I THINK this is venial sin

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Veronica97

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My logic is telling me this is venial sin, but I don’t always trust my own conscience. Okay, so my female hormone levels are high right now. I was surfing CAF and came across a post that said, “Ladies: Is this true?” Something told me it might be about sex and I had the thought, “Hey–I’d like to read about it if it is.” But then I thought, “No, it might not be about sex–it might be about something else–it’s okay to click on it whatever it is about–it’s a Catholic forum not a pornographic forum!” Then I clicked on it and saw it was about sex, and I clicked right out of it, not wanting to give myself an opportunity to dwell on it. I’m NOT saying it was a sinful question–it was a legitimate post–I’m just saying that for me personally right now it might not have been a good idea to click on it. So then this morning I was back on CAF and thought, "I’ll just click on it again–it’s just a question on a forum and I’m not reading for the purpose of arousal. But then I thought, “But last night I DID become aroused and clicked out of it as soon as I realized it was going to do that to me.” But I clicked on it again anyway and the same thing happened. I am thinking that this is venial sin because I was reading out of curiousity, not for the PURPOSE of arousal. But I did become aroused and maybe it was not prudent of me to read (even for a few seconds), even though many other people probably read it with no problems. I’m thinking this is venial sin, but I’m not positive. And then of course, the more I worry about it, the more physical arousal I feel. Is this just normal physical response and not sinful or is it sinful? I’ve only taken my Catholic faith seriously for the past 2 years and it’s really hard for me to distinguish sometimes what is sinful and what isn’t. I want to be able to trust my conscience, but I had such a lax conscience before I had my reversion experience that it sometimes makes me doubt myself.
 
dont worry about it, this sounds like you are having an attack of the scruples. Calm down and just keep going, a post on this site is hardly likely to be majorly impure so you have quite a safe zone here.
 
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR THOSE WHO STRUGGLE WITH SCRUPULOSITY
1. Do not repeat prayers, no matter how badly they may have been prayed, even if the prayers were given to you as a penance during the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).

2. Do not repeat the confession of sins that have already been confessed and which have never been re-committed.

3. If you doubt the earnestness of your sorrow in Confession, consider the sorrow as having been adequate.

4. If you are doubtful as to whether a past action committed was sinful, mention it simply to your confessor.

5. If you are worrying that maybe you never confessed a certain sin from your past, consider it confessed. If you know for a fact that you have never confessed that sin, then confess it simply. The Holy Spirit does not torment us with doubts and/or guilt; rather, He always brings peace as He awakens our conscience to our sins.
(cf. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11: “Indeed, sorrow for God’s sake produces a repentance without regrets, leading to salvation, whereas worldly sorrow brings death. Just look at the fruit of this sorrow which stems from God. What a measure of holy zeal it has brought you.”)

6. Examine your conscience for no longer than three minutes each day, and for no longer than about ten minutes before you go to Confession.

7. If you have prayed at the time of temptation, you can be sure you did not commit a mortal sin.

8. If you have a history of scrupulosity, and you have made a General Confession at some time in your past, do not make another General Confession. Once a month is a good norm for the frequency of a regular Confession.

9. If possible, go to Confession to the same confessor-priest.

10. Most importantly, cultivate a humble heart by complete obedience to the direction of your confessor. Be patient with yourself. Love is the goal of all our lives. It is important to remember that scrupulosity usually (and, quite often, ultimately) stems from one’s personal pride or arrogance, as though the scrupulous person holds this personal opinion: “I have a higher norm than most normal people.”

Fr. Wade L. J. Menezes, CPM The Fathers of Mercy
 
As i’m sure you’re well aware The Catechism states: 1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131

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 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.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

So if you did not think it was a grave matter, or did not have full knowledge and complete consent I think you may be alright. I always think when in doubt confess it anyway.
 
po18guy said:
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR THOSE WHO STRUGGLE WITH SCRUPULOSITY
1. Do not repeat prayers, no matter how badly they may have been prayed, even if the prayers were given to you as a penance during the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).

2. Do not repeat the confession of sins that have already been confessed and which have never been re-committed.

3. If you doubt the earnestness of your sorrow in Confession, consider the sorrow as having been adequate.

4. If you are doubtful as to whether a past action committed was sinful, mention it simply to your confessor.

5. If you are worrying that maybe you never confessed a certain sin from your past, consider it confessed. If you know for a fact that you have never confessed that sin, then confess it simply. The Holy Spirit does not torment us with doubts and/or guilt; rather, He always brings peace as He awakens our conscience to our sins.
(cf. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11: “Indeed, sorrow for God’s sake produces a repentance without regrets, leading to salvation, whereas worldly sorrow brings death. Just look at the fruit of this sorrow which stems from God. What a measure of holy zeal it has brought you.”)

6. Examine your conscience for no longer than three minutes each day, and for no longer than about ten minutes before you go to Confession.

7. If you have prayed at the time of temptation, you can be sure you did not commit a mortal sin.

8. If you have a history of scrupulosity, and you have made a General Confession at some time in your past, do not make another General Confession. Once a month is a good norm for the frequency of a regular Confession.

9. If possible, go to Confession to the same confessor-priest.

10. Most importantly, cultivate a humble heart by complete obedience to the direction of your confessor. Be patient with yourself. Love is the goal of all our lives. It is important to remember that scrupulosity usually (and, quite often, ultimately) stems from one’s personal pride or arrogance, as though the scrupulous person holds this personal opinion: “I have a higher norm than most normal people.”

Fr. Wade L. J. Menezes, CPM The Fathers of Mercy
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I like this.
 
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