Home Page  Faithful to the Magisterium  Ubi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia  Write to Marty     Why Catholic? Because True.

Catholic Definitions  Abbess  Abbey  Abbot  Accident  Absolute  Actual Grace  Adoration  Amen  Angel  Anointing  Apologetics  Apostasy  Apostolic  Apostolic Constitution  Apostolic Exhortation  Apostolic Letter  Art  Assent  Authority  Avarice  Baptism  Benign  Bible  Bishop  Brotherly Love  Bull  Calumny  Canon Law  Capital Sins  Capital Virtues  Cardinal Virtues  Catechesis  Catholic  Charity  Chastity  Chrism  Christ’s Commands  Church  Cloister  Codex  Communio  Compassion  Completion Story  Concupiscence  Confession  Confirmation  Consecration  Conscience  Conservatism  Continence  Convent  Corporal Works of Mercy  Counsel  Custody of the Senses  Deacon  Deaconess  Death  Detraction  Dicastery  Diligence  Divine Office  Doctrine  Dogma  Double Effect  Dulia  Economy of Salvation  Ecumenical  Ecumenical Council  Encyclical Epistle  Encyclica Letter  Envy  Eternity  Eucharist  Evangelization  Ex Cathedra  Ex Opere Operantis  Ex Opere Operato  Faith  Fear  Fideism  Form  Fortitude  Four Last Things  Friar  Friday Abstinence  Fruits of the Holy Spirit  Gifts of the Holy Spirit  Gluttony  Good  Grace  Heaven  Hell  Holy  Heresy  Holy Eucharist  Holy Orders  Hope  Humility  Hyperdulia  Hypostatic Union  Immortal  Impassible  Indulgence  Infallible  Intellectual Virtues  Intrinsic  Joy  Judgment  Justice  Justification  Knowledge  Latria  Letter  Liberality  Limbo  Liturgy  Longanimity  Lust  Magisterium  Man  Marriage  Matrimony  Matter  Meek  Mercy  Message  Mild  Miracle  Modernism  Modesty  Monastery  Monk  Mortal Sin  Motu Proprio  Nun  Obedience  One  Orders  Original Sin  Pallium  Parable  Pasch  Patience  Pauline Privilege  Peace  Penance  Piety  Pope  Prayer  Precept  Preternatural  Pride  Priest  Prophet  Prudence  Purgatory  Purity  Rationalism  Religious  Reparation  Revelation  Rule  Sacrament  Sacramental Presence  Sacred Tradition  Sacrifice  Saint  Sanctifying Grace Science  Scrupulosity  Sin  Sister  Sloth  Soul  Spirit  Spiritual Direction  Spiritual Works of Mercy  Substance  Supernatural  Synoptic  Telepathy  Temperance  Theological Virtues  Theology  Transubstantiation  Trinity  Triumphalist  Truly, truly  Ultramontane  Understanding  Vatican II  Vademecum  Vanity  Veneration  Venial Sin  Victim  Virtues  Wisdom  Words of Institution  Worship  Wrath

Mortal Sin

Mortal sin is actual sin that destroys sanctifying grace and causes the supernatural death of the soul. Objectively speaking, a sinner who passes into eternity in a state of mortal sin sends himself to hell.

Mortal sin breaks our relationship with God. It destroys charity in the heart of man by grave violation of God’s law. Mortal sin is generally associated with a seriously inordinate adherence to creatures that gravely injures our rational nature.

For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met. CCC 1857 “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

CCC 1858 “Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: ’Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.’ The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.”

CCC 1859 “Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.”

CCC 1860 “Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.”

The words mortal or deadly address the effect in the sinner, loss of God’s friendship. The words grave or serious address the importance of the matter in which the sinner offends God. But these are simply nuances in describing the same kind of sin: grave matter committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.

Sin which does not fulfill these criteria is called venial sin.

Copyright © 1999-2010 Martin K Barrack. All rights reserved.