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A Brief Reflection on Mortal Sin
Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 07-18-18 | Msgr. Charles Pope

Posted on 07/19/2018 7:39:46 AM PDT by Salvation

A Brief Reflection on Mortal Sin

July 18, 2018

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches,

[M]ortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. In mortal sin the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end. As such, the sin is mortal by its very object whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1855-1856).

Many people today scoff at the idea that mortal sin is a turning away from God. They doubt that people directly intend to turn away from God, as if the fornicator or the murder or the thief would say, “I hate God and so I am going to turn away from Him by sinning.”

That is not what catechism says, however. Rather, it says that our preference for an inferior good to God by a grave violation of His law is what turns us away from Him.

It says that in mortal sin we set our will upon something we know to be incompatible with our ultimate end. Although our first thought may not be that we are rejecting God, we set our will on something incompatible with God. In so doing, we are preferring something or someone to God.

This poisons our heart if we do not repent because we feed a desire in our heart for what is not God and we starve our heart from Him and what He offers. Soon enough we prefer the darkness to the light. We prefer the trinkets of this world to God and come to regard Him as a thief who comes to take what we want and keeps us from doing what we want to do. God becomes our enemy.

If we die in this state, the warmth of God and Heaven seem overwhelming, wrathful, and like a consuming fire. We cannot endure and so we turn away finally and permanently to a place that we strangely prefer, but which is hellacious because it is not that for which we were made. It lacks the one thing necessary: God.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come into the Light (John 3:19-20).

In mortal sin it is not that we directly turn from God — at least not at first — but that we turn to the lesser things of the darkness and come to hate Him who is the Light.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; contextbigdeal; mortalsin; sin; venalsin
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To: Petrosius
Very subjective then.

Here's something God says.

ALL sin is *mortal*, kills.

Matthew 5:21-26 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

All sin kills.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit, here says *sin*, not *mortal sin* or *venial sin*, but just *sin*.

ALL sin has the same penalty, therefore by Catholic definition, all sin is mortal.

Making up graduations of sin that some is less bad than others, diminishes the seriousness of sin.

Catholicism takes sin far too lightly by doing so.

101 posted on 07/20/2018 8:23:56 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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To: Luircin
All this seems to be doing is repeating the false assumption that only Caths teach to do good works.

It is not just teaching good works, but do good works need to accompany faith for salvation? Is not the whole point of "sola fide," to deny this; is this not the basis of the charge that Catholics believe in a "works based salvation?" Is a person saved through faith alone even if he continues to live according to the flesh? Paul would say no.

102 posted on 07/20/2018 8:25:04 AM PDT by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius; metmom

“Those in Purgatory have already had all their sins forgiven but the damage of sin, the corruption of the soul, remains.”

Hmmm...

“but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), 6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: 7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: 8 for by grace have ye been saved through faith...” - Ephesians 2

Notice the past tenses: MADE us alive. RAISED us up. MADE us to sit with him in the heavenly places”. Kind of hard to be in Purgatory if you are ALREADY seated with Jesus in the heavenly places!

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” - Hebrews 10

Again, notice the past tense: “For by one offering he has perfected forever...” If God has made (past tense) something “perfect forever”, then who is man to call it corrupt?


103 posted on 07/20/2018 8:28:05 AM PDT by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: metmom

God, through 1 John 5:16-17, would disagree with you. There is here a clear distinction between deadly/mortal sin and sin that is not. These verses, the word of God, cannot be ignored because they do not fit with one’s pre-conceived theology.


104 posted on 07/20/2018 8:31:04 AM PDT by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius

I agree with you. And if I may, I would add scriptures from Hebrew 6:4-6:

This mortal sin is a willful sin, in that the person refuses to stop it, and leaves the Holy Spirit to continue in that sin... Refusing to obey the Holy Spirit is a mortal sin, right? EX: A sexual perversion or other types of sin forbidden would quality, if the person repents, and returns willfully and God cannot get them to stop.

Now these verses are specific in that refers to those who are Spirit filled, and have operated in the gifts of the spirit, whereas God has given them all he can on this earth to stay out of sin. (There is no once saved, always saved Salvation, per these scriptures, however, it would be difficult to end up here.)

Bible: NIV
Hebrews 6:4-6 For is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

I hope I haven’t offended anyone, and it was NOT a private conversation. el


105 posted on 07/20/2018 8:35:43 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: Petrosius

I agree with you. And if I may, I would add scriptures from Hebrew 6:4-6:

This mortal sin is a willful sin, in that the person refuses to stop it, and leaves the Holy Spirit to continue in that sin... Refusing to obey the Holy Spirit is a mortal sin, right? EX: A sexual perversion or other types of sin forbidden would quality, if the person repents, and returns willfully and God cannot get them to stop.

Now these verses are specific in that refers to those who are Spirit filled, and have operated in the gifts of the spirit, whereas God has given them all he can on this earth to stay out of sin. (There is no once saved, always saved Salvation, per these scriptures, however, it would be difficult to end up here.)

