Catholics, what is the difference?

Question

What are mortal sins and venial sins. I know venial sins will get you to purgatory and mortal ones will take you to hell. So what is the difference?

Answer 1

Mortal sin is when we know what God's laws are and that we will be punished is we go against them, but we still freely choose to do the action. We use our conscious mind to sin against God and we don't care about the consequences. Thus not reconciling with Him.

Venial sin is an unconscious decision to go against His laws. Like when I say "Oh, my God" when I am in amazement. It was slip of the tongue and I use His name in vain and didn't know that I was going to do that. I didn't plan it out. If I say this, I immediately realize what I had done and ask for His forgiveness right away. I will later see a priest for confession. Gossip, lying, swearing, not going to church due to laziness and such are venial sins (usually) because we just do them out of habit and aren't making a conscious plan to do them. Once we realize that we have the habit of gossiping or lying and know it's a sin, we stop. These venial sins are forgiven. But if we still continue to do this, we are now making a mortal sin.

I'm not sure what other Christian churches say, but in the Catholic church, you can be forgiven of your mortal sins by going to confess with a priest. Your venial sins are forgiven each Sunday when you receive the Holy Eucharist and acknowledge to the Lord that you have sinned during the week and you are asking for forgiveness before you receive Jesus into your body.
A priest can still give you Reconciliation for venial sins if they are bothering your heart, mind and soul.

Answer 2

Man of Physics gave a good answer. In addition to this, a mortal sin is an sin that you commit in which you totally turn your back on God and His love for you. It is total rejection of God's love and not allowing His love to be a part of your life.

Think about your attitude when you sin. If you lash out at someone in anger, that is a serious thing, but God's love in your heart does not effect other relationships. Now think how much you would have to harden your heart and how cold you would have to be to God's love in order to willfully kill another person or willfully commit adultery.

Note that in both cases, I used the word "willfully". In order for a sin to be mortal, you must willfully do it. No act in and of itself is a mortal sin. Even abortion is not always a mortal sin. Yes, abortion is a very grave matter, but if the person who got the abortion was pressured into having the abortion and the person could not stand up to the pressure, the person's culpability in hte abortion is not there and there is no mortal sin.

Answer 3

Venial sins are those that hurt our relationship with God but are sins to a lesser degree. (example: Telling your husband that the shoes you bought were on sale for 24.99 when they were actually 49.99. Calling in sick to work so that you can go to the beach. Taking a pen from the deposit box at the bank)

Mortal sins are sins that are 1. Very serious in nature 2. Committed with full knowledge of the seriousness of their nature 3. Committed with full consent. (Example: Murder, Rape, Adultery, etc....)

When a person commits a Mortal Sin, they are completely turning their back on God and His salvation. Without repentance, a person who dies in this state will be lost.

Answer 4

Catholics believe venial sins are to a lessor degree of sinning. A mortal sin will send you straight to hell do not pass go. Murder would be a mortal sin.

Answer 5

The difference is clearly explained in the Bible. "Mortal" means "leading to death", as in "a mortal wound". "Venial" means "easily forgiven". Read 1 John 5:16-17 John tells us that all sin is offensive to God, but that not all sins are "unto death". See? Not all sins are mortal. He says that if we see someone committing a sin that is not mortal, we should simply pray for them and the sin will be forgiven. See? Sins which are not mortal are venial, easily forgiven. John also says that mortal sins (sins unto death) require more than simple prayer. What they require of course is sacramental confession, which John himself was authorized to admininister, when Jesus breathed on him and told him "whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them".

Answer 6

Venial sins are just little. Mortal sins are serious.
If you think of your soul as a windshield, veinal sins are like rain, they blur your vision (of God), moral sins are like snow, you can't see at all. You can go to communion with venial sins on your soul, but not mortal sins.

Answer 7

It's like killing someone would be a mortal sin. Stealing is just venial.

Answer 8

A mortal sin is breaking one of the Ten Commandments. All other sins are venial sins.

Answer 9

A venial sin is something as small as telling a white lie. A mortal sin is something major like committing murder.

Much like in law, crimes are divided into misdemeanor & fellony. A misdemeanor crime is something like getting caught speeding & fellony is like committing the afore-mentioned murder.

Answer 10

See Revelation in Bible.
According to Revelation, humans can die twice. First their body dies. And after final judgment all those who don't regret for sins they've done, will end in "fire lake"-hell, and that will be their second, and final, death.
Venial sins will take you to purgatory and you'll stay there until you repay your def. Mortal ones (if you show no remorse, no regret) take you strait to hell, were you stay forever.