How Do You Know If a Sin is "Grave" or "Serious"?

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I know that in order for a sin to be a mortal sin, it must be 1) a grave sin, 2) you must be aware that it’s a grave sin, 3) you must freely choose to do it anyway.

I also know you must not choose to intentionally continue to live in ignorance, but always seek out the truth.
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My question is, how do we know exactly which sins are “grave”, or “serious”? **

(For reasons of privacy and modesty I’m keeping the exact sin in question unstated, but I know the question has come up at other times of my life as well. Not that it’s okay to continue in ANY sin, just because it may not be “mortal”, but the confusion comes if the sin has occurred and I find myself in church on Sunday trying to figure out if it’s okay to go to Communion or not, or just to know where exactly the state of my soul lies should I die before an opportunity to confess.)

Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut!

God bless,
Charlie
 
theprinces(name removed by moderator)m said:
**
My question is, how do we know exactly which sins are “grave”, or “serious”? **
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There is no difference from “grave” vs. “serious” they are one in the same…

A mortal sin = is a grave sin = is a serious sin.

I believe the language was softened when the whole notion of mortal/grave/serious sin was watered down. I know it was not a great idea to change the words because I know the result was confusion in the pews.

Therefore, there is no need to distinguish between a grave sin and a serious sin because - as long as all three conditions have been met…a mortal sin has been committed and one must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be forgiven of any mortal/grave/serious sin.
 
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=11843
Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: “Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.” The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
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I have had trouble with this also. I know the 3 criteria for a mortal sin, but what makes something a grave matter? I know that stealing a potato chip from my friend’s lunch bag isn’t a serious sin, and I know that going into someone’s house and robbing everything they own is seriously sinful. Where do you draw the line on the sins that fall in between those? It’s not always black and white, especially when you get into sins that don’t directly fall under the 10 commandments.
 
First off - sorry about my misunderstanding of the OP. Thought the question was what the difference was between a grave sin and a serious sin…

My advise is…when in doubt if a sin is grave or not…confess it.
You cannot go wrong. Error on the side of caution - and confess it - because all grave sins need to be confessed in order to be forgiven.

So if you are uncertain as to if a sin falls under the category of being grave…however you are certain it is a sin (venial/mortal) that you did indeed did commit - you would be wise to confess it in the Sacrament to a priest.

It would be better to confess it and it ends up to be only be a venial sin than fail to confess it and it really is a mortal sin. You will remain in that state until you receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

So unless you are someone who receives the Sacrament of Reconciliation only when you are in the state of mortal sin…then I recommend that you also receive the Sacrament when you are in the questionable state of mortal sin as well.

Final words…when in doubt - get the the the Sacrament. I recommend that you do not play roulette with your moral life ~ when the Sacrament is a sure fresh start for the soul.
 
Seatuck said:
catholicparents.org/oxcart/Examination%20of%20Conscience.pdf

I like this examen. It gives a bit more in the way of guidance .
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Thanks, great list!

And to jmjconder, while I think that going to Confession to be safe is a good thing (unless you’re overly scrupulous), don’t you need full knowledge of the gravity of the sin for it to be mortal? I mean if you have to ask if it’s mortal, doesn’t that show lack of knowledge at the time the sin was committed?
 
CTA1967 said:
Thanks, great list!

And to jmjconder, while I think that going to Confession to be safe is a good thing (unless you’re overly scrupulous), don’t you need full knowledge of the gravity of the sin for it to be mortal? I mean if you have to ask if it’s mortal, doesn’t that show lack of knowledge at the time the sin was committed?
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Yes but confessing it and getting the advise of the priest who is In Persona Christi will help you in the future to know if it is of grave or serious matter!

Brenda V.
 
CTA1967 said:
Thanks, great list!

I mean if you have to ask if it’s mortal, doesn’t that show lack of knowledge at the time the sin was committed?
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The list was written by Fr. Robert Altier a very holy priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis and is the most comprehensive one I have seen and the one I use and pass on.

I would like to respond to your last statement. If you have to ask if it’s motral you contend it shows lack of full knowledge. I would argue just the opposite. If one truly lacks full knowledge they would not even know enough to question the sin as mortal in the first place.

The fact that one wonders if it is a mortal sin - would say to me they have enough knowledge to be aware that in their instant ~ this particular action is of grave matter.
 
What if they’re scrupulous?

I know that for someone with a normally functioning conscience, doing something against your conscience would be a sin, even if it turns out it isn’t a sin. But would that be a venial or a grave matter?
 
CTA1967 said:
What if they’re scrupulous?

