Mortal Sins: ignorance is bliss?

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Carmelite1983

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We know, for the most part, that if you don’t know you’re committing a Mortal Sin, then it is not a Mortal Sin. Intent and willfulness as well as knowledge that it is a sin are required for it to be a sin.

That being said, does it ever seem like “ignorance is bliss”?
Sometimes I feel afraid to read up on the Chatechism and saying, “well THAT’S a sin too? Didn’t know that! Better get to confession!”

However I can also say that I feel better, more whole, knowing as much as possible since this knowledge does lead me to holiness.

So does anyone here think “ignorance is bliss”? Or is ignorance “definitely NOT bliss”?
 
Ignorance is definitely not bliss. If you’re ignorant, then you don’t have the chance to become heroic.
 
I say that becuase if you didn’t know that certain things were sins, and didn’t them your wholeness life in ignorance, then you would miss an opportunity to grow in virtue, and thus would miss the opportunity to be heroic oy virtuous.
 
Carmelite1983 said:
if you don’t know you’re committing a Mortal Sin, then it is not a Mortal Sin.
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I don’t know. I wonder the same thing.

For instance. I didn’t know it was a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass. I might miss one or two weeks, then go to Mass, receive communion thereby committing another mortal sin.

So… I know a lot of people who don’t know it’s a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass. Do I tell them? Or are they better off not knowing?
 
You’re still culpable if you try to keep yourself in a state of ignorance or something like that.
 
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The correct teachings are valuable to us. Without them we are at a loss. Therfore, in the instance of ignoring the Chatacism, ignorance is a hindrance and limitation to our spiritual growth.
 
My question is, how fast do we want to learn. My Nan wants me to become a saint overnight and would be greatly pleased if I memorized the entire Chatacism. But I’m still trying to master the basics as a convert myself.

My main goals are to first read the bible from beginning to end. I’m trying to learn Biblical Hebrew also, to be able to read for myself the original script. If I try take on too much, I will find it difficult to become the holy husband and father I want to be.

Being in a marriage makes progress difficult also. All the things I learn, my wife needs to know and understand also. It took months to transition our atheist sex lifestyle into one we feel is an example of Holy Matrimony. Simple things like praying the Rosary takes time to learn how to do properly. My wife and I would casually lay in bed but then I learnt how to kneel and focus better, of which my wife was hesitant at first.

Learning too much too quick can make you feel less holy than you really are. When in a marriage I think a pace has to be taken that can allow it to evolve appropriately. Learning faster than you can evolve has a negative impact on how you feel about yourself or your marriage.
 
Carmelite1983 said:
We know, for the most part, that if you don’t know you’re committing a Mortal Sin, then it is not a Mortal Sin. Intent and willfulness as well as knowledge that it is a sin are required for it to be a sin.

That being said, does it ever seem like “ignorance is bliss”?
Sometimes I feel afraid to read up on the Chatechism and saying, “well THAT’S a sin too? Didn’t know that! Better get to confession!”

However I can also say that I feel better, more whole, knowing as much as possible since this knowledge does lead me to holiness.

So does anyone here think “ignorance is bliss”? Or is ignorance “definitely NOT bliss”?
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Purposely averting answers to questions is in of itself a sin that can possibly be a grave sin. There is nothing blissful about ignorance.

Ignorance is a malady to humankind that causes incalculable amounts of pain and suffering as well as actual death. It’s hard to summarize all of the ways that ignorance hurts and even literally kills people. Everything from poor sanitation to disease to bad life choices to addictions to prejudice to ISIS to Nazism to unemployment to divorce to adultery to wildfires to pollution to child abuse to vandalism to theft to school bullying to embezzlement to reckless driving to illiteracy to conspiracy to gossip to slander to corporate and political corruption to profanity to misunderstandings and to idolatry in all of its forms is caused - in part - as a result of ignorance. It is astounding how ignorant we are in so many ways and how much better we would be at governing our lives, our families, our communities, and our souls if we were less ignorant.

