What is the difference between mortal and venial sin?

With the moral relativism of our day, it seems a bit inane and antiquated to speak of sin, much less distinctions of sin as mortal and venial. But for the faithful Catholic, who strives to live a life of holiness with the hope of eternal life in heaven, these distinctions are of the utmost importance.

When the Church distinguishes sins as mortal and venial, she is merely being faithful to this distinction as set forth by the divinely inspired authors of Sacred Scripture. In the First Letter of St. John, the apostle states that “All wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly” (5:17). The Latin word for “death” is mors (mortis), which provides the etymological basis for mortal sin, that which is deadly. It is indeed deadly because it destroys sanctifying grace (the divine life of God within the soul) and may lead to eternal loss in hell. Saint John was not the only author of Sacred Scripture to note that some sins are deadly. Saint Paul makes this same distinction in his Letter to the Galatians (5:19-21), where he enumerates mortal sins that lead to eternal damnation: immorality; impurity; licentiousness; idolatry; sorcery; hatreds; rivalry; jealousy; outburst of fury; acts of selfishness; dissensions; factions; occasions of envy; drinking bouts; orgies; and the like. Saint Paul warned that whoever does “such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). The Church, faithful to divine revelation, continues to differentiate mortal and venial sins, for the spiritual well-being of her members here on earth, with the hope of their attainment of eternal life in heaven.

For a sin to be mortal, the Catechism of the Catholic Church sets forth three conditions: the sin committed must be of grave (serious) matter; it must be committed with full knowledge of the will; and it must be done with full consent of the will [c.f. CCC 1857]. What this means is that the sin committed involves an evil that we know is a great offense against God, yet despite knowing this completely, we decide to commit the sin, nonetheless. Essentially, mortal sin is a deliberate choice to turn away from God and His love for us; it is a delight in evil rather than in the goodness and charity of God.

Venial sin, though an offense against God as well, is of a different nature. The matter at hand is far less serious or grave in nature, but even if the matter were grave in nature, the sin was committed without full knowledge and/or consent of the will. Some people may engage in sins which involve grave or serious matter, but because of poor spiritual/moral formation (lack of full knowledge) or a coercion and pressure to engage in these sins (lack of consent of the will) these sins may be venial in nature.

The distinction of mortal and venial sin needs to be revisited in our day because many Catholics forget that venial sins, if repeated over and over again, can soon lead to mortal sins; it can be a slippery slope. But of greater concern is that when we blur the distinction of mortal and venial sins and presume on God’s mercy, then anything is permissible; all sins are not that serious. Could this be why Catholics turn a blind eye to the evils of contraception; sterilization; in vitro fertilization; habitually missing Mass on Sunday; pornography; marital infidelities; et. al.? When we lose a sense of the deadly nature of some sins, we could lose our eternal salvation . . . the tragic reality if these sins go unrepented and unatoned.

To prepare you and your loved ones for eternal life in heaven, take all sins seriously, especially those that are mortal in nature. Form their intellects on the nature of sin; encourage them to be courageous in the daily battle of good versus evil; urge them to frequent the sacrament of penance; and pray daily for their conversion of life. The good news is that Jesus came into our world to conquer sin and its deadly effects through the mercy of His Holy Cross. Jesus can forgive all sins; we merely have to humbly ask for His gift of divine mercy.
 
Fr. Benz is pastor at Sacred Heart, Glen Ullin, St. Ann, Hebron, and St. Joseph, Grant County. If you have a question you were afraid to ask, now is the time to ask it! Simply email your question to [email protected] with the “Question Afraid to Ask” in the subject line.