How can mortal sin be forgiven

Tags Glad You Asked Theology. About the author. She passed away in You may also like. Was the first Thanksgiving Catholic? Damian Costello. Add comment. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

Thus St. John distinguishes between mortal and venial sin. In the Bible, St. Paul gives us a list of grave sins. He states that anyone who commits these sins shall not enter the kingdom of God. These sins constitute grave matter, and if they are committed willingly and with full consent, constitute mortal sin. Grave sins can be classed as sins against God, neighbor and self, and can further be divided into carnal and spiritual sins CCC Four other sins are considered grave also.

These sins not only offend God, but men as well. These grave sins are:. The voluntary murder Genesis The sin of impurity against nature —Sodomy and homosexual relations Genesis Taking advantage of the poor Exodus Defrauding the workingman of his wages James Finally, the capital sins are also considered grave matter. These sins are vices and are defined as contrary to the Christian virtues of holiness. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth acedia.

Note from the author: For those of you who do not understand why these particular sins are of grave matter, I would suggest that you refer to the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas. He does an excellent job of explaining why these sins are of grave matter, and also explores the counter-arguments and objections that some people have regarding these grave sins.

Idolatry— Idolatry is the worship, veneration or belief in false gods. Because it is a direct rejection of God, it is a grave sin 1 Corinthians Idolatry includes worship of images This does not mean that we cannot venerate religious images. Veneration of images such as a crucifix is veneration of the person depicted, and not the actual image in and of itself. Divination, magic and sorcery —This is a grave sin which includes attempting to command the powers of the occult, control or speak to demons or spirits especially Satan , attempting to divine the future, and the use of magic charms CCC Deuteronomy speaks against this grave sin.

Sacrilege — The sin of sacrilege is a grave sin that consists of profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and liturgical actions of the Church as well as things consecrated to God CCC Atheism— Because atheistic humanism falsely seeks man and human glory and rejects God, atheism is a grave sin CCC It is a sin against the virtue of religion.

Blasphemy— This grave sin is the uttering of hatred, reproach, defiance or speaking ill of God. Blasphemy against the Church, the saints and sacred things is also a grave sin CCC It fails to give love and respect to our Creator.

Perjury and False Oaths — Those who take an oath in the name of the Lord and fail to keep it, or break the oath at a later date, show a grave lack of respect for the Lord of all speech CCC Pledging oneself to commit an evil deed is also sinful.

During his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks against sinners who give false oaths Matthew All humans have a duty, to praise God and give him thanks. Thus all Christians are bound to participate in the Mass, and must partake of the Eucharist at least on holy days of obligation. Deliberate failure to do this constitutes a grave sin CCC This commandment obliges the faithful to show respect for their parents — as children and adults.

Children must obey their parents, and adults must respect and see to the care of their parents, when they become old and infirm. Murder intentional homicide — Direct and intentional killing is gravely sinful CCC It is a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance, much like the murder of Abel at the hands of Cain. Indirect homicide can also be of grave nature such as refusing to help a person in danger.

If the attacker is mortally wounded or killed, then the death of the attacker is not a sin. Those who use unnecessary aggression in self-defense can sin mortally, if the attacker is killed or gravely injured. Abortion is therefore murder. The oldest Christian book besides parts of the Bible is the Didache, a book composed by the twelve apostles or their disciples.

Euthanasia— The direct killing of the sick, handicapped, or dying, regardless of motive, is a grave sin. Answered by Fr. Average Rating. Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Get the Answers! Get notified of future Ask a Priest answers via email. First Name. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Why Confession? Don't Like Going to Confession? Signs of Glory at Confession. What is God's Will? Keyword Search. Appreciate what you read? Help us continue providing authentic Catholic spirituality!

Venial sins are reparable by love. They do not deprive the one who sins of sanctifying grace, however, they do merit earthly punishment. However, gossip about trivial matters is only venially sinful. Now, Harry, we can proceed to answer your question. My advice to you as a Catholic is to go to confession, repent of your sin and ask for forgiveness.

I am certain that you will need to do some acts of penance in order to have the ability to freely attend mass once again. Then, according to Roman Catholic teachings you will once again attain a state of grace. According to the Bible, I believe that once you receive Christ as your personal savior, you receive from God permanent grace and it can never be taken from you. I believe that gaining forgiveness and a state of grace can occur without ever going to a priest.

You obviously have a broken heart over whatever sin you committed. If that is the case, the Bible says in 1 John that if we confess our sin to God, He will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all of the impurities that resulted from our sin. This spiritual life lasts forever.