the worst sin

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I’ve read that Judas’ sin of despair is worse than his sin of betrayal. To sin by betraying Our Lord is evil for sure, but to underestimate Our Lord’s great mercy and forgiveness after we have sinned is an even worse evil. May we never fall into despair. God bless you.
 
According to St. Thomas (S.T. IIb, Q20, a3), the greatest sins are those opposed to faith, hope, and charity (namely, unbelief, despair and hatred of God), because they are most directly opposed to God.

“Strictly speaking,” he writes, “it is more grievous sin to disbelieve God’s truth, or to hate God, than not to hope to receive glory from Him. If, however, despair be compared to the other two sins from our point of view, then despair is more dangerous, since . . . when hope is given up, men rush headlong into sin, and are drawn away from good works.”

He then quotes St. Isidore (De Sum. Bono ii, 14): “To commit a crime is to kill the soul, but to despair is to fall into hell.”
 
The wages of sin is death. There is no sin worse than any other except the one Jesus mentioned. blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. That one will not be forgiven. All the other sins lead to more sins and they all lead to death.
 
The worst sins are those against the 1st commandment so idolatry, sacrilege, blasphemy, heresy, apostasy etc. all in their varying degrees. the unforgivable sin being Sins against the Holy Spirit which is a lack of repentance and as it is against God directly is a form of Sacrilege.

In general though the worst sin one could actively commit would be the Desecration of the Blessed Sacrament.
 
I have heard that the worst sin is hopelessness. True?
It is important to clarify what is meant here by hopelessness (aka despair). This refers to losing hope in your own salvation. Losing hope that you will one day be with God in heaven. It does not mean, for example, losing hope that you will one day win the lottery (which isn’t even a venial sin).

With that in mind it is easy to see why it is such a severe sin. A murderer can still find repentance and turn to God. But a person who has fallen into despair will give up all attempts to form a relationship with God and cut him/herself off from God.

It is so severe because the person essentially damns his/herself while on earth and in this life, by losing their hope in God, his forgiveness, and his ability to transform their lives.

Ultimately despair is an absence of Faith in God, doubting God’s love, and giving up on life.

Since it causes the person to completely cut themself off from God, it is indeed the most severe.
 
On one end of the spectrum, you can lose all confidence by not acting, sulk in depression, but could you also say that you become “hopeless” by relying too much on yourself i.e. become more self-sufficient? We become too reliant on our abilities that we shut-out God from our lives (no room for Him to act)?
 
The wages of sin is death. There is no sin worse than any other except the one Jesus mentioned. blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. That one will not be forgiven. All the other sins lead to more sins and they all lead to death.
No, that’s not true. Mortal sins are worse than venial sins. Mortal sins lead to spiritual death or Hell. Venial sins do not lead to Hell. If you die in a state of mortal sin you will go to Hell. However, if you die in a state of venial sin, you will not go to Hell.

Please read this section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church about sin:

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c1a8.htm
 
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