Bible: NIV
Hebrews 6:4-6 For is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

I hope I haven’t offended anyone, and it was NOT a private conversation. el


106 posted on 07/20/2018 8:35:45 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: Petrosius; metmom
God, through 1 John 5:16-17, would disagree with you. There is here a clear distinction between deadly/mortal sin and sin that is not. These verses, the word of God, cannot be ignored because they do not fit with one’s pre-conceived theology.

Reconcile your assertion above with Romans 6:23

23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

107 posted on 07/20/2018 8:38:41 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Campion

Hebrews 6:4-6 4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

NO, God spelled out the only ‘Unforgiveable sin” in scripture above!


108 posted on 07/20/2018 8:40:56 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: Ambrosia
If you're going to argue Hebrews 6:4-6 then you have to agree it means if you can lose your salvation.....you cannot get it back.
109 posted on 07/20/2018 8:41:16 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Luircin

The only unforgiveable sin, the mortal sin:

Hebrews 6:4-6 4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.


110 posted on 07/20/2018 8:43:05 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: ealgeone

Isn’t that what it says, clearly? Did you even read my comment? The scripture tells you what Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, it applies to those who have operated in nine gifts of the Spirit and if they turn away intentionally, stating so, and leaving Christ to willfully continue in sin....
How could you know what it was, if you didn’t have the Holy Spirit, stop and think about that!

Bible
Mathew 12:31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.


111 posted on 07/20/2018 8:50:58 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: ealgeone

Isn’t that what it says, clearly? Did you even read my comment? The scripture tells you what Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, it applies to those who have operated in nine gifts of the Spirit and if they turn away intentionally, stating so, and leaving Christ to willfully continue in sin....
How could you know what it was, if you didn’t have the Holy Spirit, stop and think about that!

Bible
Mathew 12:31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.


112 posted on 07/20/2018 8:52:48 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: ealgeone
The record of sin that stood against us to condemn us has been dealt with at the cross.

It no longer has any power to damn us as we have been FORGIVEN by God.

Colossians 2:13-15 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Colossians 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

113 posted on 07/20/2018 8:54:35 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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To: Ambrosia

I apologize for the twice reply, not intended, it happened both times I posted.... only one reply meant!


114 posted on 07/20/2018 8:55:26 AM PDT by Ambrosia (Born in NC, then PA, NY,WV, NM, SC, and FL & back God/Freedom=Priority!)
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To: Petrosius; Luircin
It is not just teaching good works, but do good works need to accompany faith for salvation?

No. But they WILL accompany salvation.

But your very question shows the thinking that good works are necessary for salvation.

The only thing that's necessary for salvation is saving faith as opposed to intellectual assent.

Many people believe in God and many people believe God but not as many put their full trust in HIM to save us.

The works are only evidence that saving faith has been exercised, instead of just intellectual assent to the facts.

It's not that the good works added to *faith* save us, it's that the good works show what kind of faith the person has, therefore WE can see if saving faith has been exercised.

GOD already knows, as He knows the heart. Works prove nothing to God and mean nothing to God.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Luke 18:9-14 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

115 posted on 07/20/2018 9:00:46 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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To: Ambrosia

And the context of Matthew 12:31?


116 posted on 07/20/2018 9:02:33 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Petrosius
There is here a clear distinction between deadly/mortal sin and sin that is not.

Post the Scripture references that tell how one makes that distinction.

Those who teach graduations of the seriousness of sin take sin far too lightly.

117 posted on 07/20/2018 9:02:35 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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To: Ambrosia

NP!


118 posted on 07/20/2018 9:03:17 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Petrosius

You know, or maybe you don’t, that sin is not about a laundry list of sins, do’s and don’t’s that we keep track of, some being more serious and some being less.

Sin is about disobedience to God, and disobedience to God is disobedience to God, be it as *mortal sin* such as adultery or murder, or a *venial sin* such as telling a lie, even a *white lie*, stealing, or taking a bite out of forbidden fruit.

The issue is the disobedience to GOD. It’s the same God and the same act of defiance against Him, whether it’s *big* or *little*.

Until you all see that sin is more than a laundry list to tick off whether you make the grade or not and see it as the act of defiance against a holy, pure, righteous God, you all will continue to downplay it’s seriousness and treat some sins as if they are not such a big deal.

Satan must be laughing himself silly watching all you gullible people trying to pay off your own sin that only DEATH can pay for and even our own death cannot pay for it.

Purgatory has got to be one of his best ideas yet to sucker people in.


119 posted on 07/20/2018 9:14:57 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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To: Mr Rogers; ealgeone; Luircin; aMorePerfectUnion

Dontcha just love it?

The hypocrisy exhibited by the Catholics.

They accuse us of taking sin too lightly, that we think we can sin wantonly after we’re saved, and here we are trying to convince them that these’s no such thing as graduations of the seriousness of sin that ALL sin is deadly and needs to be confessed and covered by the blood of Jesus.

THEY’RE the ones that make some sins less serious than others, and we’re saying no.

And WE’RE accused of not being serious about sin?

We’re not the ones trying to weasel out of avoiding all sin as being damaging and damning by blowing it off with *Oh, I’ll just spend a few more years in purgatory for it, ha, ha, ha....*

And, yes, I have heard that.


120 posted on 07/20/2018 9:22:47 AM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith......)
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