I couldn’t tell you the last time I heard a priest from the pulpit or
elsewhere give a teaching on this subject. It has been MANY years.
It is as though there is FEAR of scaring people or FEAR of OFFENDING someone
by this teaching. And yet, mortal sin is a reality. Hell is a reality. Jesus
spoke of hell in Scripture. And what sends souls to hell is UNREPENTANT mortal sin, that is, mortal sin
that has not been told in confession or forgiven by an act of PERFECT CONTRITION when one is not
able to get to confession. (Perfect contrition is being sorry ABOVE ALL because we have
offended God, Who is All Good, not because we will be punished.)
Mortal sin is THE reason why Jesus went through His Passion, Death, and
Resurrection. Mortal sin is what can separate a soul from God forever.
Mortal sin is saying "NO!" to God in a serious matter. Mortal means
"deadly." You see, when God gave us the Ten Commandments, He wasn’t kidding. The Ten
Commandments are exactly that - COMMAND - MENTS. God did not call them SUGGESTIONS.
Contrary to what Ted Turner said recently, the Ten Commandments are NOT out
of date. (By the way, Ted Turner, is far from being God, therefore, he certainly
does not have wisdom equal to or superior to God.)
God is unchanging, eternal. Human nature, also, has not changed since Adam
and Eve. If we are something other than human, then what other species have we become?
We are in the season of Lent. This is the time for us to take an honest look
at ourselves and our relationship to God. What are the obstacles in our lives that are
keeping us from loving God as we should.
Certainly, mortal sin is what we must be concerned about first and foremost,
for it is the worst obstacle to our salvation.
We have almost two generations of young people that have not been adequately
taught their faith. For them, mostly, I wish to "reteach" how one can tell IF they
have committed serious or mortal sin. These are the criteria and if even one is missing, no mortal
sin has been committed.
- 1) the thought, word, deed or omission MUST BE SERIOUS;
- 2) one must know AT THE TIME OF THE ACT that it is serious;
- 3) one must give FULL CONSENT of the will to the act.
A good examination of conscience book is a great aid in helping people know what sins are serious and what are less serious. (No sin should be taken lightly as
every sin is an offense against God.) If you don’t have one, e-mail ne at Srmarylucy@aol.com. I have a bunch of them.
Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My Commandments."
During this Lent, therefore, it is necessary for us to root out any mortal
sins in our lives, if there are any. If not, then we should take an honest look at what venial sins
we are committing. That’s the topic for next week. Stay tuned and meanwhile, please be thinking about making an honest and good confession before Easter.
God bless you!