I am wondering what are the Mortal sins and what are the Venial sins?

[AmandaB]

This is embarrassing, being a Catholic I should know this, but I find it hard to get a clear understanding of exactly what they are. I know what the “Vices” are, but what about especially the “Mortal sins”-what exactly would those be? Obviously I want to avoid all sin, but especially these ones! Thank you!

 

[Wowbagger]

I try not to just post links to other sites in my replies, but in this case I think it’s appropriate.

There’s a very good explanation of mortal sins, plus a list of sins that constitute “grave matter” (that is, potentially mortal sins) located here: saintaquinas.com/mortal_sin.html .

 

[baltobetsy]

I try not to just post links to other sites in my replies, but in this case I think it’s appropriate.

There’s a very good explanation of mortal sins, plus a list of sins that constitute “grave matter” (that is, potentially mortal sins) located here: saintaquinas.com/mortal_sin.html .

This otherwise excellent article contains one serious error. Under the Third Commandment, it says that one must receive Holy Communion every time one attends Sunday Mass. This is incorrect. The precept of the Church is that one must receive Holy Communion once a year during the Easter Season.

Betsy

 

[Wowbagger]

I did see that, but I took it to mean, “Unless you are in a state of mortal sin, you ought to receive Holy Communion when you go to Mass,” which is accurate, isn’t it? As you say, the bare minimum is indeed once a year (during the Easter season), per canon law, but that applies to those who are typically dispensed from attending Mass (for example, medieval farmers with no mode of transportation) and persistent mortal sinners, doesn’t it? If you’re at Mass, you should receive communion.

I’m a bit out of my depth on this point, so I’ll be grateful for any answer you can give me.

 

[baltobetsy]

If you’re at Mass, you may receive Holy Communion if you are properly disposed and prepared. If you are Catholic, have fasted for one hour, are in a state of grace, and you want to, then, yes, you should receive. I submit that if you don’t want to receive, and you do so inattentively and without love just because everyone else does, it’s not necessarily a good thing.

The Church gives us a bare minimum, and we have complete freedom about how far beyond it we will go.

Betsy

 

[thistle]

I did see that, but I took it to mean, “Unless you are in a state of mortal sin, you ought to receive Holy Communion when you go to Mass,” which is accurate, isn’t it? As you say, the bare minimum is indeed once a year (during the Easter season), per canon law, but that applies to those who are typically dispensed from attending Mass (for example, medieval farmers with no mode of transportation) and persistent mortal sinners, doesn’t it? If you’re at Mass, you should receive communion.

I’m a bit out of my depth on this point, so I’ll be grateful for any answer you can give me.

Receiving Holy Communion is only required once a year (during Easter period).
All other times (assuming you are in a state of grace) you may receive but you are not obliged to.

 

[Bookcat]

I try not to just post links to other sites in my replies, but in this case I think it’s appropriate.

There’s a very good explanation of mortal sins, plus a list of sins that constitute “grave matter” (that is, potentially mortal sins) located here: saintaquinas.com/mortal_sin.html .

There are other problems in this article…I would not suggest it as a perfectly reliable source.

 

[Ron_Conte]

A mortal sin is an act that is so gravely immoral before God as to be entirely incompatible with true love of God and neighbor. An actual mortal sin includes sufficient culpability to take away the state of grace from the soul, and to deserve eternal damnation.

Saint Thomas Aquinas: “Therefore when the soul is so disordered by sin as to turn away from its last end, viz. God, to Whom it is united by charity, there is mortal sin; but when it is disordered without turning away from God, there is venial sin.” (Summa Theologica, I-II, Q. 72, A. 5.)

Pope John Paul II: “And when through sin, the soul commits a disorder that reaches the point of turning away from its ultimate end, God, to which it is bound by charity, then the sin is mortal; on the other hand, whenever the disorder does not reach the point of a turning away from God, the sin is venial. For this reason venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity and therefore eternal happiness, whereas just such a deprivation is precisely the consequence of mortal sin.” (Reconciliation and Penance, n. 17.)

 

[Bookcat]

From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. When does one commit a mortal sin?

1855-1861
1874

One commits a mortal sin when there are simultaneously present: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. This sin destroys charity in us, deprives us of sanctifying grace, and, if unrepented, leads us to the eternal death of hell. It can be forgiven in the ordinary way by means of the sacraments of Baptism and of Penance or Reconciliation.