In a broad sense we have an obligation to expand ourselves and to continue to grow and develop as human beings and it is a sin of omission not to do this, but this is particularly poignant when it comes to discerning and pursuing the deepest longing of the soul, which pertains to our Creator and the love and devotion that we owe to him.

Do not be afraid to learning.
 
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Carmelite1983 said:
We know, for the most part, that if you don’t know you’re committing a Mortal Sin, then it is not a Mortal Sin. Intent and willfulness as well as knowledge that it is a sin are required for it to be a sin.

That being said, does it ever seem like “ignorance is bliss”?
Sometimes I feel afraid to read up on the Chatechism and saying, “well THAT’S a sin too? Didn’t know that! Better get to confession!”

However I can also say that I feel better, more whole, knowing as much as possible since this knowledge does lead me to holiness.

So does anyone here think “ignorance is bliss”? Or is ignorance “definitely NOT bliss”?
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Catholics can’t get away with “ignorance is bliss”. The onus is on us to learn what the Church teaches and if we don’t through refusal or laziness we will be held accountable when we die. In short we can’t stand before God when we die and simply say we didn’t know!!
 
Edy said:
My main goals are to first read the bible from beginning to end. I’m trying to learn Biblical Hebrew also, to be able to read for myself the original script. If I try take on too much, I will find it difficult to become the holy husband and father I want to be.
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Well you’re off to a good start. From now it’s about perseverance. Don’t ever stop. & if you do, get back up & start again.

As far as being Holy, do you know what that means? It means to be set aside for God. Get baptized & voila… you’re holy.

To be perfect be the best husband & father & employee/employer retiree, etc… you can be. & do so for the love of God.

Don’t blame your wife for your lack of progress. Don’t blame your son, your job, or whatever your circumstances may be.

I used to ask myself how do I know what God wants me to do? Turns out it was staring me in the face. Like it’s staring at you. All that “stuff” you have to deal with is what God has tasked you to do.

Do the best you can. Pray. Ask for help, guidance, clarity, grace, forgiveness. Pray… pray… pray.
 
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Carmelite1983 said:
It’s a process
Take your time,
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I think you pretty much nailed it right here. 👍 How many millenia did God wait to send his son to teach us what he did? Even then, remember John 16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”

Keep to the old road and you’ll find your way back home. Okay, I stole that from a song, but the idea is good.

 
Carmelite1983 said:
We know, for the most part, that if you don’t know you’re committing a Mortal Sin, then it is not a Mortal Sin. Intent and willfulness as well as knowledge that it is a sin are required for it to be a sin.

That being said, does it ever seem like “ignorance is bliss”?
Sometimes I feel afraid to read up on the Chatechism and saying, “well THAT’S a sin too? Didn’t know that! Better get to confession!”

However I can also say that I feel better, more whole, knowing as much as possible since this knowledge does lead me to holiness.

So does anyone here think “ignorance is bliss”? Or is ignorance “definitely NOT bliss”?
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It is possible to commit a mortal sin and be culpable for it without knowledge. That is because mortal sin is freely thinking and acting uncharitably.

Catechism
1790 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.

1791 This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man “takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.” [59] In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.

1859 … Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart [133] do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1860 … But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. …
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I find it difficult to accept the bucket cup model of “knowledge transmission” .
Sure, deep down everyone knows that calculated ignorance the 2nd time around is not consistent with a graced attitude to others and God.

But to think that such wisdom (and hence culpability for next time) is attained by simply hearing the rules be it from an alleged authority or book also doesnt really seem to be the whole story either for most people.

Rules have to be internalised somehow before serious culpability attaches before God for not following them. I dont personally agree with 50% I hear from the pulpit and much of the Catechism I did not understand or consider as important when I was younger. Wisdom comes slowly even for the well intentioned and much knowing rule breaking, while sometimes serious materially, is not yet spiritually serious because it hasnt been internally assented to or truly understood. Often that internal assent only comes by breaking the rules and feeling for ourselves what the consequences are to others. Good persons will then become wise. Repetition may be required.
Such acquiring of wisdom is the work of a lifetime even according to the Catechism.
 
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