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- First, the thought, desire, word, action, or omission must be seriously wrong. The matter must be grave, something very important. A slight act of vanity or impatience is not serious matter, but murder is. Things seriously evil are known to be such from Sacred Scripture, Tradition, the teachings of the Church, or from their nature.
- Second, the sinner must be mindful of the serious wrong. He must have full knowledge and reflection or attention, and know that what he does is grievous. The person must know the malice and evil of what he is doing. A man who steals a precious diamong ring in the belief that it is glass has not full knowledge. A man who throws a lighted match thoughtlessly aside may throw it into a gasoline tank and cause an explosiion, but he has not full attention. "For I formerly was a blashpemer, a persecutor and a bitter adversary; but I obtained the mercy of God because I acted ignorantly, I unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13).
- Third, the sinner must fully consent to it. He must do it of his own free will, saying delibertly, "I will do this." When one realizing what he is doing still freely does it, he gives the matter deliberate consent. Therefore infants and idiots cannot commit mortal sin; they cannot fully realize what they do. Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God. "But they that commit sin and iniquity are enemies to their own soul" (Tobias 12:10).
   Sure-fire Way to Hell
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While the vast majority have bought into the "operation of error" and "consented to iniquity", do they not realize that one can never enter Heaven in the state of mortal sin. Without putting on the armor of God and being in the state of sanctifying grace, we are puddy in the devil's hands and dead meat. Literally!
Editor's Note: This series is an effort to return to basics since too often we all make the holy Faith complicated, whereas in reality the truths and traditions of the Catholic Faith are quite simple. God doesn't complicate things, man does. Realizing the fact that, for many generations indoctrinated by conciliar ambiguities, it all seems so confusing, we are introducing this series which is an adaptation of an earlier series titled "Appreciating the Precious Gift of the Faith" in utilizing a combination of the excellent compendium of the late Bishop Morrow's pre-Vatican II Manual of Religion My Catholic Faith and Dom Prosper Gueranger's incomparable The Liturgical Year as well as the out-of-print masterpieces The Catholic Church Alone The One True Church(1902) and the Cabinet of Catholic Information (1903). Through prayer and discussions, we've decided to employ this revised series to simplify the tenets of the Faith for those who continue to wallow in what they think is the 'Catholic Church' out of obedience to a man and his hierarchy who long ago betrayed Christ and His flocks. This then, is an affirmation of the basic truths the Spotless Bride of Christ has always taught and cannot change or evolve as "living documents" for truth is truth. As we say every day in the Act of Faith, "We believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived." If you have been deceived, and the vast majority have been, then realize what you've been indoctrinated with over the past 50 years cannot be from God but from His adversary. Our advice: flee the conciliar confines as well as other man-made religions which do not teach these truths without compromise. Seek out a traditional chapel nearest to you. There is a list of churches you can absolutely trust at Traditional Latin Masses
Mortal Sin
Mortal sin is the greatest evil in the world. It separates us from God . Because of our mortal sins, Jesus Christ suffered agonies and died on a cross. To strengthen our resolutin not to commit sin, we should remember also that even a single mortal sin is enough to send us to hell.
Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.
Any wilful thought, desire, word, action or omnission, in serious violation of God's law, is a mortal sin. Examples of mortal sin are blasphemy, wilful murder, adultey, arson, robbery, etc. Mortal sin occurs as sooon as God is no longer our final end in our thoughts, words, and actions. Each mortal sin we commit is a three-fold insult to Almighty God: it insulte Him by rebellion or disobedience, by ingratitude, and by contempt.
Circumstances of person, cause, time, place, means, object, and evil consequences enhance or decrease the guilt of the sin. Thus mortal sins, although all mortal, differ in the weight of their guilt. This sin is called mortal, or deadly, because it deprives the sinner of sanctifying grace, the supernatural life of the soul.
Without sanctifying grace, the soul is displeasing to God, unclean, and can never behold Him or be with Him in Heaven. Without sanctifying grace, the soul is without God; and without God, the devil makes the soul his habitation. "Know thou and see that is is an evil and bitter thing for thee to have left the Lord thy God" (Jeremiah 2: 19).
The sinner loses charity towards God and his fellow-men, and by the weakening of his will and the darkening of his intellect, is liable to fall into other mortal sins. The devil cries to his subordinates, "God hath forsaken him; pursue him and take him, for there is none to deliver him" (Psalm 70:11).
Without sanctifying grace the soul is truly "dead"; and if an adult dies in that state, he will suffer the torments of the damned. The word "mortal" comes from the Latin mors, which means "death." Saint John Chrysostom said, "Sinners are dead while they live, and the just live after they are dead." Besides depriving the sinner of sanctifying grace, mortal sin makes the soul an enemy of God, takes away the merit of all good actions, deprives it of the right to everlasting happiness in Heaven, and makes it deserving of everlasting punishment in hell.