1. When does one commit a venial sin?

1862-1864
1875

One commits a venial sin, which is essentially different from a mortal sin, when the matter involved is less serious or, even if it is grave, when full knowledge or complete consent are absent. Venial sin does not break the covenant with God but it weakens charity and manifests a disordered affection for created goods. It impedes the progress of a soul in the exercise of the virtues and in the practice of moral good. It merits temporal punishment which purifies.

 

[Bookcat]

use the moral section of the Catechism itself……this will help to find out what are grave matters…(which if done with full knowledge and complete consent are thus mortal sins)

some examples:

Fornication
Lying under oath before God
Grave Calumny
Idolatry
Adultery
Lust
Masterbation
Homosexual acts
Pornography
Serious Theft
Drunkenness to the point of loss of reason
Abortion
Euthanasia
Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation or Holy Day to attend Mass (without sufficiently good reason…like being sick or dispensation)
Grave Scandal

etc

---

1858 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."132 …

So there is something under each of them

put the words ‘grave sin’ and later do "grave’-- in this search engine…scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

a number of things in the ccc are actually noted as grave …or when they become grave…but some may not be noted explicitly…(i say this because i have not checked per se every thing to see if it is explicitly noted…)

and remember there can be many other things that would be grave…man is good at inventing new sins…

 

[Bookcat]

My articles on: the Most Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary
Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium, and Sexual Ethics.
My translation of the Bible: CPDV

Readers please note:

These web pages are **not **recommended sources for Catholic sexual ethics…other areas too are of private opinion or are problematic or incorrect from a theological or canonical view.

Instead seek out sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and articles and books for sale from Catholic Answers.

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism

vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm

Read entire third section…

 

[Cherry5]

use the moral section of the Catechism itself……this will help to find out what are grave matters…(which if done with full knowledge and complete consent are thus mortal sins)

some examples:

Fornication
Lying under oath before God
Grave Calumny
Idolatry
Adultery
Lust
Masterbation
Homosexual acts
Pornography
Serious Theft
Drunkenness to the point of loss of reason
Abortion
Euthanasia
Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation or Holy Day to attend Mass (without sufficiently good reason…like being sick or dispensation)
Grave Scandal

etc
…

Curious as to why this list is not posted in bold for everyone to see at every Church? Perhaps this would save many souls. Is there no conviction/consensus in the church about how grave these sins are? I go to church regularly but have never heard a priest preach about masturbation being a sin or talk about some of the sins above that are so wide spread!

It seems so black and white in these forums with respect to mortal sin.

 

[Bookcat]

Curious as to why this list is not posted in bold for everyone to see at every Church? Perhaps this would save many souls. Is there no conviction/consensus in the church about how grave these sins are? I go to church regularly but have never heard a priest preach about masturbation being a sin or talk about some of the sins above that are so wide spread!

It seems so black and white in these forums with respect to mortal sin.

These things are in the Catechism and the Compendium of the Catechism…which every Catholic should have…

 

[Ron_Conte]

Curious as to why this list is not posted in bold for everyone to see at every Church?

Such a list is not very useful, for the following reasons.

While it is true that grave calumny is a grave sin, it is unrevealing, since one still has to determine if the calumny is grave. The same is true for grave scandal. Saying that serious Theft is a grave sin is like saying that grave calumny or grave scandal is a grave sin. A determination still needs to be made as to what constitutes theft as a mortal sin versus theft as a venial sin.

Idolatry is a grave sin, but the forms of idolatry prevalent today are not explicit idolatry (the worship of idols) but rather exalting material things (money, status, power, etc) as if they were gods/idols. So a determination is still needed to determine if the sin is idolatry, or merely some excesses or poor judgment with regard to material things.

It is true that sexual sins such as fornication, masturbation, and unnatural acts are grave sins, and yet there are some Catholics who claim that these types of acts are moral in certain circumstances, with certain intentions.

Lust is a grave sin, even in marriage, but many Catholics do not know what that term means, or how to decide if an interior act is lust.

Pornography is not an act; a sin is an immoral act. There are various types of gravely sinful acts associated with pornography.

Abortion - direct abortion is a mortal sin; indirect abortion is sometimes moral. The use of abortifacient contraception is the mortal sin of direct abortion, and yet some Catholics justify its use, for certain intentions, in some circumstances.

Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation or Holy Day to attend Mass. The obligation to worship God and to keep holy the Sabbath is a grave obligation, but failing in that obligation only on occasion, without a just reason, is not a grave failure, and so the sin is venial. Also, if there is a just reason, then missing Mass is not a sin at all.

