What three conditions constitute a mortal sin?

Answer 1

Mortal sin is a deadly offense against God, so horrible that it destroys the life of grace in the soul. Three simultaneous conditions must be fulfilled for a mortal sin:

1. Serious Matter (things listed below)
2. Knowledge or firm belief that the act is seriously wrong prior to committing the act;
3. Full consent of the will.

All three of these conditions must be present simultaneously for a sin to be mortal. This means that if you did not know the act was seriously wrong, then you are not guilty of having committed a mortal sin. If you did not will the act, e.g., if you were forced or if it was in a dream, if you were impaired or emotionally distraught or terrified, etc., you are not guilty of the act committed.

All mortal sins committed since your last confession must be confessed by both type and number, i.e., the kind or "name" of the sin and how many times or frequency it was done. If there is a mortal sin from the past that was forgotten and has not been confessed, once remembered it should be confessed at your very next confession.

It is not necessary to confess venial sins, but it is a good and pious practice.

1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.

• Involvement in occult practices, e.g., witchcraft, ouija boards, seances, palm reading, tarot cards, hypnotism, divination, Astrology, black magic, sorcery, etc.
• Involvement in or adherence to New Age or Eastern philosophies, Atheism or agnosticism
• Apostasy (leaving the Church)
• Adherence to a schismatic group
• Putting faith in superstition, e.g., horoscopes, good luck charms, etc.
• Joining the Masons or other secret society
• Receiving Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin
• Receiving the Sacraments of Confirmation or Matrimony while in the state of mortal sin
• Willful participation in illicit (non-emergency) "General Absolution" services
• Being married by a Justice of the Peace or by a minister of another denomination (without dispensation)
• Involvement in false or pagan worship
• Willfully denying the Faith of the Catholic Church
• Despair of God's grace or mercy
• Presumption (committing a mortal sin with the idea that you can just go to confession)
• Hatred of God
• Simony (buying or selling spiritual things)
• Failure to receive Holy Communion at least once per year ( if possible, during the Easter Season)
• Desecration of the Holy Eucharist

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

• Using God's name intentionally as a curse
• Seriously wishing evil upon another
• Serious slander or insult of a sacred person or object
• Making an oath in a secret society
• Telling a lie or withholding a serious sin in confession
• Blasphemy (words of hatred, reproach or defiance toward God; speaking ill of God)
• Perjury (lying under oath)
• Swearing false oaths

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.

• Missing Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation without a serious reason
• Doing unnecessary work on Sunday for a long period of time, i.e., more than several hours
• Intentional failure to fast or abstain on appointed days
• Requiring employees to work on Sunday in non-essential occupations

4. Honor your father and mother.

• Serious failure to care for aged parents
• Serious neglect of the duties of one's state in life
• Serious disrespect for or disobedience to parents, superiors or authorities
• Wishing death or evil on parents
• Abuse or serious neglect of children
• Failure to baptize children in a reasonable time (within a few months) after birth
• Serious neglect of the religious education or upbringing of children
• Failure to carry out the last will of deceased parents

5. You shall not kill.

• Murder, homicide or manslaughter
• Procurement of an abortion
• Promoting, counseling or paying for an abortion
• Knowingly voting for someone who is pro-choice
• Willfully injuring or trying to hurt another person
• Willfully leading another into serious sin
• Driving dangerously or recklessly
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Willfully harboring hatred for another
• Taking or selling illegal drugs
• Willful drunkenness
• Self mutilation
• Excessive tattoos
• Excessive body piercing
• Piercing of the nipples or sexual organs
• Sterilization
• Promotion of or involvement in euthanasia
• Serious entertainment of suicidal thoughts
• Attempting or intending suicide
• Willful failure to bury the body or ashes of the dead
• Willful engagement in unjust lawsuits
• Bigotry (hatred for persons of other races)
• Intentionally placing temptation before the weak