Man was made for God, and what an awful calamityit would be to become His enemy! It would be as if the food which was made to support and sustain man should all of a sudden turn to poison him instead. Through mortal sin, the sinner becomes a stranger to divine love, and to the love of neighbor; his heart turns cold because he has put out the flame of charity by grave sin. His reason, a gift of God, is obscured, and he fails to perceive the things of God. Thus a sinner the more he sins, becomes more insensitive to evil; his will is finally so weakened that all conscience is lost, and he falls into greater and greter sins more and more easily.
"Adulterers, do you not know that the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of this world becomes an enemy of God."(James 4:4).
During all the time that the sinner remains in mortal sin, all his good works do not help him to heaven: he earns no merits until he gives up his state of mortal sin. As the Apostle Paul says, "If I give my body to be burned and have not charity, I am nothing." One who falls into mortal sin may be compared to a merchant coming into his home port, laden with all kinds of treasures collected from abroad, upon which he has spent years of labor and incalculable wealth. Just as he enters the harbor his ship is torpedoed, and he saves nothing for all his trouble. In a similar manner, one who dies in mortal sin gains nothing, however numerous the good works he may in life had performed.
However numerous the merits previously earned by the sinner, however many his good works, if he dies with only one ortal sin on his soul he goes to hell forever. Is this not something to be feared? It is because mortal sin presupposes a hatred of God. Let us be reasonable men, and consider the utter folly of selling our birthright, God and Heaven, for the mess of pottage that is sin and its effects. "Then He will say to those on his left hand, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire'" (St. Matthew 25:41).
To make a sin mortal three things are necessary:
It is a rebellion against and contempt of God, the blackest ingratitude towards Him. Our Heavenly Father gave us everything we have, and in return we offend Him. We desecrate His temple. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). By mortal sin a vile and insignificant creature offends and insults the infinite Creator.
It is crucifying Christ again, "since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and make him a mockery" (Hebrews 6:6). We can never fully realize the malice of mortal sin. We can get a small idea of it by remembering that God sent His own beloved Son to suffer untold agonies, to save us from its consequences.
Mortal sin must be a most appalling thing indeed to make a just and merciful God create hell for the everlasting punishment of the rebellious angels and of sinners who die with even only one mortal sin. Even considering only its temporal penalties mortal sin is great folly. Upon it follows moral disquiet; the sinner loses the serenity and cheerfulness of the just soul. "The wicked are like the raging sea, that cannot rest" (Isaiah 57:20). Sickness and want are often consequences of sin, as well as loss of a good reputation.
Occasions and Sources of Sin
Vice is easily formed, but requires great struggle to overcome it. The longer a man indulges in vice, the harder is the struggle. He becomes its slave. He is completely carried away by his passions. Only the great grace of God , coupled with a resolute will, can eradicate vice, once it is strongly rooted in a man's nature. This is one reason why we must be most careful to avoid sin, in order not to become victims of vice.
If we are so unfortunate as to fall into sin, we must at once repent and resolve to avoid it in the future.
The near occasions of sin are all persons, places, or things that may easily lead us into sin.
Most common occasions of sin are: Bad companions. One who provokes or leads us into sin is not our friend. We must stop going with that companion.
One rotten apple in a basket of good apples quickly rots the rest. The same is true of human beings. Sin is a contagious disease. If we do not wish to be infected, we must go far away from it
Another common occasion is MTV, rock bands, parties and dances. Not every dance or song is sinful. But many dances are occasions of sin; and public dances without the presence of respectable adults as chaperones are extremely dangerous. A safe rule to follow is never to go to any place where you would be ashamed to take your virtuous mother or sister. Never go anywhere you wouldn't want Jesus or His Blessed Mother Mary accompanying you.
In many dances, the women tend to dress with extravagance and immodesty, just to "follow the fashion". Sometimes, too, dances are an occasion for the taking of liberties, due to late hours, and the spirit of unrestrained pleasure.
Bars, nightclubs, parties where alcohol is served. These are very proximate occasions of sin, leading to intemperance, and worse evils. Those who frequent saloons and "booze parties" are likely to be not only habitual drunkards, but become involved in disputes, and finally end badly even in the temporal sense such as alienation or divorce.
Lotteries, card games, betting can be a serious occasion of sin because money meant for something else can often be wasted on gambling, causing neglect of family, home and duties.
Bad newspapers, magazines, questionable internet sites. These are no less dangerous because their wickedness is often not apparent, many hiding their evil under the guise of cleverness, information, science, art, etc.
But periodicals gradually undermine faith and make one insensitive to evil. It is the duty of every Catholic to subscribe to a Catholic periodical, and never to favor a wicked press such as Playboy magazine or that ilk and to be very careful in what daily newspapers one reads for there can be subliminal editorial content throughout that promote the culture of death and immorality.
We can never overlook the dangerous, subliminal consequences of bad books. Many novels are harmless; some are very helpful, but many are positively wicked. We must be very careful in the selection of the books we read.
