Welcome to the "Ask the Padre" forum on blogger.com!
Use this forum to pose any question you may have on the Catholic Church or on Catholic faith and morals.
I'm a priest of the Diocese of Trenton NJ and currently serving in the parish of Jesus, the Good Shepherd in Riverside.
Just in case you didn't use the site's link to visit here, you can find our parish website at www.jesusthegoodshepherd.org. Feel free to take a look around, ask a question here and make yourself at home -- if I don't know the answer to your question, I'll be sure to find it!
Peace.
Fr. Ed Blanchett,
"The Padre"
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ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
I hear so much about "Is it sinful to do [x]"? What makes something sinful and what is the difference between a venial and a mortal sin?
ReplyDeleteTo put it simply, anything that is against the will of God is considered sinful. If you're looking for a brief list of this, I would recommend looking at the Ten Commandments (found in the biblical book of Exodus, Chapter 20.) There is also a very detailed expansion of each of these moral statements (grouped by Commandment) found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2052-2557.
ReplyDeleteThere are three components to a mortal sin (and this applies to any mortal sin that we can commit):
1) Serious matter (e.g. missing Mass, giving injury to another)
2) Full knowledge (you knew that what you was doing was wrong and had a reasonable understanding of why it was wrong)
3) Full consent (you were not coerced into committing the act by another or by circumstance; you had the ability to choose not to do the act)
If any of these components is missing or incomplete, while there may be some culpability involved, it cannot be considered a mortal sin. Thus, while we may unintentionally sin, we cannot "accidentally" commit a mortal sin.