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IV. The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin
1854Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. the distinction betweenmortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture, became part ofthe tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.
1855Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God'slaw; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, bypreferring an inferior good to him.
Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.
1856Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity -necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which isnormally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation:
When the will sets itself uponsomething that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients mantoward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . .whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or thelove of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery.... But when the sinner's willis set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is notopposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter orimmoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.
1857For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sinis sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with fullknowledge and deliberate consent."
1858Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answerof Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Donot steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father andyour mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murderis graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violenceagainst parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposesknowledge 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 ratherincrease, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a graveoffense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the morallaw, which are written in the conscience of every man. the promptings offeelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of theoffense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committedthrough malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. Itresults in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is,of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God'sforgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death ofhell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turningback. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense,we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe thestandard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in agrave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.
1863Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for createdgoods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and thepractice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate andunrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will andfriendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace itis humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner ofsanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternalhappiness."
While he is in the flesh, mancannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sinswhich we call "light": if you take them for light when you weighthem, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a greatmass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. Whatthen is our hope? Above all, confession.
1864"Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but isguilty of an eternal sin." There are no limits to the mercy ofGod, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting,rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the HolySpirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence andeternal loss.