I know that for someone with a normally functioning conscience, doing something against your conscience would be a sin, even if it turns out it isn’t a sin. But would that be a venial or a grave matter?
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I recommend you reflect prayerfully on Fr. Robert Altier’s great examine as listed in an earlier post. He has a way of explaining venial and grave sins. After that if you are still in doubt then see a preist and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation for forgiveness and ask for some guidance in what seems to be spiritual muddy waters.

The best lesson to learn in these instances is to get spiritual clarity for the future in order to avoid the near occasion of sin. It will always be an ongoing learning process in the spiritual life.

If you find that there is a certain area you are always struggling with it may be wise to seek out a spiritual director to assist you in orvercoming an ongoing moral weakness.
 
You Don’t. Its In The Eyes Of The Interpreter. People Without Conscience–like Hitler–were Able To Commit Their Acts Because They Had No Conscience. This Implies They Did Not Know They Were Committing Something Grave. If That Is The Standard, Then Hitler Has A Better Chance Of Salvation Than The Thief Who Shoplifts A Loaf Of Bread Because He Is Poor & Starving. The Absence Of Conscience Truly Is The Pillar Behind Pure Evil. It Supercedes All The Rest Of Our Human Flaws.
 
KLIBERA said:
You Don’t. Its In The Eyes Of The Interpreter. People Without Conscience–like Hitler–were Able To Commit Their Acts Because They Had No Conscience. This Implies They Did Not Know They Were Committing Something Grave. If That Is The Standard, Then Hitler Has A Better Chance Of Salvation Than The Thief Who Shoplifts A Loaf Of Bread Because He Is Poor & Starving. The Absence Of Conscience Truly Is The Pillar Behind Pure Evil. It Supercedes All The Rest Of Our Human Flaws.
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Reading Your Posts With Every Word Capitalized Is Very Tedious But Then It Does Get My Attention.

IMHO, if you say that Hitler had no conscience you are making an assumption that is just as judgmental as if you said he did have a conscience and gave full consent. People can commit acts of violence with a conscience however malformed it may be. Our greatest human flaw is the well formed conscience choosing to do evil since that allows for the full consent of the will…Just my two cents…teachccd 🙂
 
KLIBERA said:
You Don’t. Its In The Eyes Of The Interpreter. People Without Conscience–like Hitler–were Able To Commit Their Acts Because They Had No Conscience. This Implies They Did Not Know They Were Committing Something Grave. If That Is The Standard, Then Hitler Has A Better Chance Of Salvation Than The Thief Who Shoplifts A Loaf Of Bread Because He Is Poor & Starving. The Absence Of Conscience Truly Is The Pillar Behind Pure Evil. It Supercedes All The Rest Of Our Human Flaws.
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You are wrong. The Catholic Church, through the authority given to it by Christ, teaches what is grave or not and that is measured against the 10 Commandments. It is not up to each individual person to decide that.

Also you are wrong when you say that it is implied that people do not know they are committing a grave act if they commit acts because they have no conscience. That is actually nonsense. It simply means such people don’t care what they doing.

By the way can you stop posting with all these capital letters. It makes your comments hard to read and, frankly, irritating to try.
 
thistle said:
By the way can you stop posting with all these capital letters. It makes your comments hard to read and, frankly, irritating to try.
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Heh, maybe the all caps is to deliberately discourage dissent? On topic, can you really read the consciences of other people? I imagine the Pope might like to meet you.
 
CTA1967 said:
Heh, maybe the all caps is to deliberately discourage dissent? On topic, can you really read the consciences of other people? I imagine the Pope might like to meet you.
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It doesn’t take a genius to know Hitler didn’t care about murdering millions.
 
First, let me say, I make no excuse for any sin and I repeat ANY, designated as such by the CCC.

When a sin involves harm to another, that’s when the indicator needle starts to go into the grave side of the meeter.

Yes, solitary sins are still sins, and should be fought at every turn, however, looking at soft core porn is a sin against chastity, then there is rape. Both sexual sins, however, rape would be, maybe, in the same category as murder. When both are put on the table together, looking at soft core porn is less a sin than just silly by comparison to a sexual assault on the innocent.

If I leave it at that, some will say that in the example of looking at soft core porn, the married person who is the perp could also be causing an injury the the spouse and children. Yes, that is correct as I see it. But different worlds of hurt to the innocent.

In my judgment, the solitary sin of say, vanity would not pay the same debt to Gods Justice as violent crime such as aggravated robbery causing a psychical injury to an innocent using a weapon to rob. Put another way, when its a sin and a crime, your in way over your head into the grave and serious.

What do you think?
 
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