Is Mortal Sin Over-Estimated?

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NOTES: (1) I am not talking about sin in general. I think the culture underestimates sin and evil, and I think the Church can even do so as well. (2) I am NOT denying Mortal Sin is possible.

Rather, I’m talking about Mortal Sin specifically: Sin which leaves us graceless and damnable.

My issue is this: I almost hear about Mortal Sin too casually from many Catholic quarters, as if it’s just a given. Like, there’s almost this impression that people – even active Catholics – just go in and out of mortal sin often enough. Even monthly or what have you. You’ll hear people (on radio, or on CAF, etc.) advise that one just “refrains from communion because of mortal sin. But just be sure to go to confession!” etc.

While I think we need to remember the seriousness of sin, I think we sometimes over-do the whole “Mortal Sin” thing.

Do you sense this, too?
 
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I tend to think it is over-estimated because if people truly realized how grave it was they wouldn’t do it and those who do don’t realize it completely. That and most people are not freely consenting entirely.

I don’t make the rules so who knows but in my opinion, it’s easy to fall into grave sin but extremely hard to commit mortal sin.

When I confessed recently I said “I don’t know if these are mortal sins or not but sometimes I received.” So I let the priest and ultimately God decide what is mortal and what isn’t
 
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For mortal it has to be with full knowledge and be grave matter. All the priests I’ve spoke to said it’s very hard to do, and that if you have you will know you have. murder for example. What I do think happens is people commit grave sins and don’t take them seriously enough or think ‘is that really so bad?’ And then you get desensitised to sin. So regular confession important any way
 
On the contrary, I believe we underestimate the great damage mortal sin does to us and those around us.

Being condemned to Hell for all eternity is no joke.

And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. (Matthew 18:9)

The problem is that mortal sin effects are not immediate and because of God’s great Mercy we can become complacent and dismiss it as something not that bad.

There are many deadly illnesses which do not show any symptom until it is too late, how much more then could there be of supernatural things. Christ reinforces the “extreme” measures we need to take to avoid mortal sin, it is a serious business.
 
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I think part of the problem is also how we understand sin in general, and what hell is.

If Hell is just a condemnation for consciously selecting to act against God, then it is hard to see how Mortal Sin is committed frequently – especially “in and out” (grace one day, mortal sin the next, etc.)

But if Hell is rather getting what you want, lending toward your natural preferences, then maybe Mortal Sin is frequent. Hell is a big deal, but it’s just getting what your heart desires.
 
Some are in a state of mortal sin for long stretches (sadly, even until death), some go in and out, and some stay out for long stretches. Most have us have experienced a mix of all three I would imagine. But everyone is different.

In any event, be careful, your thinking and conclusion are promoted by dissenting theologians who try and promote the “fundamental option.” See Veritatis Spendor paragraphs 65 to 70.

http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-p...hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html
 
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RealisticCatholic said:
lending toward your natural preferences, then maybe Mortal Sin is frequent. Hell is a big deal, but it’s just getting what your heart desires.
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We know we cannot rely on what our hearts desires because our nature is flawed by original sin. We also know choosing evil can never bring us peace, happiness or joy in any meaningful way.

However doing our best to keep our conscience clear and working toward doing good does bring satisfaction, peace and joy.
 
Well, lots of people are having extra-marital sex, stealing, physically harming others, what have you. But do a lot of Catholics with pretty well-formed consciences “over estimate” mortal sin for each other?

I’m not going to rule on that. I will say, on the one hand, it’s helpful to have a distinction between mortal and venial sin. On the other, I feel like too many people get trapped or caught up in the distinction rather than just attempting to do the good or to focus on reforming habitual issues.
 
John10 said:
On the contrary, I believe we underestimate the great damage mortal sin does to us and those around us.
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He’s not suggesting it’s not greatly damaging. I don’t think anyone argues that the consequences of mortal sin are catastrophic. OP is suggesting that maybe it’s harder to commit a truly mortal sin than many assume.

Anyway, my intuition leads me to the same thought, but I’m hesitant to trust that because it could just be me trying to rationalize doing something I shouldn’t.
 