There are many books of merit according to literary standards, and not offensive to Catholic morals. Many Catholic internet sites publish religious book sources There are Catholic and Christian sites that publish reviews of current fiction most useful for the general reader. We must remember that poisonous food will only kill the body, but poisonous reading kills the soul.
Indecent films and videos. Today most of the motion pictures and video releases are not decent. All, it seems, are rated R or PG-13 and very few PG's with the number of G rated films that could be counted on your hands. We must be careful to choose only the good and, unfortunately the strong presence and influence of the Catholic National Legion of Decency is no longer thanks to greedy Hollywood moguls who have forced their own value system on audiences. In the past, the Legion of Decency, working under the hierarchy, each week issued a list giving the moral evaluation of current films; it reviewed and classified. It asked every Catholic to take a pledge not to patronize lewd pictures. Today we unfortunately don't have those safety measures thought the United States Bishops Conference does publish movie reviews on their site it is a far cry from the clout the Legion of Decency used to enjoy with everyone. Thus today, responsible Catholics have to be on their guard and on their own in monitoring not only what they watch but what their children - from toddler to teen. If every decent person kept away from such obscene and violent shows, the producers would surely make better pictures. Supply is according to the demand; we get what we ask for.
Finally, a new occasion of sin in this generation is video games. Quite often they are very violent and devoid of merit or any semblance of values. While the games themselves are very realistic, they tend to blind one to reality and too many youth today have difficulty deciphering the difference between violence in real life and in the virtual world. Games such as Dungeons and Dragons from the sixties gave way to the computer generation and today such violent and obscene games have given rise to violence in schools with Columbine serving as a stark reminder of this malady.
Even games such as "Mario" or "Sonic" or "Crash Bandicoot" which are totally toon or sports games can be occasions of sin for the competitive nature of the games can prompt the players to be uncharitable or spend too much time away, thus alienating them from family and their chores and studies.
We should never seek, and always try to avoid, occasions of sin.
It is wrong voluntarily to seek the occasions of sin.
"He that loveth the danger shall perish in it" (Ecclesiastes 3:27). However, those who, by their calling or other necessity, are continually exposed to such dangerous occasions, as priests, officials, doctors, and others, must put their trust in God, Who will give them grace and protect them.
We must avoid occasions of sin as soon as we perceive them. If one goes to the theater and sees that the play is an indecent play, he must stand up and leave at once. Otherwise he commits a sin. He will fall into further sin, and commit besides the sin of not avoiding the occasion. He or she can always ask for a refund if the production is truly offensive. Remember "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" but always in charity.
Without a doubt, over the last 50 years the greatest source of temptation, the most dangerous source of sin is in our very midst and so many are clueless. Allow us to share something from an anonymous source, but should wake all of us up and prompt all to examine their consciences:
A few years after I was born, my dad met a stranger who was
new to our small town. From the beginning, dad was fascinated with
this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The
stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.. In my young mind,
he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom
taught me good from evil, and dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was
our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures,
mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the
future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh,and he
made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to
listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.. (I
wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave...)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them... Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home...
Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with
four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother
blush. My dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger
encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.
This stranger talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes
blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were
influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the
values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with
our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first..
Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find
him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and
watch him draw his pictures. His name?..... .. .
We just call him 'TV.'
All should take note for this stranger has a wife now.....We call her 'Computer.'
Yes, that should all give us a cold chill and wake us up.
The chief sources of actual sin are: pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth, and these are commony called Capital Sins or the Seven Deadly Sins.
They are called capital from the Latin caput which means "head," because they are the heads or sources of all sins. Thus they originate sins of luxury, gossip, excessive ambition, etc.
They are called capital sins, not because they are the greatest sins in themselves, but because they are the chief reasons why men commit sin. They are the origin of every sin, all others sins arising from them as from their fountainhead. These sins are termed deadly, because they are either mortal of their own nature, or may easily become mortal. They may be mortal or venial according as the matter is serious or less serious.
These sins are called vices, because they produce permanent disorders in the soul. They are the seven fatal diseases of the soul, which end in death. He who will be a friend of God must divest himself of these vices. Before we can plant the beautiful garden of virtues, we must root up the thorns and weeds growing out of these deadly sins.
Yes, God punishes sin, partly in this life, but chiefly after death.
In this life sinners suffer from remorse of conscience, fear, and unhappiness. Their sin often brings upon them disease or death, the hatred and scorn of their fellow-men, and other temporal punishments. Even on earth, "the wages of sin is death." Thus, the robber or murderer is ever afraid his crime will be detected. If it is discovered, he is sent to prison or to the electric chair or the gas chamber even though capital punishment is another area of argument in the Church.
The punishment of the sinner is fully meted out to him only after death. Then the unrepentant sinner is punished in hell. Justice is not always done in this world, where the wicked often prosper and the just are made to suffer.
On earth, God rewards the sinner for whatever good he may do. It is only in the next life that the evil he does is given its full and just punishment.
Previously: Step Thirteen: Man's Fallen Human Nature
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