Thinking that something is a sin

[mo0004]

This is a “what if.” It is Saturday, January 1. The individual in question wakes up and remembers something about it being a Holyday of Obligation. He has time to make the usual noon Holyday mass. But he is tired and decides to skip Mass, with full knowledge that to miss Mass on a holyday of obligation is a mortal sin. The next day he goes to Sunday Mass and receives communion. The following day, Monday January 3, he goes to work. While at work, he learns that January 1, while a holyday, was not a holyday of obligation because it fell on a Saturday. In fact, had he gone, he would have found that there was no Mass at the time he would have gone to - the only Mass that day was at 10:00.

Missing Mass on a holyday of obligation is grave matter. The person, thinking that this was the case and with full knowledge that it was grave matter, gave his full consent to his action (actually, inaction in this case.) But – he really didn’t know that the obligation was not there.

Questions: Does his sin remain a sin? If so, is it still mortal or is it venial? Was his communion on Sunday a sin? More generally, if one commits an act (or inaction) being convinced that it is a mortal sin and it turns out later not to be, is the person still in a state of mortal sin?

 

[I_A]

Sin requires three things:
A grave act
Full knowledge
Deliberate consent

The question to me would be would he sin by rejecting what he thought was a church mandate? Is that grave matter?

Example: I would say if someone thought the church actually taught works-based salvation and they rejected that, that wouldn’t be a sin at all because it is not church teaching at all.

But in the case of your friend he did reject a valid teaching (the ability to bind and loose days of rest) but didn’t have the opportunity to actually carry that out.

Another example: A man set out to murder his brother. When he arrived his brother was found dead of a heart attack. Did he sin?

He never actually carried out the act but he still intended to.

 

[rwoehmke]

Lets not beat around the bush. The Man knew it was a grave sin to intentionally miss Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation. He willfully acted, not knowing there was no obligational Mass. He committed a mortal sin.
The Matter was believed to be serious.
He fully understood it to be serious.
He willfully turned over and went back to sleep.

You see technically, it must be a serious matter or one must believe it to be serious matter when it actually may not be.

 

[tvdxer]

This is a “what if.” It is Saturday, January 1. The individual in question wakes up and remembers something about it being a Holyday of Obligation. He has time to make the usual noon Holyday mass. But he is tired and decides to skip Mass, with full knowledge that to miss Mass on a holyday of obligation is a mortal sin. The next day he goes to Sunday Mass and receives communion. The following day, Monday January 3, he goes to work. While at work, he learns that January 1, while a holyday, was not a holyday of obligation because it fell on a Saturday. In fact, had he gone, he would have found that there was no Mass at the time he would have gone to - the only Mass that day was at 10:00.

Missing Mass on a holyday of obligation is grave matter. The person, thinking that this was the case and with full knowledge that it was grave matter, gave his full consent to his action (actually, inaction in this case.) But – he really didn’t know that the obligation was not there.

Questions: Does his sin remain a sin? If so, is it still mortal or is it venial? Was his communion on Sunday a sin? More generally, if one commits an act (or inaction) being convinced that it is a mortal sin and it turns out later not to be, is the person still in a state of mortal sin?

Yes, it would be a mortal sin for the man, as he showed himself willing to commit such a sin. Sin is in the will.

As for his communion on Sunday: I suppose if the man knew that missing a Holy Day of Obligation was a mortal sin, he’d also know that receiving communion in the state of sin is also a mortal sin, so yes, he’d be just as culpable for that as well.

 

[thegame]

I think Jesus would chuckle at us if he read some of this.

God knows our potential, and our failings, and loves us anyway.

Do better the next time, just posing this question shows remorse (hypothetical remorse for your hypothetical sin )

We get lost in brush strokes sometimes, when he just wants us to see the whole picture.

Do better from there out.

 

[FrankLawrence]

“When a man knows the right thing to do and does not do it, he sins.” James 4:17
“But if a man eats when his conscience has misgivings about eating , he is already condemned, because he is not acting in accordance with what he believes. Whatever does not accord with one’s belief is sinful.” Romans 14:23

Take what you can from those two verses.

 

[DanteAlighieri]

This is a sin of desire. The sin is not skipping Mass; it lies in desiring to do so.

Imagine thinking, “If she wants to, I’ll totally sleep with her”. Say she doesn’t want to – our boy has still committed sin by desiring to commit a sin.

Peace,
Dante