when is anger a sin?

[Box_Car_Racer]

does anyone know when anger becomes a sin, and when it becomes a grave sin? Is it alright to wish harm or death of someone else then realize what you are doing and stop?

 

[Mysty101]

Box Car Racer:

does anyone know when anger becomes a sin, and when it becomes a grave sin? Is it alright to wish harm or death of someone else then realize what you are doing and stop?

This would be very different for different people, since only you can know what you realize in this matter.

As a general rule, you can never commit a mortal sin if you have not given sufficient reflection or full consent, so it would seem that if you distracted yourself once you becsme aware of this anger, it would not be mortally sinful (possibly veniel depending on the thoughts)

All sin questions are best discussed with your confessor.

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

Mysty101:

All sin questions are best discussed with your confessor.

This is my position - when in doubt, always bring it up.

There are lots of things I wondered about and I kind of got laid back figuring if I don’t ask, he won’t tell me not to do it again.



The sad part, is that while I can hide this attitude from my confessor, I can’t hide it from the Holy Spirit.

:bigyikes:

He expects us to raise anything we aren’t sure about. That nagging voice you hear in your heart, could be a signal from God.

I put it this way. There are stones on our spiritual path and these we can move on our own. There are rocks and some we can move on our own and some we cannot, so we must ask. Then, there are the boulders. These we absolutely cannot move on our own and they nag our conscience with a vengeance in some cases. The presence of a boulder will not allow you to move forward spiritually. Therefore, you must seek help in removing it. It is the Lord’s way of saying that this thing, be it present or past, requires acknowledgement, judgement and satisfaction in the Sacrament of Penance.

Confession isn’t only about acknowledgement of sins. It is about “judgement” and “satisfaction”. The confessor represents Jesus and casts judgement on the sins that we confess. I’ve been surprised to learn that things i thought were serious, he judged to not to be as serious and explained why. Things that I suspected might be serious, were deemed highly serious, moreso than I thought and once again, he explained why. Therefore, it is so good to bring up the doubts in a conversational manner and with context when you can provide it (background info). Satisfaction happens when we act on the penance we receive.

 

[marty1818]

Box Car Racer:

does anyone know when anger becomes a sin, and when it becomes a grave sin? Is it alright to wish harm or death of someone else then realize what you are doing and stop?

If the thoughts of wishing someone harm or death are random thoughts they are probably not grave. As humans, we often have thoughts that will pop in our heads, and as long as we dismiss them in a swift manner they are not grave. As long as you don’t keep the thoughts in your head, fantasize, and take pleasure in such thoughts I do not believe they are grave. When in doubt you can always ask a priest.

matt