I became frustrated with my dear elderly mother today, and exclaimed “Good GOD!”. I felt horrible afterward. Partly for becoming frustrated with my dear mother, who is having some problems, and especially at the thought that I may very well have committed a mortal sin. I was hoping to receive Communion tomorrow and Friday, while I am off work, and go to confession Saturday evening. But now, I have my doubts. Based on what one Priest told me some time ago, I did not violate a Commandment, but still should not have said what I said. I average about 2 hours per day in prayer, including the Stations of the Cross, plus Mass and Communion two days per week, and some occasional sacred reading. A few hours per week, but not enough. I will always be a work in process, but I believe my heart is in the right place. I would like to think I was saying those words to God Himself, but I can’t say for sure. Based on what I have said, provided I truly regret what I said, and say numerous Acts of Contrition each day, do you think it would be safe for me to receive Communion tomorrow and Friday, and go to confession Saturday evening before Mass?
Thanks in advance.
It’s not a mortal sin, it’s venial. Mortal sins are always premeditated. Your slip of the tongue was an accident. Hence this sin fails to meet the criteria of mortal sin.
Here’s the definition of mortal sin from The Catechism of the Catholic Church
1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