 

[Bookcat]

Pornography is not an act; a sin is an immoral act. There are various types of gravely sinful acts associated with pornography.

Deliberate failure of the Sunday obligation or Holy Day to attend Mass. The obligation to worship God and to keep holy the Sabbath is a grave obligation, but failing in that obligation only on occasion, without a just reason, is not a grave failure, and so the sin is venial.

Pornagraphy is grave matter.

“The obligation to worship God and to keep holy the Sabbath is a grave obligation, but failing in that obligation only on occasion, without a just reason, is not a grave failure, and so the sin is venial.”

this statement is NOT the the case. Missing even one Sunday Mass or Holy Day Mass without the excusing reason or dispensation is a grave matter for mortal sin.

One can not “on occasion” miss it and it be venial…

 

[Ron_Conte]

Pornagraphy is grave matter.

“The obligation to worship God and to keep holy the Sabbath is a grave obligation, but failing in that obligation only on occasion, without a just reason, is not a grave failure, and so the sin is venial.”

this statement is NOT the the case. Missing even one Sunday Mass or Holy Day Mass without the excusing reason or dispensation is a grave matter for mortal sin.

One can not “on occasion” miss it and it be venial…

Grave matter refers to acts. The same concept applies to the abortifacient contraceptive pill. The pill itself is not ‘grave matter.’ It is a tangible object. The act of taking the pill while sexually active is the grave matter. Similarly, the sinful acts related to pornographic material are the grave matter. These can be divided into three types: creating pornography, distributing pornography, using pornography. The material itself is gravely disordered, but it is not the grave matter. The term grave matter refers to the matter of the act. In another example, the grave matter of an act of murder committed with a knife is not the knife, but the act of using that knife to commit murder.

The CCC uses ‘grave matter’ to refer to acts: 1858 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…" These are acts, not material items.

My theological argument concerning missing Mass is that, while the obligation to worship God and keep holy the Sabbath is grave, the offense against that obligation, missing Mass only on occasion, is a substantially-limited and therefore not entirely incompatible with continuing in the state of grace, and in the love of God and neighbor.

Similarly, a husband has a grave obligation to be faithful to his wife. But if he offends against that grave obligation to an extent that is not grave, such as by flirting with another woman, then his sin is not objectively grave.

 

[Bookcat]

Grave matter refers to acts. The same concept applies to the abortifacient contraceptive pill. The pill itself is not ‘grave matter.’ It is a tangible object. The act of taking the pill while sexually active is the grave matter. Similarly, the sinful acts related to pornographic material are the grave matter. These can be divided into three types: creating pornography, distributing pornography, using pornography. The material itself is gravely disordered, but it is not the grave matter. The term grave matter refers to the matter of the act. In another example, the grave matter of an act of murder committed with a knife is not the knife, but the act of using that knife to commit murder.

The CCC uses ‘grave matter’ to refer to acts: 1858 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…" These are acts, not material items.

My theological argument concerning missing Mass is that, while the obligation to worship God and keep holy the Sabbath is grave, the offense against that obligation, missing Mass only on occasion, is a substantially-limited and therefore not entirely incompatible with continuing in the state of grace, and in the love of God and neighbor.

.

Any single grave matter done with full knowledge and complete consent is a mortal sin. And yes is incompatible with the love of God as is every single instance of grave matter.

*Pornography *is a grave matter…watching it…selling it…buying it…etc

all this is understood by the one word.

Catechism:

2354 *Pornography *consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.

Notice the ccc simply used the word pornography to denote many aspects…

as I stated and as the CCC states *pornography *is grave.

As for Mass…

Catechism notes CCC in 2181

“Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”

Occasional omissions are not venial matter they are grave matter…
so every Mass missed without the serious reason or dispensation if done deliberately…in other words with full knowledge and deliberate consent would
be a mortal sin. And would need to be confessed in number and kind…such as I missed Sunday Mass 5 times.

Of course if one has a serious reason or gets dispensed…no sin at all.

 

[budgie2]

This is embarrassing, being a Catholic I should know this, but I find it hard to get a clear understanding of exactly what they are. I know what the “Vices” are, but what about especially the “Mortal sins”-what exactly would those be? Obviously I want to avoid all sin, but especially these ones! Thank you!

A mortal sin kills somebody. A venial sin doesn’t kill anybody. However, mortal sins in our Church include things like abortion and embryo experimentation. It could also involve things like Paedophilia, and severe sexual or physical abuse and a few other crimes.