Can We Sin Mortally By What We Fail To Do?

[misereremi]

I really need to pray for a more well-formed consience. It is difficult to know whether the will of God was to put certain people in your path so that you could help them, and to what extent you need to go to help them, given that you are not the one in control of every consequence.

I saw sins of omission explained in the Summa Theologica. Here is a link to it online (article 3):

[url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3079.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3079.htm[/url]

Many thanks. God bless

[thessalonian]

Sorry for the purly worded question. It's intent is apart from the commandments can we sin mortally. Thus to avoid preventing some crime such as a potential rape or murder is not the intent. The question is more at it's root directed at the question of faith vs. works and that whole protestant/Catholic arugement. That is the light in which I am looking for input. Can we fall by not doing charity is the real question. I still think the answer is not in a direct fashion but yes in an indirect one, in that if we dont do good we WILL do evil.

[thessalonian]

[quote name='XIX' post='1604030' date='Jul 20 2008, 02:19 PM']hook line sinker. Nice post. [/quote]


Again my question is poorly thought out I will admit. Read my post above. The question is more about charity vs. the commandments. Most certainly one can sin mortally by neglecting the precepts of the Church. I know my Catholic faith a bit better than that.

[Barbarus]

[quote name='thessalonian' post='1604369' date='Jul 21 2008, 08:39 AM']Sorry for the purly worded question. It's intent is apart from the commandments can we sin mortally. Thus to avoid preventing some crime such as a potential rape or murder is not the intent. The question is more at it's root directed at the question of faith vs. works and that whole protestant/Catholic arugement. That is the light in which I am looking for input. Can we fall by not doing charity is the real question. I still think the answer is not in a direct fashion but yes in an indirect one, in that if we dont do good we WILL do evil.[/quote]
For an answer, I turn to St. Thomas' work on the natural law. In [url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2094.htm#article2"]ST 1-II, Q. 94, a. 2[/url], he notes that the basic self-evident principle of natural law is that "good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided." So, there are goods that we actively do, and evils that we actively [i]don't[/i] do. But, we don't always actively do all the things that we can do that are good. Sex, for example, is a good, but it is not a good that we can be actively pursuing at every point in life. There are other considerations in the analysis that make this particular activity good at a particular time.

It would seem to me that there are times that we have a obligation to pursue the good, and if we fault at that obligation we have sinned. But we are not bound to always do charity at every point in our lives.

I'm not quite sure where you're going with the faith v. works connection here, particularly since as far as I know every Protestant denomination has some sort of teaching that charitable work is part of the faith. And, I know there have been studies showing that Protestants on average give far more per capita than Catholics, so from a pragmatic perspective they are definitely doing something that works.

[thessalonian]

Barbarus,

As a pragmatic perspective I think protestants by nature do what the Gospel says in general regarding works. For the most part I really think that the whole issue of grace, faith, and works is primarily a theological one. From a theological standpoint I simply find it interesting that if my view is correct one neither "get's saved" by his works (i.e. one could build a skyscraper to the sky and fill it with poor and feed them theoritically and still go to hell if he is not in grace) and niether does he become unsaved by not doing them specifically. But by not allowing God's grace to work in his life he becomes vulnerable to doing the evil that he is capable of and will eventually turn toward a life of sin. Thus works don't save per se but they prevent salvation. They are what we are judged on.

Edited July 22, 2008 by thessalonian

[Paddington]

[quote name='thessalonian' post='1605236' date='Jul 22 2008, 03:58 PM']Thus works don't save per se but they [b]prevent[/b] salvation. They are what we are judged on.[/quote]

Typo, right?

[Barbarus]

[quote name='thessalonian' post='1605236' date='Jul 22 2008, 01:28 PM']Barbarus,

As a pragmatic perspective I think protestants by nature do what the Gospel says in general regarding works. For the most part I really think that the whole issue of grace, faith, and works is primarily a theological one. From a theological standpoint I simply find it interesting that if my view is correct one neither "get's saved" by his works (i.e. one could build a skyscraper to the sky and fill it with poor and feed them theoritically and still go to hell if he is not in grace) and niether does he become unsaved by not doing them specifically. But by not allowing God's grace to work in his life he becomes vulnerable to doing the evil that he is capable of and will eventually turn toward a life of sin. Thus works don't save per se but they prevent salvation. They are what we are judged on.[/quote]
I'm not sure your view is correct. I did a little more digging, and Aquinas specifically references almsgiving or charitable giving (which is what I think you mean by works in this context). It is in [url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3032.htm#article5"]Summa Theologica II-II Q. 32, a. 5[/url]. You should read it for yourself, but in summary he points first to Matt. 25:41-43:
[quote]Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me.[/quote]
He goes on to connect almsgiving to one of the two great commandments -- love your neighbor as yourself. This means not simply wishing your neighbor well, but also providing for your neighbor's needs when you can. He qualifies this by saying that almsgiving should be done out of your surplus, after you have met your own needs and those of people in your care. Also, alms should only be given to those who are actually in need.

So in summary, we are obligated to help our neighbors where we can, and [i]not acting[/i] when you have surplus and know there is a need is a mortal sin.

I'm still a little fuzzy on your connection here to works/grace and the whole Catholic/Protestant debate on that.

[thessalonian]

I know full well that lack of charity will bring about damanation. But in all my life I've never had a preist say "if you don't give money to the Church on this day it's a mortal sin". Again don't try to judge my heart in this thread. I am in no way saying there is not obligation to do this things, that they are not critically important, that they are in any way optional with regard to our judgement. Most certainly the Father needs to see the grace his son earned for us on the cross in us when we are judged. So without the works we will be condemned. But I have never had anyone say that if you don't give money on a single Sunday it's a mortal sin. (AGAIN I AM NOT TRYING TO PRESENT A CASE FOR LAXITY IN THIS MATTER.) and no amount of venial sins equals a mortal sin. What it does equal is a hardening of the heart which leads to mortal sin.

[thessalonian]

Okay I read the Aquinas peice and this clears it up.

Reply to Objection 3. There is a time when we sin mortally if we omit to give alms; on the part of the recipient when we see that his need is evident and urgent, and that he is not likely to be succored otherwise--on the part of the giver, when he has superfluousgoods, which he does not need for the time being, as far as he can judge with probability. Nor need he consider every case that may possibly occur in the future, for this would be to think about the morrow, which Our Lord forbade us to do (Matthew 6:34), but he should judge what is superfluous and what necessary, according as things probably and generally occur.

So there is a point where neglecting one in dire need can be mortal. I am okay with that. However I do think the just as likely, the hardening of the heart will lead to other mortal sins.

Edited July 23, 2008 by thessalonian