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What is the difference between mortal sin and venial sin?

This question came up recently at an RCIA session.  It is a fair question considering all the moral relativism in the world, to think of sin as having some type of ranking order between being very serious and not so serious.  But for the faithful Catholic who strives to live a life of holiness with the hope of eternal life in heaven, these distinctions are important.

To help us understand the distinction of sinfulness, let’s turn to scripture, 1 John 5:16-17.

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly. (This is the sin that Catholics call venial sin.)

Simply put, all sin is an offense against God because it sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from God. Mortal sin is a grave violation of God’s law and destroys charity in the heart of man. Mortal sin is not capable of being forgiven through any power within the soul itself.  A special intervention by God is required. This is why Catholics have the Sacrament of Reconciliation; so that God can again become sacramentally present and active in our lives.

Our Catechism (CCC 1857-1859) teaches us that for a sin to be mortal three conditions must all be met: the object must be of grave matter, it must be committed with full knowledge, and it must be committed with deliberate consent.

Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds the soul. The term “venial” comes from the Latin word venia, which means pardon. This term is applied to less than mortal sin because the soul has a vital principle that allows a cure from within; much like a sick body that fights off an infection or illness and recovers.

One final thought worth considering. When it comes to sin, we need to ask ourselves whether we are willing to act out if it is “only” a venial sin. If the answer is yes, then there is a serious problem. When we deliberately choose to partake in something that is “only” a venial sin, we fall closer into mortal sin.

Put another way, we aren’t called to just avoid mortal sin. We are called to be saints. This entails constantly looking for ways to go deeper in our relationship with God.

The line between venial and mortal sin can be hard to draw at times. Where there is doubt, turn to prayer and study to help form your conscience.  And if you are like me, when in doubt take it to a priest in the confessional.