Tell me what is a mortal sin or a venial sin

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mmarg77

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Why don’t priests just “tell” me what is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin?

I’m constantly trying to find out what social norms I can participate in and which are sins. I tend to be shy and don’t like attention, so I don’t wear flashy or revealing clothes. So, what are the rules about clothes? What can I tell my 12 yr. old granddaughter is acceptable? Is missing (Sunday/Holy Day…) Mass a mortal sin (for times other than family obligation or illness)? I’m 60, my grandchildren are 12 and 9. My son is 36 and doesn’t think it’s a sin to miss Mass. So, should I say anything to my granchildren (who are also my godchildren) about missing Mass since I always offer to take them? I’ve been told by a Priest it’s only a mortal sin if I think it is. (My definition of a mortal sin is “turning away/rejecting God”). Do we ‘have’ to obey all the Church’s rules all of the time?. Is there a lot of individual interpretation allowed?

What is “servile” work? If I buy candy at a grocery store on Sunday am I committing a sin by engaging in commerce and/or compelling someone else to work on Sunday? What if I go swimming at a recreation centre? Do housework?

What about TV - I like CSI, Forensic and Paranormal shows - is watching these sinfull?

I don’t feel argumentative, but I’ve tried to make my questions as clear as I can. I was away from the Church from approx. 1968 to 2000. I have experienced a lot of fear and confusion as I feel rules are not “clear cut” anymore. It was a lot clearer when Sr. Virginia summed it up!! lol Thank you for responding to my question.
 
From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
  1. When does one commit a mortal sin?
1855-1861
1874

One commits a mortal sin when there are simultaneously present: grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. This sin destroys charity in us, deprives us of sanctifying grace, and, if unrepented, leads us to the eternal death of hell. It can be forgiven in the ordinary way by means of the sacraments of Baptism and of Penance or Reconciliation.
  1. When does one commit a venial sin?
1862-1864
1875

One commits a venial sin, which is essentially different from a mortal sin, when the matter involved is less serious or, even if it is grave, when full knowledge or complete consent are absent. Venial sin does not break the covenant with God but it weakens charity and manifests a disordered affection for created goods. It impedes the progress of a soul in the exercise of the virtues and in the practice of moral good. It merits temporal punishment which purifies.

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#A)%20COMMON%20PRAYERS%20COMMON%20PRAYERS)

I think you will enjoy reading the whole thing…

also from the Catechism…

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.

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm#IV
 
mmarg77 said:
Why don’t priests just “tell” me what is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin?

I’m constantly trying to find out what social norms I can participate in and which are sins. I tend to be shy and don’t like attention, so I don’t wear flashy or revealing clothes. So, what are the rules about clothes? What can I tell my 12 yr. old granddaughter is acceptable? Is missing (Sunday/Holy Day…) Mass a mortal sin (for times other than family obligation or illness)? I’m 60, my grandchildren are 12 and 9. My son is 36 and doesn’t think it’s a sin to miss Mass. So, should I say anything to my granchildren (who are also my godchildren) about missing Mass since I always offer to take them? I’ve been told by a Priest it’s only a mortal sin if I think it is. (My definition of a mortal sin is “turning away/rejecting God”). Do we ‘have’ to obey all the Church’s rules all of the time?. Is there a lot of individual interpretation allowed?

What is “servile” work? If I buy candy at a grocery store on Sunday am I committing a sin by engaging in commerce and/or compelling someone else to work on Sunday? What if I go swimming at a recreation centre? Do housework?

What about TV - I like CSI, Forensic and Paranormal shows - is watching these sinfull?

I don’t feel argumentative, but I’ve tried to make my questions as clear as I can. I was away from the Church from approx. 1968 to 2000. I have experienced a lot of fear and confusion as I feel rules are not “clear cut” anymore. It was a lot clearer when Sr. Virginia summed it up!! lol Thank you for responding to my question.
Click to expand...
also read the moral section of the Catechism…

and yes missing Mass on a Holy Day of obligation or on Sunday (on can go to the vigil too) is a grave matter for mortal sin…so if one does it with full knowledge and complete consent…yes it is a mortal sin… Of course there can be reasons to miss…such as impossibility…sickness…

a mortal sin is a grave matter with full knowledge and complete consent…

things are objectively grave matter…

so to do them with the full knowledge and complete consent would be mortal…

“What is “servile” work? If I buy candy at a grocery store on Sunday am I committing a sin by engaging in commerce and/or compelling someone else to work on Sunday? What if I go swimming at a recreation centre? Do housework?”

see the post here on Sunday from today…for servile work etc.

as to buying candy…no that is not a sin. things have changed culturally and this is not forbidden.

swimming is great. no sin.

housework…avoid what you can…of course light cleaning up is diffrent than cleaning the whole house! which you would not do unless it were necessary.

Tv…some shows are good…some are not…one has to judge each show.
 
also…try not to think just in terms of rules…it is a life. it is following Christ…being his disciple… 🙂

it is about virtue…joy…faith …hope …charity…

of course we need to live the moral life and avoid sin! but we need to focus on following Him 😉
 
mmarg77 said:
Why don’t priests just “tell” me what is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin?