Many Catholics use the term “mortal sin” to mean “grave sin”. I probably did this myself before I joined this forum and a couple of posters including a priest gave me the standard speech about how we cannot know that someone else’s sin is mortal or not and that furthermore it’s probably not mortal because free will appeared to be missing, etc.

Additionally, many Catholics do not like to go to confession, or worse yet have been discouraged from going in some manner by their priest. There have been stories posted here of more than one priest and some RCIA directors who have said if you haven’t committed a possible “mortal sin”, don’t go to confession. This is both sad and a wrong approach to confession in general, but the whole “is this sin Mortal” business is usually shorthand for “do I need to go to confession right now or can it wait?”

We would do well to just focus on sin and not be constantly trying to separate out mortal sin as the only sin we need to be concerned about. When God judges, he’s going to show you ALL your sins. NOT just your grave sins.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
We would do well to just focus on sin and not be constantly trying to separate out mortal sin as the only sin we need to be concerned about.
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Agreed and I’ve had my confessor tell me something similar. In the end, sin is sin and we should just try not sin. We shouldn’t try to sin as much as possible until it becomes mortal. Just try not to sin and if you do, don’t beat yourself up, just go and seek forgiveness
 
RealisticCatholic said:
If Hell is just a condemnation for consciously selecting to act against God, then it is hard to see how Mortal Sin is committed frequently – especially “in and out” (grace one day, mortal sin the next, etc.)

But if Hell is rather getting what you want, lending toward your natural preferences, then maybe Mortal Sin is frequent. Hell is a big deal, but it’s just getting what your heart desires.
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Sin is pleasurable in the short term. That’s why we do it. Hell is not pleasurable. It is not going to be what we want when we experience it.

With respect to being “in and out” of mortal sin, a person who is toggling back and forth like that and is regularly going to confession may not be “mortally sinning” in the first place, because he may not intend to be severing his relationship with God and may not intend to be sinning at all. He may be simply committing grave sins on the brink of mortal. His state of mind is a big factor in this. Is he truly trying to resist the sin and avoid the occasions of sin, and he slipped up? Or is he making a poor effort to resist and figuring “Hey, I might as well just go sin since I can confess it tomorrow and be back in the state of grace by Sunday.”

As I said before, we are better off just trying to avoid sin, ALL sin, and not going through all these mental gymnastics trying to figure out what’s mortal and what isn’t. We say at the end of the Act of Contrition we will SIN NO MORE. Not “mortally sin no more”.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
we will SIN NO MORE
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Also nobody is perfect. What God wants is that we try and that we humble ourselves to seek mercy and forgiveness. God knows we will sin and sin many times, what God wants is that we try to sin ultimately less and less each time.

”God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.” - St. Augustine
 
RealisticCatholic said:
NOTES: (1) I am not talking about sin in general. I think the culture underestimates sin and evil, and I think the Church can even do so as well. (2) I am NOT denying Mortal Sin is possible.

Rather, I’m talking about Mortal Sin specifically: Sin which leaves us graceless and damnable.

My issue is this: I almost hear about Mortal Sin too casually from many Catholic quarters, as if it’s just a given. Like, there’s almost this impression that people – even active Catholics – just go in and out of mortal sin often enough. Even monthly or what have you. You’ll hear people (on radio, or on CAF, etc.) advise that one just “refrains from communion because of mortal sin. But just be sure to go to confession!” etc.

While I think we need to remember the seriousness of sin, I think we sometimes over-do the whole “Mortal Sin” thing.

Do you sense this, too?
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Yes, I think among some Catholics, especially those who are susceptible scrupulousness, tend to classify too many sins as mortal sins.

Most sins are venial sins and they really should be avoided too and Catholics ought to work diligently to turn away from them, not only mortal and serious venial sins but even minor venial sins. Yet, sometimes I shake my head when I see someone posting here about a sin that’s clearly only a venial sin and yet they’re worried that it’s a mortal sin and worse other posters seem to encourage that thinking. It’s not healthy for one’s soul to think almost all sins are mortal sins, yet sadly some Catholics appear to live their life that way.
 
