Hello and a Question...

[werner]

Blessings everyone. I was baptized Catholic as an infant but have only started to practice my faith in the past year. I watched the testimony of Charlie here: http://www.romancatholicevangelization.com/Lesson5.htm and am quite impressed - praise God.

How does the teaching of being reconciled to God go with the church's teaching of mortal and venial sin and the need for the sacrament of confession to a priest? As far as I know mortal sin has to be repented of and has not been done away with. Thank you for your time everyone!

[claborn1]

Thanks for the Question. I have been on the road preaching in the Roman Catholic Church all over the world for the past 33 years and the one question I am ask the most is ,"What is a Mortal Sin". So for me and you to get started on this I need to know what you think a mortal sin is. To CONFESS you would have to know

[werner]

I have to say I have struggled with some of the sins that are labeled "mortal" by the Church (such as contraception) but I accept all of it. Mortal sin is serious sin (example, deliberate fornication) that, if not repented of and confessed to a priest, makes you unable to receive the Eucharist and liable to end in Hell. Below is a section of the catechism that talks about this:

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."131

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.

Thanks for the quick response by the way.

[claborn1]

For God to be the Father of all, The word Catholic means (ALL- UNIVERSAL-ALL INCLUSIVE) and have unconditional LOVE - AGAPE for ALL it seems to me that God would be very clear on what a mortal sin is, (A Death Sin). As you endeavor into this journey I would recommend that you do a word study and discover the meaning of certain words like Liturgy, Faith, Eucharist, Lent, Novena, Pentecost and Advent. We have all these words ready for you to see on the forum especially the word SIN.

The word SIN simply means to, MISS THE MARK. The Revelation of Jesus Christ as God, true God from true God begotten not made. He Left us only one simple unique commandment: Love one another as HE has loved us. So not to love one another as Jesus has loved us is to SIN. St Paul says, THAT ALL HAVE SINNED ( Missed the Mark) (Not Loving as God has Loved)AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. So what is mortal. Because we are all sinners and God is no longer holding any fault, sin against me. 2ND COR: 5:19-20. It would be UNJUST for me to hold anything against anyone. In the LORDS PRAYER we say and believe: Forgive Me My SIN as I Forgive those that have Sinned against me. In Matthew Chapter 6-14 We read, Yes if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, you heavenly Father will not forgive your failings either. (Failings - Sin - Missing the Mark) The Great Magna Charta Matthew 5-6-7 is full of very important Passages on forgiveness. Grant Pardon and you will be Pardoned, Don't Judge and you won't be Judged, Do not Condemn and you won't be condemned.
A MORTAL SIN IS UNFORGIVENESS.
God didn't give you or me life to Judge the World HE gave us life to serve the WORLD. To serve the world with his LOVE the very power of GOD.

[Dorothy]

Originally Posted by werner

Blessings everyone. I was baptized Catholic as an infant but have only started to practice my faith in the past year. I watched the testimony of Charlie here: http://www.romancatholicevangelization.com/Lesson5.htm and am quite impressed - praise God.

How does the teaching of being reconciled to God go with the church's teaching of mortal and venial sin and the need for the sacrament of confession to a priest? As far as I know mortal sin has to be repented of and has not been done away with. Thank you for your time everyone!

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great gift to us, where we encounter in a special way the forgiveness of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Good spiritual reading and a good spiritual director can give you more information, along with the Catechism, on what constitutes serious sin.

[werner]

Thank you so much clayborn1 and Dorothy for your replies. I have just finished watching lesson 10 on the online school. All I can say is ... may God continue to bless you Charlie Osburn and everyone who has the courage to spread this message of love. It has been a hard struggle so far to change old bad habits and the weight of sin seems overwhelming sometimes. Confession is hard for me. We should realize that God's ways are way above our ways:

1 John 3:20 ASV
"because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.".

God bless you Charlie, Dorothy and the whole world. We all need the mercy of Christ.

[MichaelOnQuest]

Werner:

Try something brother.. instead of trying to change bad habits.. create good ones .. the bad ones will go away. focusing on positive is the way to change... and remember .. God isnt done with you yet... He can do much if we cooperate ...


Hope you are well

peace

Mike J.

[werner]

Originally Posted by MichaelOnQuest

Werner:

Try something brother.. instead of trying to change bad habits.. create good ones .. the bad ones will go away. focusing on positive is the way to change... and remember .. God isnt done with you yet... He can do much if we cooperate ...


Hope you are well

peace

Mike J.

Thank you for the kind advice. I am developing new habits but am still pretty new in the faith. I do know that if Jesus does not help me I CAN DO NOTHING GOOD. Trust in Him for strength is important.

One other question. Some of the teachings here do not seem to be completely in line with the Magisterium of the Church. I totally agree with Love being the most important but as Catholics are we not to follow the teachings of the Church? For example, Charlie says that mortal sin is unforgiveness, which is true. You must forgive your neighbor to be forgiven yourself as it says in the Lord's Prayer. But what about the teachings of the Church on murder, abortion, adultery, fornication, missing Sunday obligation and other grave matter that are classified as mortal sin? Is there not a distinction between mortal and venial sin?

Thank you for your time everyone, God be with you all.

[MichaelBoroden]

Charlie is on the road, so I cannot answer for him, but I would like to refer you to the Catechism. See paragraph 1965 and about the next 10 that follow. We are called to love like Christ Loves. When we do that like Christ we bring the Law (commandments) to their perfection. If you love the way Jesus loves, you will not come close to abortion, stealing, murder, etc...
Jesus took the Law, the commandments and brought them to their perfection by loving unconditionally.

The commandments are like a giant flashlight that reveal our sinfulness. If you stop stealing, have you eliminated that sin? NO. If you stop having a social will a university award you a PHD? NO, but if you aim for something, if you study and pursue a PHD, you will probably drop your social life. Same with Love. Begin to Love as Jesus loves and the things like stealing will begin to drop. Make Sense?

Now on unforgiveness, that is not loving and it is denying what Christ did on the cross. What I believe Charlie is getting at is the root of the problem. The root in this case is unforgiveness. If you eliminate the root, the plant will not bear fruit. Unforgiveness bears fruit like this - anger, murder, abortion, stealing, anxiety, disrespect, etc.... Is this making sense?
Let's look at one fruit of sin - abortion. Abortion is not the problem. It is a fruit of not loving and a big part of that is unforgiveness. Perhaps it is one in the same. Also at the end of the Catechism it states that all doctrine and dogma has no other goal other than to arrive at Love.

[werner]

Originally Posted by MichaelBoroden

Charlie is on the road, so I cannot answer for him, but I would like to refer you to the Catechism. See paragraph 1965 and about the next 10 that follow.

I have never read this part in the Catechism thank you for pointing that out.

Is this making sense?

Perfect sense. I guess I misunderstood the reference to unforgiveness being the only mortal sin as opposed to getting to the root of the problem. Sinning, whether venial or mortal, tells us that something is wrong ... but we still are forgiven when we repent and love as Christ loved. I think I need to focus on the spirit of the law instead of the code of requirements.

Thank you brother.