How serious of a sin?

[BearFan]

Is masturbation a mortal sin or a venial sin? I have heard both!

 

[bilop]

Objectively, it is grave matter, and so a mortal sin if all three conditions are met.

However, it could be reduced to a venial sin, if the person had an addiction to it, or was emotionally immature, i.e. was not doing so out of their own free will.

Remember for a sin to be mortal it must be 1) grave matter, 2) the person knows it is grave matter, 3) the person intentionally commits the act out of their own free will.

God Bless

 

[thistle]

Is masturbation a mortal sin or a venial sin? I have heard both!

It is ALWAYS a grave sin. The fact that certain circumstances might not make it a mortal sin does not reduce it to a venial sin.

 

[davidv]

It is ALWAYS a grave sin. The fact that certain circumstances might not make it a mortal sin does not reduce it to a venial sin.

By definition, if it is not “mortal”, it is venial. There are no other categories.

 

[dylanschrader]

The Catechism says:

2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. “Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action.” “The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose.” For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of “the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved.”

To form an equitable judgment about the subjects’ moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability.

Masturbation is grave matter.

If it is done with knowledge that it is grave matter and without any factors that decrease intentionality (e.g., as mentioned in the second paragraph), then it is a mortal sin.

Regarding the judgment of subjective culpability with regard to masturation, Persona Humana says:

On the subject of masturbation modern psychology provides much valid and useful information for formulating a more equitable judgment on moral responsibility and for orienting pastoral action. Psychology helps one to see how the immaturity of adolescence (which can sometimes persist after that age), psychological imbalance or habit can influence behavior, diminishing the deliberate character of the act and bringing about a situation whereby subjectively there may not always be serious fault. But in general, the absence of serious responsibility must not be presumed; this would be to misunderstand people’s moral capacity.

 

[otjm]

It is ALWAYS a grave sin. The fact that certain circumstances might not make it a mortal sin does not reduce it to a venial sin.

C’mon, use your noodle. If it is not a mortal sin, then it is either no sin at all or it is a venial sin.

There is a difference between objective and subjective in sin. If something is objectively a grave matter, then objectivley it is a mortal (grave) sin. That is, the seriousness of the matter does not change by the actor’s intent or knowledge.

The question is: is something which is objectively a mortal (grave) sin always a mortal sin for the person who commits the act? The answer is no; because grave matter is only part of what determines if the act is mortal or not. If it is a nocturnal emission, that is, does not occur while awake, it is no sin at all. There is no sin if one is not awake and alert to make a choice; when sleeping there is no intent as the Church defines it.

There may be circumstances (I won’t go through the permutations) where one is not fully making the choice, or one is not in full knowledge of the sinfulness of the actions, and the sin is venial; it does not become a non-grave matter, but the guilt is not mortal.

 

[tvdxer]

It’s a mortal sin.

However, like all mortal sins, the masturbator must know (or at least wonder if) it is a mortal sin at the time and do it freely anyway.

 

[HailMary]

All mortal sins are grave, but not all grave sins are mortal.

If you do not have FULL will, it is not a mortal sin. For most men, it is an addiction. If you are stuck in this cycle, and are not enjoying it, and what to stop in YOUR WILL its severity is not a mortal sin.

 

[Nepenthe]

I am not Catholic, but I try to understand scholarly Christian in detail, with regard to others who are concerned by such divisions; so yes, masturbation is a grave matter, in that it is serious, regarding your outlook on life (and your immortal soul as well, though I have no understanding of such matters).

As in all matters of physical pleasure, some moderation is important, and crucial to your orthodoxy, and I would say your well-being outside any faith. Waking up and shaking your head, and doing your laundry is not going to land you in that fiery lake, right? This pertains to all of us, male and female, young and old, straight and lesbian, hither and yon. It really is OKAY to be human, even for Catholics.

 

[Smber2c]

All mortal sins are grave, but not all grave sins are mortal.

If you do not have FULL will, it is not a mortal sin. For most men, it is an addiction. If you are stuck in this cycle, and are not enjoying it, and what to stop in YOUR WILL its severity is not a mortal sin.

I’m not sure that most men are addicted or that at least addiction immediatly makes it venial.

Speaking for myself and a few friends that I’ve discussed this with; we have times when we are very strongly drawn to masterbatoin. Usually, we’re hit with some trigger like a picture of an attractive woman on ESPN or Sports Illustrated web-sites.

At that point we have to options, start into the destructive habit by clicking the links or using search boxes that are always present. Or close the page. I think the bulk of the sin is in this seemingly minor moment.

Having talked it through, whenever any of us start into the habit, by letting ourselves get into web-link clicking mode we’re almost certainly done. But it isn’t like we’re blinded zombies. We honestly find ourselves in a temporary state where we can think, “I want to do this action. God says it is wrong…I have to stop thinking about him for a second.”

It’s the most obvious mortal sin that I can imagine, yet it is addictive. However, as I said, we know now that getting to that point we’re almost always to weak to make the right decision. While in the first instant we’re almost always strong enough to say no. The times we fall is when we lie to ourselves and say, “Whatever, I’m not that weak. I can google Anna Kournikova and not look at the really bad results.”

From my experience personally and in helping others in their struggles is that this sort of routine is very common for Christians attempting to avoid this habit.

I even avoid certain web-pages with acceptable content but suggestive banner adds b/c they’ve pulled me down before.

I wish advertising wasn’t so cut throat. It injures my spiritual walk when half naked women are placed in my path. I wish it didn’t, and continue getting stronger, but I’m not over it.

 

[thistle]

C’mon, use your noodle. If it is not a mortal sin, then it is either no sin at all or it is a venial sin.

There is a difference between objective and subjective in sin. If something is objectively a grave matter, then objectivley it is a mortal (grave) sin. That is, the seriousness of the matter does not change by the actor’s intent or knowledge.

The question is: is something which is objectively a mortal (grave) sin always a mortal sin for the person who commits the act? The answer is no; because grave matter is only part of what determines if the act is mortal or not. If it is a nocturnal emission, that is, does not occur while awake, it is no sin at all. There is no sin if one is not awake and alert to make a choice; when sleeping there is no intent as the Church defines it.

There may be circumstances (I won’t go through the permutations) where one is not fully making the choice, or one is not in full knowledge of the sinfulness of the actions, and the sin is venial; it does not become a non-grave matter, but the guilt is not mortal.

You are wrong.

There are venial sins, grave sins and grave sins which can become mortal sins. Use your own noodle!!

 

[hilde_the_dog]

Look If this action is something you in private because you don’t want others watching, you must at least have an indication that it is wrong.

 

[dylanschrader]

You are wrong.

There are venial sins, grave sins and grave sins which can become mortal sins. Use your own noodle!!

Along the lines of the distinction you are making Reconciliatio et Paenitentia says:

During the synod assembly some fathers proposed a threefold distinction of sins, classifying them as venial, grave and mortal. This threefold distinction might illustrate the fact that there is a scale of seriousness among grave sins. But it still remains true that the essential and decisive distinction is between sin which destroys charity and sin which does not kill the supernatural life: There is no middle way between life and death.

It is true that there are varying degrees of objective gravity of sins. The mortal/venial distinction depends on a subjective analysis since the terms refer to the consequences within the soul of the person.

 

[Cari]

Look If this action is something you in private because you don’t want others watching, you must at least have an indication that it is wrong.

You can’t really use this as a litmus test, as I get dressed in private because I don’t want others watching, and I don’t think it’s wrong.

 

[NaturalEnquirer]

Look If this action is something you in private because you don’t want others watching, you must at least have an indication that it is wrong.

I shower in private. I don’t think that’s wrong.