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I think some of the concern is desensitization through despair. If it seems one cannot help but slip into mortal sin regularly, then people are likely to weaken in their resolve. This is why scrupulosity is such a danger.
 
@John10

Yes, if a mortal sin is actually committed I agree with you. I think @GospelOfMatthew has it right,
Mortal sins are rare. Jesus said as much, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
 
RealisticCatholic said:
NOTES: (1) I am not talking about sin in general. I think the culture underestimates sin and evil, and I think the Church can even do so as well. (2) I am NOT denying Mortal Sin is possible.

Rather, I’m talking about Mortal Sin specifically: Sin which leaves us graceless and damnable.

My issue is this: I almost hear about Mortal Sin too casually from many Catholic quarters, as if it’s just a given. Like, there’s almost this impression that people – even active Catholics – just go in and out of mortal sin often enough. Even monthly or what have you. You’ll hear people (on radio, or on CAF, etc.) advise that one just “refrains from communion because of mortal sin. But just be sure to go to confession!” etc.

While I think we need to remember the seriousness of sin, I think we sometimes over-do the whole “Mortal Sin” thing.

Do you sense this, too?
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No, I personally don’t sense that.

all one has to do is look how big/small the confession line is on Saturdays at the parish and you’ll see how people in that parish view sin…particularly mortal sin.
 
Bear with me on this, as it will come back around to your point.

If certain discussions bother us, an important factor for each of us into call to mind is that we do not have to enter into or pay attention to each and every thread, each and every radio program, etc. It took me a long time to realize this and I still fight the temptation.

Death is death. In our culture, we tend to view it rather casually unless it concerns our immediate circle. Our minds have absorbed the portrayal of death thousands of times on TV, radio, video games. It becomes surreal. Yet, when it strikes close to home, we are suddenly shocked back to reality.

It is real, it is omnipresent and it effects an eternal change. I would suppose that this motivates, to some degree, our fascination with sin. We seek to know what sin is and what is not; what is mortal sin and what is venial. We look for loopholes! Yet, this focus blinds us to something much more crucial:

The virtues!

We are expected to know and practice the virtues! They strengthen our bond With God and help us to develop virtuous habits which replace the habits of sin. We are given the charisms in which we may put the virtues to work for the Kingdom of God!

Sin draws us within the self in a very selfish culture. The virtues take our focus off of self and toward our love of God and of neighbor: something spiritually healthy - something outside of ourselves. We are all wrapped up in our little cocoons of life and death, sin and absolution. In all of this, where are the virtues?

We may pride ourselves on confessing, absolution and a lack of sin. What the Lord also notices is a lack of virtue! The great Saints are not known for obsessing with sin! They focused like a laser on the virtues and putting them into practice. Did each still sin? Of course! But sin did not dominate their consciousness; it did not rule their lives.

What bothers me is the constant focus on sin to the detriment of the virtues!

EDIT: Link added.
 
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po18guy said:
What bothers me is the constant focus on sin to the detriment of the virtues!
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This is a fair point.
Many people who frequent this forum fall in one of the below categories:
  • They have scruples, so sin is always on their mind.
  • They are distressed by the fact that the popular culture and even many Catholics outside of CAF pretty much ignore the concept of “sin” and just figure, as Fr. Mike says, if you’re a good person, in other words, not Hitler, you’ll go to heaven. They come here largely to lament about some sinful aspects of society. Many of them have some pet sin that they like to lament about (gays, sexual impurity, immodesty, lack of proper reverence for God, etc)
  • They are people who are young or not well catechized or have come from a different faith background, and they are confused or struggling with what exactly is a sin and what isn’t.
  • They are at the beginner level of spiritual development where we’ve all been at some point, where we are mostly concerned with trying to stay out of Hell or in some cases Purgatory, and are trying to follow all the rules so we don’t end up there, rather than focusing on love of God and development of virtues which people start thinking about at a higher level of spiritual development.
All these categories of people are going to be focusing on sin.
 
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My motto is always focus on your virtues and not your sins. We are going to sin regardless no matter what we do. But we aren’t necessarily going to be virtuous no matter what we do.
 
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