Was this Mortal sin?

[scimitar60]

As a few of you may know, I have been struggling with mastubation lately.
So far I have lasted about a week but in the past 2 days I have fallen into temptation twice. I started masturbating but stopped half way through, knowing the consequences. Was this a Mortal sin twice? Or is it just venial?

 

[EmeraldWings]

I don’t think anyone can (or should) answer that for you, if you are unsure, then the best thing you can do is go to confession and either confess it, or just ask about it,
remember that even to confess your temptations in confession gives you the special graces you need to gain power over those temptations, so even though you are unsure, you should definitely go to confession,

just keep in mind, God knows we are weak, and He is there to help us because He loves us so much,
so when you fall into sin, don’t think to yourself, “what a hopeless miserable sinner i am” and then fall into despair, but instead say to Jesus, “See how weak i am without You? please give me the grace and strength i need to fight and flee from these sins” or something along those lines,
we are weak to sin, but we must not despair, because that is contrary to humility,
even if you struggle with impurity, you can still have strength and find confidence in humility,
we are sinners and we fall, but Gods mercy if far greater than our sins, so we have alot to hope for in His mercy,

so anyways, i would definitely recommend just going to confession, because even the church tells us, “when in doubt, by all means confess”

ok, hope this helps, take care.

 

[MtnDwellar]

As was stated, the best answer will come from a discussion with a priest. If you are struggling with this, I am surprised that you have not already had this discussion.

There are factors that should be considered. What is your state in life - married or single? Is it a habit?

While I struggled with this sin, I was also attending daily Mass and Communion. If it was a mortal sin, daily Eucharist would have been a problem. I was advised that I was not in a state of mortal sin, go to daily Mass and Communion, make frequent confession, and keep trying.

 

[JRKH]

The best advice has already been given. Go to confession and talk it over with your confessor.

Without getting into specifics of “mortal/venial” which I will leave to your confessor, I wish to congratulate you on progress. Keep at it, pray early and often. Lust is a horrible sin to get past as the “bad habits” are often so pleasurable. If you have a regular confessor who knows your struggles, I’m sure that he will be able to take this into account and give you the best advice.

Peace
James

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

It all depends on how much you were aware of what you were doing and the gravity of it, how attuned to the temptation and willingly doing it anyway you were at the time, and how habitual and addictive it is for you. That mitigates somewhat but like many have said here, go to confession and set your soul at peace to be sure. God loves you and he doesn’t just see you as a masturbator but a child of His full of good things. You are more than this sin. It is a small part of your life. God loves you deeply, has great things in store for you and this sin will not destroy you. Trust in God, confess if you fall, and trust in His Mercy. The devil wants you to think that masturbation is your entire life, there’s nothing to you but this addiction, and he wants you to get obsessed with it and drag you down. You mustn’t think it’s not sinful or no big deal, but you also must not let it dominate and define you. Blessings to you and stay strong in Jesus’s Holy Name!