I’m constantly trying to find out what social norms I can participate in and which are sins. I tend to be shy and don’t like attention, so I don’t wear flashy or revealing clothes. So, what are the rules about clothes? What can I tell my 12 yr. old granddaughter is acceptable? Is missing (Sunday/Holy Day…) Mass a mortal sin (for times other than family obligation or illness)? I’m 60, my grandchildren are 12 and 9. My son is 36 and doesn’t think it’s a sin to miss Mass. So, should I say anything to my granchildren (who are also my godchildren) about missing Mass since I always offer to take them? I’ve been told by a Priest it’s only a mortal sin if I think it is. (My definition of a mortal sin is “turning away/rejecting God”). Do we ‘have’ to obey all the Church’s rules all of the time?. Is there a lot of individual interpretation allowed?

What is “servile” work? If I buy candy at a grocery store on Sunday am I committing a sin by engaging in commerce and/or compelling someone else to work on Sunday? What if I go swimming at a recreation centre? Do housework?

What about TV - I like CSI, Forensic and Paranormal shows - is watching these sinfull?

I don’t feel argumentative, but I’ve tried to make my questions as clear as I can. I was away from the Church from approx. 1968 to 2000. I have experienced a lot of fear and confusion as I feel rules are not “clear cut” anymore. It was a lot clearer when Sr. Virginia summed it up!! lol Thank you for responding to my question.
Click to expand...
Well, because mortal sin requires full knowledge and consent. The priest can tell you whether an act was grave matter, but only you can know the extent of your knowledge and consent. The priest should help you discern this, if necessary, by asking clarifying questions. In general, missing Sunday mass without a legitimate reason is grave matter. The other things you listed, I don’t think really are. Remember, too–our faith is centered around a Person, the Incarnate Christ, not a set of rules.
 
Bookcat said:
also…try not to think just in terms of rules…it is a life. it is following Christ…being his disciple… 🙂

it is about virtue…joy…faith …hope …charity…

of course we need to live the moral life and avoid sin! but we need to focus on following Him 😉
Click to expand...
Very good advice! Also, my RCIA director told us once that we should be living the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. And the spirit of the law is of course, love.
 
Holly3278 said:
Very good advice! Also, my RCIA director told us once that we should be living the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. And the spirit of the law is of course, love.
Click to expand...
we are to live both 🙂 “if you love me keep my commandments”…

depending on what kind of law one is talking about…

there are different kinds of human laws…
 
Sad to say that modern Catholic catechesis is horribly deficient.

I suggest you get either of the following. If you can find a conservative Catholic bookstore, they might have either or both. You can order them online as well.

Moral Theology by Fr. Heribert Jone
Handbook of Moral Theology by Fr. Dominic M. Prummer.

They will answer nearly any question you can have on what is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin.

Fr. Prummer’s book is a bit deeper. In either book, you’ll get a good dose of natural law and natural philosophy. Don’t be intimidated by that. Most of it is intuitively obvious. If you can find a Dominican confessor, you’ll have an edifying time discussing some of the less obvious things.

In Christ
 
This will help.
Grave matter according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church Reference Numbers 2272, 2480, 2380, 2148, 2434, 2181, 2117, 2384 to 2386, 2290 & 2291, 2539, 2277, 2302, 2152 & 2476, 2353, 2303, 2357, 2388, 2482, 2352, 2268, 2163, 2354, 2355, 2356, 2439, 2120, 2284, 2281, 2297, 2413 & 2434, 2268, 2400, 2434):
  • Abortion (any formal cooperation in it)
  • Code: 
    Acceptance by human society of murderous famines without trying to fix it
  • Code: 
    Adulation of another's grave faults if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins, but it is not grave when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.
  • Code: 
    Adultery
  • Code: 
    Blasphemy
  • Code: 
    Deliberate failure to go to mass on Holy Days of Obligation unless excused for a serious reason or dispensed by one's own pastor
  • Code: 
    Divination, magic, and sorcery
  • Code: 
    Divorce (If civil divorce, which cannot do anything to the spiritual marriage in the eyes of God, remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the protection of inheritance, or the care of the children it is not a sin.)
  • Code: 
    Drug Abuse
  • Code: 
    Endangering their own and others' safety by drunkenness or a love of speed on the road, at sea or in the air
  • Code: 
    Envy (if to the level of wishing grave harm to another)
  • Code: 
    Euthanasia
  • Code: 
    Extreme Anger (at the level of truly and deliberately desiring to seriously hurt or kill someone)
  • Code: 
    Fornication
  • Code: 
    Hatred of a neighbor/to deliberately desire him or her great harm
  • Code: 
    Homosexual acts
  • Code: 
    Incest
  • Code: 
    Lying (the gravity is measured by "the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims")
  • Code: 
    Masturbation
  • Code: 
    Murder (except when done in self defense or defense of others when there is no other way)
  • Code: 
    Perjury and False Oaths
  • Code: 
    Polygamy
  • Code: 
    Pornography
  • Code: 
    Prostitution
  • Code: 
    Rape
  • Code: 
    Rich nation's refusal to aid those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves
  • Code: 
    Sacrilege
  • Code: 
    Scandal (only deliberately causing someone to sin gravely)
  • Code: 
    Suicide
  • Code: 
    Terrorism that threatens, wounds and kills indiscriminately
  • Code: 
    Unfair wagers and cheating at games unless the damage is unusually light
 
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