Mortal Sin & Coronavirus

[Marshmallow03]

I committed a mortal sin a few months ago. I am 16 years old and I didn’t realize that what I did was a mortal sin until a few days ago. I was thinking back about it, and I read the catechism and the Theology of the Body and it was then that I realized it was a mortal sin. I feel extremely saddened and sorry for what I did and I want to go to confession immediately. But the problem is that because of COVID19, there is no church near us that is hearing confession right now. I live in New Jersey where the virus is getting pretty bad. I read up on contrition and perfect contrition and tried to do it, but I still don’t know what exactly I am supposed to do. It’s a morbid thought, but what if I were to die from the virus or something else like a car crash before I could confess? Would I go straight to Hell? Is God still angry at me? I am extremely sad and I have no idea what I should do. Please help!

 

[dconklin]

If you did not know it was a mortal sin when you committed it, it is not a mortal sin for you.

 

[Marshmallow03]

I think I didn’t know it was mortal because of carelessness and refusal to think about it at that time. I vaguely thought it might be serious, but I ended up forgetting until recently.

 

[JerryZ]

To have perfect contrition means that you are sorry not so much that you did what you did but that it offended GOD who loves you.
That’s the key I believe. So one is sorry for having offended GOD wants to make amends for it and ask GOD for the strength of not sinning AGAIN.
The Act of Contrition is a prayer that you can find in the breviary https://www.ibreviary.com a good Catholic resource you can upload to your smartphone with the daily readings, liturgy of the hours and more.
Also I would suggest praying the Rosary and ask the Blessed mother to free us of that specific sin that plagues us.
Peace!

 

[Genesis315]

You obviously are contrite and want to go to confession. Pray to God in Jesus’ name that He give you the opportunity and grace to make a good confession as soon as you are able and He will certainly make it so. As Jesus promises:

Matt. 7:[7] Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.

He elaborates on this elsewhere:

John 16:[24]…Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full.

The condition on His unfailing promise to give what we seek is that it make our joy full, that is, it is good for our salvation (that’s what full joy is). Making a good confession when we are in mortal sin is always good for our salvation!

He also desires all to be saved (see also 1: Tim 2:4)–He doesn’t abandon one who wants to be forgiven:

Matt. 18:[11] For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. [12] What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? [13] And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoiceth more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray. [14] Even so it is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

That’s why God grants us anything we seek if it is conducive to our salvation. In fact, if He denies what we seek it means not getting it is even better for our salvation! The classic Roman Catechism sums this up when discussing this principle of prayer:

For God will either grant what is asked, and thus they will obtain their wishes; or He will not grant it, and that will be a most certain proof that what is denied the good by Him is not conducive either to their interest or their salvation, since He is more desirous of their eternal welfare than they themselves.

Pray to God in Jesus’ name that you will be able to make a good confession and be absolved, and then do your best to go and sin no more until God enables you to get to confession.

 

[Marshmallow03]

Thank you! You’ve no idea how much this helped me! God bless.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I committed a mortal sin a few months ago. I am 16 years old and I didn’t realize that what I did was a mortal sin until a few days ago.

If you had no idea that what you were doing was a mortal sin when you committed it, then you didn’t commit a mortal sin. Mortal sin requires that you have full knowledge that the act is sinful, when you commit the act.

Now that you know, don’t do it again.

 

[TheLittleLady]

I didn’t realize that what I did was a mortal sin until a few days ago.

One has to know the sin is grave at the time when they commit it, and do it intentionally in spite of the grave sinfulness in order for it to be mortal sin.

Check your Diocese website, your parish web/social media, to find when Confession is offered should you commit a serious sin that you know is sin at the time you do it.

 

[KatTekie]

I am 17 and the same thing happen to me 2 months ago. When I asked if it was a mortal sin, I was told that since I didn’t know it was a mortal sin I didn’t commit one, however if I do it again it would be a mortal sin.

 

[Searching1]

Three conditions must exist for a sin to be considered mortal. It must be a grave matter, you must know it is sinful, and your will must be fully consenting.

There is no “list” of particular sins that the Church maintains of mortal sins. Those three conditions must all be met. Some sins like murder can be understood as mortal by natural reason, and you would not be able to say later that you “didn’t know it was a mortal sin.”

Other actions such as masturbation, especially in the society we live in, and taking into account one’s age and maturity level and parental guidance/influence, while normally a grave matter (as a disordered action because the sexual faculty is ordered solely towards procreation between sacramentally married spouses) may be mitigated if those factors are taken into account.

The USCCB has written much on the topic of pornography addiction on their website and the catechism also states that “habit” can lessen (not necessarily “erase,” but simply lessen) one’s moral culpability here.

For an act of perfect contrition, pray earnestly to God that you are sorry for what you did. Confess your sins directly to God just as you would to the priest and, as soon as you can, go back to in-person confession to make the same confession. That is all there is to do and it is all you can do right now in many places.