Author Topic: Mortal Sin (Read 6992 times)

Alex117 · « **on:** February 19, 2013, 06:31:53 PM »

I think I need somebody to explain mortal sin to me. According to the Baltimore Catechism:

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To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

With a definition like that, it seems almost impossible to commit a mortal sin. Who would sufficiently reflect upon doing something wrong, say "Well, whatever", and then do it anyway with the full consent of their will? I could see a murderer reflecting upon killing their future victim and then going through with it anyway, but disobeying your parents, purposely missing Mass on Sunday, viewing pornography, and other grievous matters? Who would sufficiently reflect upon those things and then do them anyway with the full consent of their will? It's not like I would ever wake up one Sunday morning, not feel like getting out of bed, and then I'd lay there and sufficiently reflect upon my actions and then I would choose to spite God anyway in not going. It would moreso be like "I'm so tired, forget it," and then I would roll over and go back to sleep. Would that be a mortal sin? It seems like it, since it's pretty much the same thing, but according to the Catechism, it wouldn't be because I didn't sufficiently reflect upon my sin or do it with the full consent of my will (I was sleepy).

Is my understanding of mortal sin wrong? It all sounds very wrong to me.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #1 on:** February 19, 2013, 06:33:42 PM »

Do you believe that people don't have free will?

That they're incapable of not making bad choices?

That's what it sounds like.

Alex117 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 19, 2013, 06:41:46 PM »

Quote from: Telesphorus

Do you believe that people don't have free will?

That they're incapable of not making bad choices?

That's what it sounds like.

No, not at all - I make bad choices all the time. But "sufficient reflection" and "full consent of the will" are rather weighty terms. Me saying "Ah forget it" and rolling over in bed doesn't sound like "sufficient reflection" to me.

I've been under the impression ever since I've come back to Catholicism that I've been doing mortal sins left and right for years now, but one of my friend's said that they've never committed a mortal sin once (which shocked me), and then I went looking for it's definition in the Baltimore Catechism (which also shocked me).

I'm asking here if my interpretation of what was said in the Baltimore Catechism is correct.

Telesphorus · « **Reply #3 on:** February 19, 2013, 06:45:28 PM »

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but one of my friend's said that they've never committed a mortal sin once

That's Novus Ordo garbage.

If you do something willingly you know is mortally wrong, that's full consent of the will and sufficient reflection.

They try the same garbage with marriages. They suggest that people today really didn't mean their vows if they don't want to keep them.

It's modernist sophistry.

Alex117 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2013, 06:55:17 PM »

"That's Novus Ordo garbage."
But they've never been in the Novus Ordo. They were raised as a traditional Catholic.

"If you do something willingly you know is mortally wrong, that's full consent of the will and sufficient reflection."
Tele, that sounds even more wrong than the definition I read from the Catechism. I think the Catechism purposefully says "full consent of the will" and "sufficient reflection" for a reason. If it had just said "consent of the will" and "reflection", I would agree with you completely, but it doesn't say that.