How to tell the difference between mortal and venial sins.

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:telldifferencebetweenmortalvenialsins
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How to tell the difference between mortal and venial sins.

Introduction

Many Protestant churches believe in the doctrine of a??once saved, always saved,a?? that a person's eternal salvation is an assured constant from the moment of his or her a??decision for Christa?? on, no matter what sins that person commits afterwards. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, holds that a person's eternal destination depends on whether or not he is in a state of mortal sin at the moment of his death. But when is a sin mortal?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines sin as a a??failure in genuine love for God and neighbora?? (Section 1849), an offensive behavior that separates the sinner from God and man. There are two types of sins, mortal and venial. Mortal sin a??destroys charity in the heart of man by grave violation of God's law;a?? venial sin preserves charity, yet wounds it. Venial sin does not break the sinner's covenant with God (Sections 1855, 1863).

Three conditions must exist for a sin to be mortal:

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Steps

1

Step One

Grave Matter. The sin must be a a??grave matter,a?? that is, something forbidden by the Ten Commandments explicitly or implicitly.
2

Step Two

Full Knowledge. The sin must be committed with the sinner's full knowledge that the sin is indeed a grave matter. If the sinner is ignorant that what he did was a grave matter, his culpability can be diminished or even removed.
3

Step Three

Deliberate Consent. The sinner must deliberately consent to commit the sin
(Sections 1857-1861).

Overall Tips & Warnings

  • A venial sin is a less serious violation of the moral law, or is a sin committed without full knowledge or consent. (Section 1862).
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