6. You shall not commit adultery.

• Adultery
• Fornication (intercourse prior to marriage)
• Masturbation or other impure acts with self
• Homosexual acts
• Using a contraceptive
• Dressing or acting in a manner intended to cause arousal in another (spouses excepted)
• Kissing or touching another passionately for the purpose of arousal (spouses excepted)
• Allowing another to kiss or touch you in a sexual manner (spouses excepted)
• Intentionally causing a sexual climax outside of intercourse
• Onanism, i.e. intentional withdrawal and non-vaginal ejaculation
• Flagrant immodesty in dress
• Bestiality (sexual acts with animals)
• Oral, anal or other degrading sex practices
• Prostitution
• Rape
• In-vitro fertilization or artificial insemination
• Surrogate motherhood
• "Selective reduction" of babies in the womb
• Types of fertility testing that involve immoral acts
• Involvement in or support of human cloning
• Willful divorce or desertion
• Incest
• Polygamy or polyandry (many wives/husbands)
• Cohabitation prior to marriage
• Destroying the innocence of another by seducing or introducing them to immorality
• Lust in the heart ("if I could I would")
• "Swinging" or wife swapping
• Cross-dressing

7. You shall not steal.

• Stealing a large amount of money or a valuable item
• Willfully destroying or defacing another's property
• Stealing something consecrated to God or from a holy place
• Buying, selling, receiving or concealing items known to be stolen
• Willful failure to make restitution
• Excessive gambling
• Defrauding workers of their wages
• Serious failure to fulfill work requirements
• Padding expense or per diem accounts
• Taking advantage of the poor, simple, inexperienced or less fortunate
• Denying help to the poor, needy or destitute when able to help them easily
• Defrauding creditors
• Bribery or taking bribes
• Blackmail
• Fraud or embezzlement
• Price fixing
• Tax evasion
• Forgery
• Excessive waste or expense
• Slavery
• Serious cruelty to animals
• Violating copyrights and illegal copying of software

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

• False witness (not under oath) or perjury (under oath)
• Telling large or premeditated lies
• Serious gossip, detraction (revealing the faults of another without serious reason), or calumny (harming the reputation of another by falsities)
• Violation of a confidence without good reason
• Being an accomplice to another's grave sin

9. You shall not desire your neighbor's wife.

• Viewing pornography in books, magazines, movies, the internet, etc.
• Reading sexually explicit materials
• Dwelling on impure thoughts or fantasies for the purpose of arousal
• Willfully lusting after another

10. You shall not desire your neighbor's goods.

• Serious and willful greed or avarice
• Intention to steal or destroy the goods of another

Answer 2

In the Roman Catholic Church, a sin is any action that defies the will of God. Sins are placed into one of two categories based on the severity of the misconduct. Venial sins damage the relationship between the sinner and God, but not as much as do mortal sins (those which must be confessed during the sacrament of Reconciliation).

To be classified as a mortal sin, an action must conform to the following rules:

1. The sin must be of grave matter, something that explicitly breaks God's laws.
2. The action must be deliberate; the sinner must have chosen of his own free will to perform the action.
3. The sinner must know that the action is a sin.

Answer 3

A serious sin is known as a mortal sin, that is, a sin of such gravity that it separates the soul from God and thus loses the state of grace or spiritual communion with Him.

In order for a sin to be mortal it must:

# Involve grave matter, that is, the sin must involve circumstances of a serious nature # The person must know what they are doing is sinful (if the person is willful ignorant of what their actions entail, this still makes them culpable for them). # The person must freely choose to commit the action without being under duress or in an impaired state of mind or do so by accident.

