Mortal sin to "forget?"

[TommyWommy]

I came across the following in a book by a Catholic apologist:

“Neglect is hardly a negligible sin. In fact, it can be mortal. It is no excuse, for example, to say that we missed Mass on Sunday because we forgot that it was Sunday. The ‘message declared by angels’ commands us that we must remember the Lord’s Day and keep it holy. Forgetting is a direct violation of the command to remember. Thus, in our moral life, as in our workday life, negligence can kill.”

On the next page the author explains what makes a sin mortal:

“…grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent.”

So, how can a person deliberately, and with full consent, genuinely forget something?

When I was a kid, I used to “forget” to do my homework. But that was because I didn’t want to do it in the first place. To say “I forgot” was not genuine. But there are times when I genuinely forget to do something. I’ve even forgotten what day it was a few times in my life. So, I’m not sure what the author’s point is, exactly. If someone genuinely forgets, is that neglect and mortal?

 

[LilyM]

Of course not. He doesn’t appear to be suggesting that it’s invariably a MORTAL sin - sins committed through negligence would rarely if ever be mortal.

I think he’s making the point, since the command in this case is indeed to ‘remember’, that perhaps we should consider how much of an effort we really are making to ‘remember’ that it’s a Sunday.

In other words not to crowd our Sundays with so much work or busy-ness that it seems just like any other day, thus making us more likely to ‘forget’.

 

[VociMike]

I’d call that nonsense. If one truly forgot, one time, that it was Sunday, I don’t see how one could be held accountable. Now if one is constantly forgetting what day it is, that suggests some other kind of problem.

 

[TommyWommy]

I think what had me most concerned was his comparing the moral life to the workday life. For some occupations neglect can be fatal. For example, if a pilot forgets to put fuel in his aircraft the results could be catastrophic. Or, if a miner forgets to check for toxic gases in the mine, it can be fatal. Honest mistakes, but still fatal. It almost seemed to me that the author was suggesting as such. Since spiritual/moral laws are like the laws of nature (i.e. gravity, fire, etc.), neglect can be fatal. Saying “I forgot” does not change the fact that you died because you forgot to put fuel in your plane and gravity brought you down to a fatal crash. It almost seemed like the author was saying something similar about forgetting it was Sunday. Pilots are trained to remember to put fuel in their tanks, and Catholics are trained to remember to go to Mass on Sunday. I don’t know. Sometimes I over-think things.

 

[LilyM]

I think what had me most concerned was his comparing the moral life to the workday life. For some occupations neglect can be fatal. For example, if a pilot forgets to put fuel in his aircraft the results could be catastrophic. Or, if a miner forgets to check for toxic gases in the mine, it can be fatal. Honest mistakes, but still fatal. It almost seemed to me that the author was suggesting as such. Since spiritual/moral laws are like the laws of nature (i.e. gravity, fire, etc.), neglect can be fatal. Saying “I forgot” does not change the fact that you died because you forgot to put fuel in your plane and gravity brought you down to a fatal crash. It almost seemed like the author was saying something similar about forgetting it was Sunday. Pilots are trained to remember to put fuel in their tanks, and Catholics are trained to remember to go to Mass on Sunday. I don’t know. Sometimes I over-think things.

I don’t think you’re necessarily overthinking this one - he could well be implying something of the kind. If he is, then he’s flat-out wrong, at least in regard to honest forgetting being a mortal sin.

He does have a point with the sort of ‘accidentally-on-purpose’ forgetting that a lot of kids, for example, will do. Certainly it’s a very good idea for us to train ourselves to ‘remember’ Sundays - if we can. Doesn’t mean it’s a mortal sin to honestly forget.

The analogy to laws of nature is a bad one - the definition of sin has (deliberately) built into it the subjective elements of the knowledge and consent of the sinner. The very existence of mortal sin depends on those subjective elements. And its primary effects are on the soul of the sinner - that’s why if we were to do something that we THINK is a mortal sin when it isn’t in reality, the effect on our soul would probably be the same as if it really were a mortal sin.

Regardless of their effects, at any rate, you will not have any culpability morally, nor be damned, for honestly and with no ulterior motives forgetting it’s Sunday. Any more than you’d punish a two-month-old baby, who doesn’t know any better, for kicking you in the leg, even if it hurts the same as if they meant to do it.

 

[TommyWommy]

I don’t think you’re necessarily overthinking this one - he could well be implying something of the kind. If he is, then he’s flat-out wrong, at least in regard to honest forgetting being a mortal sin.

He does have a point with the sort of ‘accidentally-on-purpose’ forgetting that a lot of kids, for example, will do. Certainly it’s a very good idea for us to train ourselves to ‘remember’ Sundays - if we can. Doesn’t mean it’s a mortal sin to honestly forget.

The analogy to laws of nature is a bad one - the definition of sin has (deliberately) built into it the subjective elements of the knowledge and consent of the sinner. The very existence of mortal sin depends on those subjective elements. And its primary effects are on the soul of the sinner - that’s why if we were to do something that we THINK is a mortal sin when it isn’t in reality, the effect on our soul would probably be the same as if it really were a mortal sin.

Regardless of their effects, at any rate, you will not have any culpability morally, nor be damned, for honestly and with no ulterior motives forgetting it’s Sunday. Any more than you’d punish a two-month-old baby, who doesn’t know any better, for kicking you in the leg, even if it hurts the same as if they meant to do it.

That makes sense to me. Maybe I’ll get a chance to ask the author to explain himself more clearly sometime.

 

[VociMike]

I think what had me most concerned was his comparing the moral life to the workday life. For some occupations neglect can be fatal. For example, if a pilot forgets to put fuel in his aircraft the results could be catastrophic. Or, if a miner forgets to check for toxic gases in the mine, it can be fatal. Honest mistakes, but still fatal. It almost seemed to me that the author was suggesting as such. Since spiritual/moral laws are like the laws of nature (i.e. gravity, fire, etc.), neglect can be fatal. Saying “I forgot” does not change the fact that you died because you forgot to put fuel in your plane and gravity brought you down to a fatal crash. It almost seemed like the author was saying something similar about forgetting it was Sunday. Pilots are trained to remember to put fuel in their tanks, and Catholics are trained to remember to go to Mass on Sunday. I don’t know. Sometimes I over-think things.

By the same token, one can be killed by something which one has no control over, such as a lightning bolt. But there is no spiritual equivalent to death by lightning bolt. So you don’t want to try and stretch the natural-spiritual analogies too far.

 

[TommyWommy]

By the same token, one can be killed by something which one has no control over, such as a lightning bolt. But there is no spiritual equivalent to death by lightning bolt. So you don’t want to try and stretch the natural-spiritual analogies too far.

Indeed.