Venial Sin

[Paxvobis]

Hi, I think out of all the forums this is the best for what I’m asking.

I pray every day, go to Mass weekly, and go to confession when I’m in mortal sin; but I keep venially sinning. Its often things like white lies, cursing, and slacking off. It’s hard to avoid because I often do these things without thinking.

Does anybody have any advise on how to deal with sins like these? Thanks.

 

[RosaryFan]

Hi, I think out of all the forums this is the best for what I’m asking.

I pray every day, go to Mass weekly, and go to confession when I’m in mortal sin; but I keep venially sinning. Its often things like white lies, cursing, and slacking off. It’s hard to avoid because I often do these things without thinking.

Does anybody have any advise on how to deal with sins like these? Thanks.

My advice to you is start going to confession once a month. You don’t have to wait until you have mortal sins to go to confession. Confession is a beautiful sacrament which gives us the graces and strength to avoid those little, pesky, everyday, venial sins that annoy and frustrate us. Pope John Paul II went to confession weekly. Confession is not just for mortal sins.

If you start going once a month, in time you will see a transformation in yourself. Keep in mind this is a gradual transformation, but you will see a transformation nonetheless. Give it six months and see how much progress you make.

 

[if_youCthispray]

audiosancto.org/sermon/20080203-Mental-Prayer-is-Essential-for-Salvation.html

maybe listening to that will give you some advice

 

[B79]

Hi Paxvobis.

I know well your plight. All I can recommend is what the saints did – pray often (especially before the Blessed Sacrament, or at least a crucifix), frequent the sacraments, and engage in charity. Ask God often for the grace to love Him enough to seek to please Him in all things, and to resist temptations. Resolve not to have any willful ATTACHMENTS to sinful things, and try to have true contrition when you do sin. Beyond that, don’t obsess too much about the sins, as that can lead to scrupulosity; instead, trust in the Lord’s Mercy.

Best wishes and prayers.

 

[Shin]

Hi, I think out of all the forums this is the best for what I’m asking.

I pray every day, go to Mass weekly, and go to confession when I’m in mortal sin; but I keep venially sinning. Its often things like white lies, cursing, and slacking off. It’s hard to avoid because I often do these things without thinking.

Does anybody have any advise on how to deal with sins like these? Thanks.

‘I tell you that you must purify your soul from all inclination to venial sin; that is to say, you must not voluntarily retain any deliberate intention of permitting yourself to commit any venial sin whatever.’

St. Francis de Sales

‘Keep this in mind, for it is very important advice, so do not neglect it until you find you have such a fixed determination not to offend the Lord that you would rather lose a thousand lives and be persecuted by the whole world, than commit one mortal sin, and until you are most careful not to commit venial sins.’

St. Teresa of Jesus

‘My brother, why are you weeping?’

St. Francis of Assisi, in the company of saints with Our Lord

‘For dear saint, if one venial sin displeases God so much that a whole life spent in weeping for it would not be sufficient to make reparation for it, how great should be my grief, I, who have sinned so much?’

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, in a vision

Let me mention frequent acts of perfect contrition as quite helpful, especially immediately after any sin. And trying to make acts of perfect love of God. Our goal is the Lord, every venial sin diminishes our relationship with Him, a step back, instead of a step forwards to greater grace…

The less we own the easier it is…

If you’re not scrupulous I know a few passages that can help scare a fellow out of them too.

 

[Nelka]

Hi, I think out of all the forums this is the best for what I’m asking.

I pray every day, go to Mass weekly, and go to confession when I’m in mortal sin; but I keep venially sinning. Its often things like white lies, cursing, and slacking off. It’s hard to avoid because I often do these things without thinking.

Does anybody have any advise on how to deal with sins like these? Thanks.

We all commit venial sins. The best thing is prayer and remember, the devil really does make work for idle hands.

Prayer!

 

[Bookcat]

Frequent confession…as well as zeroing in on particular sins to work more particularly on…this can be very helpful.

Remember that in regards to venial sins… while we should avoid deliberate venial sins…as well as others…we will due to our weakness and the state of things…still struggle with venial sins (apart from a special grace of God!) …and we should let them humble us when they happen…and turn to the mercy of Jesus right away in prayer and an act of love…and bring good out of them…and not loose heart…but turn to the Lord …for this reason we pray daily “forgive us our trespasses…” (venial sins can be forgiven in many ways…do not wait for confession…but certainly bring some to confession as highly recommended by the Church)

1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. “Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.”

Remember though if we are in a state of grace…we are living in Christ…we are “saints”…let us seek to be and more holy!

"At the beginning of Christianity, the members of the Church were also called “saints”. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St Paul addresses “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor 1: 2). Indeed, Christians are already saints because Baptism unites them to Jesus and to his Paschal Mystery, but at the same time they must become so by conforming themselves every more closely to him. Sometimes, people think that holiness is a privileged condition reserved for the few elect. Actually, becoming holy is every Christian’s task, indeed, we could say, every person’s! The Apostle writes that God has always blessed us and has chosen us in Christ “that we should be holy and blameless before him… in love” (Eph 1: 3-5). All human beings are therefore called to holiness, which ultimately consists in living as children of God, in that “likeness” with him in accordance with which they were created. All human beings are children of God and all must become what they are by means of the demanding process of freedom. God invites everyone to belong to his holy people. The “Way” is Christ, the Son, the Holy One of God: “no one comes to the Father but by me [Jesus]” (cf. Jn 14: 6). "

~Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/be…saints_en.html

And read this recent one:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20110413_en.html

 

[Mark1970]

Hi, I think out of all the forums this is the best for what I’m asking.

I pray every day, go to Mass weekly, and go to confession when I’m in mortal sin; but I keep venially sinning. Its often things like white lies, cursing, and slacking off. It’s hard to avoid because I often do these things without thinking.

Does anybody have any advise on how to deal with sins like these? Thanks.

A previous pastor at my church suggested that every New Year one of our resolutions should be to work on one specific fault. Not that we shouldn’t be thinking about the rest, but one fault in particular. He suggested that would help us to make progress.