Answer 4

3rd June 2009 For many Protestants, sin is sin, and there is no distinction in terms of severity. The Catholic view is different. In its Catechism, the Catholic Church deals with its understanding of sin. The manner in which the Church begins is by placing sin against the background of God's abundant mercy, and so it is vital to consider the conditions for being in a state of mortal sin in the light of how the Church views sin and mercy. The section on sin is immediately preceeded by the following paragraphs: 1846 "The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God's mercy to sinners." 1848 "As St. Paul affirms,'Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.... Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God, by his Word and by his Spirit, casts a living light on sin.'" Definition The Catechism then continues by saying that: "Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him." (1855). This means that if a person still has charity (i.e. kindness, love) within his/her heart, then there is no state of mortal sin. 1856: "Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart....." Therefore, for Catholics, God reaches out once more to those who have alienated themselves from His love; again, sin is placed against the backdrop of God's mercy. 1861: "Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results 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's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. 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." For Catholicism, human freedom means that it is possible to refuse God's offer of love. However, in its final sentence the Catholic Church is clear that although an act may be judged grave, no one can say that a person who apparently dies in a state of mortal sin is in hell. Conditions 1857 "For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." It is important to note that all 3 conditions must be met in order to fulfil the possibility of being in a state of mortal sin. 1858 deals with grave matter. The Church states that this is specified by the Ten Commandments. It also declares that some sins are more serious than others e.g. murder is worse than theft and striking a parent is worse than striking a stranger in a similar manner. 1859 states deals with the requirements of full knowlege + full consent. Full knowledge means that a person must completely understand the seriousness of the act, and all that this involves e.g. isolation from God. Full consent means that a person must not only completely understand the seriousness of the act, but also totally approve of the separation from God. Qualification In the following paragraph (1960) the Catechism immediately spells out several things which can reduce, or even remove a person's culpability for what has been done.In these circumstances, the person cannot be in a state of mortal sin. Things mentioned are: feelings and passions so strong that they can ".... diminish the voluntary and free character of the offence..." also "external pressures or pathological disorders." Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is considered to be the gravest sin as it involves a considered decision to hurt or destroy. Note the word "deliberate" which denotes deliberation, consideration, real thought. Thus, whilst acknowledging that human freedom makes it possible to turn completely away from God, the Catholic Church surrounds this possibility with strict conditions as well as considers it against the backdrop of God's mercy. ConclusionHaving begun its reflection on sin by mentioning God's mercy, the Catechism ends the section on Mortal sin by returning to that same theme. In paragaph 1864, we read: "' Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit is guilty of an eternal sin. There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss." (See related links)

Answer 5

Perhaps you are referring to the three conditions that must be met for a sin to be mortal?

If so, a sin is mortal when (cf. CCC 1857)

• it concerns grave matter
• is committed with full knowledge
• is committed with deliberate consent

Grave matter finds its origin in the Ten Commandments; e.g. do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, honor your mother and father, etc. (cf. CCC 1858)

Full knowledge means a person has to be aware thatan action is wrong. (cf. CCC 1859, 1860)

Deliberate consent means it is done as a personal choice. (cf. CCC 1859, 1860)

More generally, mortal sin is distinguished from venial sin when St. John writes

If any man see his brother sinne a sinne which is not unto death, hee shall aske, and he shall give him life for them that sinne not unto death. There is a sinne unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sinne, and there is a sinne not unto death. (1 John 5:16-17, 1611 KJV)

Sinne unto death mentioned above is commonly referred to as deadly, or mortal sin. Sinne not unto deathmentioned above is commonly referred to as venial sin.

REFERENCES

Libreria Editricia Vaticana. Catechism of the Catholic Church, (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1994).

The Bible Museum. The Bible: 1611 King James Version: 1st Edition, 1st Printing, (Goodyear, AZ: The Bible Museum, 2006).

Answer 6

In Roman Catholic moral theology, a mortal sin, as distinct from a venial sin, must meet all of the following conditions:

1. Its subject must be a grave (or serious) matter.
2. It must be committed with full knowledge, both of the sin and of the gravity of the offense (no one is considered ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are inborn as part of human knowledge, but these principles can be misunderstood in a particular context).
3. It must be committed with deliberate and complete consent, enough for it to have been a personal decision to commit the sin.

Answer 7

Yes, it does because it is a vertabrate in the reptilian category.