acts…thus becoming a “second nature”…

it is towards the perfection of such acts…

 

[smichhertz]

Culpability of sin is a separate matter of the wrong-doing itself. If something is wrong or evil, there is nothing that changes that. Culpability of sin has to do with the person’s knowledge and consent in doing the evil act.

If you do good deeds out of habit, you did not get there by accident. Rather it likely took many years of patience and prayer to put into practice the virtues needed to do such good works.

What he said.

Also, keep in mind that although the culpability for one sin diminishes if it’s done out of habit, there’s another sin of neglect that gets bigger.

So for instance, if I have a bad habit of cursing, over time, I’ll just say it without even thinking about it. I may not be as culpable for it as it has become a habit, but I am still culpable for my neglect in trying to break the habit.

Hope that helps put it in perspective for you.

 

[DianaCC]

Nope…that is the very nature of VIRTUE

A virtue is a good habitus…via the repetition of good acts…thus becoming a “second nature”…

it is towards the perfection of such acts…

But if it’s second nature then it’s less voluntary, which is why sins are less guilty. So good deeds would be less virtuous by the same token, because they are less voluntary. Nobody gets praised for being polite when it’s just your upbringing.

 

[prstoessel]

But if it’s second nature then it’s less voluntary, which is why sins are less guilty. So good deeds would be less virtuous by the same token, because they are less voluntary. Nobody gets praised for being polite when it’s just your upbringing.

Nobody congratulates me every morning after I take a shower. It is something that is expected of me by others and of myself. Does that make me less clean? Does that diminish the effectiveness of the shower? No, it just means that I have cultivated a good habit.

I don’t get praised by others for going to confession. I do it to get holy and stay holy. If I go weekly because it’s a habit, do I receive less grace?

 

[RemielAleshire]

DianaCC:

But if it’s second nature then it’s less voluntary, which is why sins are less guilty. So good deeds would be less virtuous by the same token, because they are less voluntary.

I suppose it depends on whether you evaluate the immediate intentions of the actors or as part of the whole moral life of the person. Habits take a long series of willful decisions to form, and out of these long-formed habits new ways of thinking emerge. These new ways of thinking may bring with them more voluntary good actions.

The good thing about habit is that it opens up thinking space. The good work we don’t have to think over as much because we are so used to doing it opens up new space to consider how and where we can do more and better. Habits take a long time to form at first - whether through upbringing or disciplining ownself - but the end-goal is to become so good at it that the elementary aspects of good works don’t need to be struggled over.

In the long run, therefore, habitual good works may be just as or more virtuous.

Nobody gets praised for being polite when it’s just your upbringing.

Why downplay virtues gained through upbringing? Isn’t that the point of child-raising - to train a child in as much virtue as possible? I don’t need to know how a person became polite to appreciate their good manners.

 

[Bookcat]

But if it’s second nature then it’s less voluntary, which is why sins are less guilty. So good deeds would be less virtuous by the same token, because they are less voluntary. Nobody gets praised for being polite when it’s just your upbringing.

There is a distinction to be made between regular routines…or habits that are not the kind we speak of when speaking of virtues…

As I noted this is the nature of virtue…of a good habitus…

In speaking of human virtues…one speaks of virtue that is the result of choices…

…for they have been acquired …have become connatural…and perfected…through so many choices…

like the perfection of a pianist after decades of practice…

 

[ConstantineTG]

If a sin is less guilty when committed out of habit, then is a good deed less good when committed out of habit too? Like for example, if you always cuss, and then you cuss, you’re not as free, so you are less guilty, because of the force of habit. Does it work both ways for good deeds that you do out of habit?

As one who is trying to get rid of a habit of sin, here is my opinion.

If one is not aware of the sinfulness of the act, the sin may be venial if its not a grave matter by itself (such as murder or adultery).
If one becomes aware of the sinfulness of the act and one tries to get better and is truly remorseful for the act, then it may be venial. Some people just can’t quit a habit instantly. But as long as we are trying our best to get better, God is patient with us and will recognize our own desire to be better and be rid of our sinfulness.

I am not an authority on this so I say “may be”. Everything is my opinion.