Intention to sin as bad as sinning?

[Bookcat]

From the theologians I have read, it is not a grave sin to dwell on oneself committing a grave sin (so a murder fantasy is venial).

I have explained “when” it is a grave sin (mortal sin) and when it is not. There can be a number of facets that go into it …

This is all according to Catholic Moral Theology.

And I am coming at this as a person with a background in Theology, I have a degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville where I studied Moral Theology as part of my degree. Oh and My wife too…has a Masters in Theology from a Pontifical Academy in Poland and she would agree as well…

Murder in “fantasy” can be mortal or venial… depending on what I have explained above. And “murder in fantasy”…can even be no sin at all…like when one is reading a murder novel or watching a movie etc and one enjoys the fictional drama …

or when it happens and one does not realize what is going on…or not a mortal sin when ones full knowledge or full consent are lacking of course…

It is only grave if one intends to act that sin out, and this for serious sins such as murder and adultery.

Yes it is grave if one intends to carry it out or consents fully to the desire etc…and YES this is for “serious sins” all serious sins…such as murder, adultery, lust, perjury, missing Mass without excusing reason, pornography, etc etc etc…

I have never heard anyone discuss the whole missing mass scenario, but honestly, missing mass is so far below murder and adultery on the sinfulness scale,

Mortal sin is mortal sin. And Yes there can be degrees in mortal sin some worse than others…but none are ok or good. If I murder my wife (poor wife…she has been murdered so often in this thread…) it is worse than if I murder my dentist all things being equal. Or murdering a little child is worse than an adult etc etc I will not get into trying to “place Missing Mass” on a scale of mortal sins…for it is of cours the worship of God…but for example if a person misses Mass out of hatred of God…yes that is worse then someone who misses it because they want to watch a movie or something.

that I just don’t believe for a second that deciding not to go and then changing one’s mind is a mortal sin that eternally separates one from God.

Read again my posts above… “It can be a mortal sin…If the one has the full knowledge and complete consent”…

read the post on the signs of consent etc…or rather the signs of lack of full consent…and thus of no mortal sin…so it is a very import thing to keep in mind…

but of course it does not “separate one for eternity” if one confesses etc and is again in Grace.

 

[Bookcat]

Oh and there can be other ways one can commit a mortal sin in thought other than “choosing” to do it internally (even if one does not carry it out).

Such as:

Taking pleasure in a sinful thought with full knowledge and deliberate consent.

For example if I take pleasure in the thought of my taking a gun with me to my dentists office and murdering my dentist for all the pain he has caused me over the years …and I realize I should not be doing this that it is grave matter but do not stop but continue with full knowledge deliberate consent anyhow.

Dwelling on sins already commited and approving them.

For example

If I after I murder my dentist…and repent and am forgiven…I later…while sitting in prison start thinking about the crime…and I dwell on it “approving” it …“That was so cool that I killed him…I made the bastard squirm …serves him right after all that dental pain he gave me!”…and again I realize I should not be doing this that it is grave matter but do not stop but continue with full knowledge deliberate consent anyhow.

Desiring what is sinful …

For example if I desire to commit adultery with the Dentists wife or desire to steal his car …I realize I should not be doing this that it is grave matter but do not stop but continue with full knowledge deliberate consent anyhow.

Again readers should refer to the posts above…and be careful here…these things have to be understood right…not as just passing thought etc…and read as to when consent is not full…and when certain “conditions” can make it not sinful…and my post on “thoughts” forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=7164250&postcount=22 and the my comments on those with scruples…and of course especially read this post by Jimmy Akin the senior Apologist of Catholic Answers jimmyakin.org/2005/06/mental_sins.html where he explains in detail these things…make sure you read it to the end.

Just cause some thought occurs to you or desire…it does not mean on has committed ANY sin.

And of course these are the moral principles etc…more could be said in the cases of “actual particular persons” in assessing if they had the full knowledge and deliberate consent needed etc…this is where a good confessor can assist a particular person…