Mortal and venial sins?

[CountrySteve]

it may just be that i was raised protestant all my life but doesn’t this kinda go against the Bible i mean i trust the Church on this and believe in mortal and venial sins but can y’all give me reasons or Biblical statements declaring this is truth thanks

 

[GloriousOrder]

Dear friend, we are all called to the holy truth that is our Lord Jesus Christ. He feeds us with verity and divine truth, so we must trust Him. Ss. John and James the apostles make clear references to sin that is “unto death” and sin that is not unto death. Look to 1 John 5:6, and read all of St. James’ epistle.

 

[Cat]

Here you go:

I John 5: 16 & 17. This passage speaks of sins not leading to death and the sin that leads to death.

 

[TrueLight]

I know mortal sins can be forgiven by a priest.

What is the Catholic interpretation of the “unforgivable sin”, and can it be forgiven by a priest?

Mark 3: **
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” **

**
Matthew 12: **

31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

 

[thistle]

I know mortal sins can be forgiven by a priest.

What is the Catholic interpretation of the “unforgivable sin”, and can it be forgiven by a priest?

The Church teaching:

CCC 1864 “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

 

[noobio]

Mortal sin can only be forgiven by a priest at confession right ? So, what would one do if his/her priest are not available ?

 

[ATeutonicKnight]

I know mortal sins can be forgiven by a priest.

What is the Catholic interpretation of the “unforgivable sin”, and can it be forgiven by a priest?

The only sin that’s not forgivable is while on your death-bed, you say “I don’t believe in God. And if he exists, I hate him and I’m not sorry.” So, in modern terms, giving God the finger when you’re about to die is unforgivable. If, let’s just say, Hugh Heffner was on his death-bed, and before he died, he said “I believe in God now and I’m sincerely sorry for my sins.” He would be forgiven. But only if he was truly sorry. If he was simply sorry because he didn’t want to go to hell (Imperfect Contrition) that would be unforgivable and he would need to go to a Priest to have all of his mortal sins forgiven. Then he would be able to go to heaven even if he was in imperfect contrition. He would most likely spend some time in purgatory though.

And, just for people that are wondering, I got this out of Canon Law and from Priests.

:knight1:

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

As I have been visiting/attending an Orthodox parish not too far from here, I have found it fascinating how the Orthodox don’t believe in categorizing sins as venial vs. mortal. It’s interesting how after 1054, one proceeded to differentiate the types of sins and the other did not…Just an interesting observation…

 

[TimothyH]

As I have been visiting/attending an Orthodox parish not too far from here, I have found it fascinating how the Orthodox don’t believe in categorizing sins as venial vs. mortal. It’s interesting how after 1054, one proceeded to differentiate the types of sins and the other did not…Just an interesting observation…

And I think some Roman Catholics take venial sin too lightly and dwell on whether a sin is mortal or venial way too much.

Consider the sheer number of posts on this website asking whether such-and-such sin is mortal or venial. If a sin bother’s someone enough to ask on a public website, it should probably be taken to the confessional anyway.

In response to the original post, I’ll cite the following verse:

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, “You fool!” shall be liable to the Hell of fire. (Matthew 5:22, NRSV-CE)

Matthew 5:22 records the words of The Lord himself as he speaks about what seems to be a relative gradation of sins. The sixteenth century theologian St. Francis De Sales notes that of the three sins listed, only the third sort of offense is punished with Hell. Sins of lesser gravity do not expose the sinner to the immediate possibility of hell yet they do leave the sinner open to God’s judgment. Christ’s own words seem to compliment St. John’s doctrine of deady and non-deadly sin in 1 John 5:15-16 as many other posters have cited.

-Tim-

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Good point, Timothy

And I think some Roman Catholics take venial sin too lightly and dwell on whether a sin is mortal or venial way too much.

Consider the sheer number of posts on this website asking whether such-and-such sin is mortal or venial. If a sin bother’s someone enough to ask on a public website, it should probably be taken to the confessional anyway.

In response to the original post, I’ll cite the following verse:

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, “You fool!” shall be liable to the Hell of fire. (Matthew 5:22, NRSV-CE)

Matthew 5:22 records the words of The Lord himself as he speaks about what seems to be a relative gradation of sins. The sixteenth century theologian St. Francis De Sales notes that of the three sins listed, only the third sort of offense is punished with Hell. Sins of lesser gravity do not expose the sinner to the immediate possibility of hell yet they do leave the sinner open to God’s judgment. Christ’s own words seem to compliment St. John’s doctrine of deady and non-deadly sin in 1 John 5:15-16 as many other posters have cited.

-Tim-

 

[TrueLight]

Thank you Thistle and ATeutonicKnight.