Sin and its kinds

Question 51

Is original sin the only kind of sin?

Original sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin, which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.

Question 52

What is actual sin?

Actual sin is any wilful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the law of God.

Question 53

How many kinds of actual sin are there?

There are two kinds of actual sin—mortal and venial.

Question 54

What is mortal sin?

Mortal sin is a grievous offense against the law of God.

Question 55

Why is this sin called mortal?

This sin is called mortal because it deprives us of spiritual life, which is sanctifying grace, and brings everlasting death and damnation on the soul.

Question 56

How many things are necessary to make a sin mortal?

To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will.

Question 57

What is venial sin?

Venial sin is a slight offense against the law of God in matters of less importance, or in matters of great importance it is an offense committed without sufficient reflection or full consent of the will.

Question 58

Which are the effects of venial sin?

The effects of venial sin are the lessening of the love of God in our heart, the making us less worthy of His help, and the weakening of the power to resist mortal sin.

Question 59

Which are the chief sources of sin?

The chief sources of sin are seven: Pride, Covetousness, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth; and they are commonly called capital sins.

Thought, word, action, and omission

Questions 51, 52

Actual sin here means sin personally committed. The definition includes a failure to do what one ought to do, as well as harmful actions. James 4 supplies a brief example of this language of omission. The word wilful matters: an unwanted thought occurring to someone is not the same thing as that person choosing it. When reflecting on a day, describe what you actually chose, said, did, or neglected before applying a moral label.

Reading the conditions together

Questions 53, 54, 55, 56

Mortal sin concerns grave matter with full knowledge and deliberate consent. Catechism 1857–1861 explains all three, including factors that can diminish responsibility. The term mortal names the loss of the life of grace; it does not mean that forgiveness has become impossible. The same teaching calls for repentance and entrusts judgment of persons to God's justice and mercy. A list of serious acts alone cannot establish everything about an individual's responsibility.

Why smaller wrongs still matter

Questions 57, 58

Venial sin wounds charity without destroying it. The distinction does not make everyday dishonesty or unkindness harmless: repeated choices affect how a person treats others and responds to God. In practice, identify a concrete repair, such as correcting a false statement or apologizing for a needless insult. These examples are applications for reflection, not a substitute for considering the circumstances of a particular act.

Sources of repeated wrongdoing

Questions 59

The lesson calls seven vices capital because it presents them as sources from which other sins grow. Covetousness is grasping desire for possessions; envy resents another's good; pride puts the self at the center. Use the list to notice a pattern rather than simply count labels. For example, resentment at another person's success may lead to an unfair remark. Recognizing that sequence makes it possible to interrupt the habit and choose an act of generosity instead.

James 4:13–17

James connects responsible action, human limits, and the failure to do a known good.

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

1 John 1:5–10

The passage holds together honesty about sin, confession, and God's forgiveness.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Luke 15:11–24

The son's return and the father's welcome place repentance within a narrative of restored relationship.

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.