Different Kinds Of Sin

[Debra Little]

I am a convert since April 19, 1987. Yea! When I became Catholic it felt like coming home. But I have a problem with
understanding why there are 3 different kinds of sin. Mortal Sin, Venial Sin, and Actual Sin.

The way I see it Sin is Sin, period. All sin is serious. Jesus died for it To my understanding lying is just the same as
murder in God's eyes. It's all sin and whatever form or nature the sin takes it offends His mercy and His Heart.

Why then make it so confusing?

[Brother Adam]

Dear Debra Little,

I can certainly understand your confusion. When I was studying the Catholic faith I too felt that all sin is sin. And you are right - all sin [i]is[/i] sin. All sin is an offense against God. It is a refusal to love and to be loved. We can examine sin on a deeper level though, and how it affects us.

There is original sin and actual sin. There is also venial sin and mortal sin, types of actual sin. There is also material sin (it is a sin, but we do not know it is a sin) and formal sin (we know it is a sin)

Let's look at marriage as an example.

Let's say Joe and Sarah decide to get married. Before they are married they do not have a sacramental relationship. They can break off their relationship at any time. Even at the altar, Sarah can decide she doesn't want to marry Joe, and can walk away without breaking the marriage - because one does not exist. Now let's say Joe and Sarah do get married. About a month after they get married Joe leaves his dirty clothes all over the living room. They agreed that they would pick up after themselves, and Sarah asks Joe to pick up his clothes. Joe tells Sarah he doesn't have to and gets a beer from the fridge and plumps down to watch his football game, leaving Sarah to pick up the clothes.

Sarah would rightly be very upset with Joe. She probably would not kick him out of the house, but Joe did sin against his wife. He is being slothful. They still have a relationship and hopefully can work out the problem before the night is over. Now, let's say that Joe goes out and finds another woman, Lily, and enters into a relationship with her. Joe starts meeting Lily and has a full blown affair with her. He knows what he is doing is wrong, but doesn't care. He is cheating on his wife. When Sarah finds out, she is going to be devastated, heartbroken. When Joe started cheating on Sarah it became much more serious than being lazy and not picking up after himself. It is going to affect their relationship in a much deeper way. In fact, their relationship is broken. Sarah may even move out of the house.

Both of the things Joe did are wrong - they are sinful. One however is far more serious than the other - not only does it effect the relationship, but it can destroy the relationship. While they may still be sacramentally married, they may now be separated.

Before we are baptized, we are marred by original sin. We do not have a relationship with God. Due to the sin of the first Adam, all of us are born in this broken relationship. Through baptism our relationship with God is restored, and original sin no longer affects us. Original sin is not something that we actually did - it is the state of our relationship with God that we are born with. Actual sin is something that we do to refuse to love or be loved by God. Once we are adopted into God's family through baptism we can still affect that relationship through actual sin. There are two types of actual sin - mortal and venial sin. Venial sin will affect our relationship with God, but we will not lose our relationship with God. Mortal sin is actual sin that we know is deeply wrong, and we do it anyway. This sin actually ruptures our relationship with God - like the Prodigal Son, we have made a ruin of our inheritance, eternal life. All we have to do though is be sorry and ask for forgiveness in sacramental confession, and our relationship will be restored.

So while all sin is sin, in a covenantal relationship, some sin is more serious than other sin, and that sin can be so serious as to ruin our relationship with God. While we remain baptized children of God, we have told God through our actions that we no longer want to be with Him in heaven, and God honors that request.

Original Sin = Romans 5:12, 1 Cor 15:21
Mortal Sin = 1 Cor 6:9-10

More information: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14004b.htm