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Now this surprised me . . .

In an article on the new list of deadly sins Foxnews article on new list of deadly sins [foxnews.com], it concludes noting that EC are different:


hawk

It's interesting to me, too. When did the rules change for Eastern Catholics. My schooling taught me the differences between mortal and venial sins. Also, the consequences of having mortal sin on your soul (which also denied you the right to receive communion). Does ECF no longer teach this?

Typical media misinformation.

Dn. Robert

When I was an Eastern Catholic, I was taught both views, that EC's did believe in such a thing as mortal sin and that EC's did not believe in such a thing as mortal sin. I don't think that there is unanimity on this issue.

For my part, now that I am Orthodox, I recognize that there are degrees of gravity regarding sins, but I also do not think that all mortal and venial sins can be divided up into a neat list and I think that many things Rome considers to be a mortal sin are not really mortal sins (e.g. contraception). I also think that the distinction between perfect and imperfect contrition and the possibility outside of sacramental confession for forgiveness resting only on perfect contrition is problematic (I think that it is exremely rare that anyone can be perfectly contrite).

Joe

Joe,

I believe the Catholic Church has always inferred that perfect contrition is, indeed, quite rare.

Alexis

Whatever the language and views, certainly the language and views of scripture too.

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NKJ 1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

RSV 1 John 5:16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that.

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NKJ 1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

RSV 1 John 5:17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.

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mortal ~ to death ~ pros thanaton


Dn. Anthony

Deacon Anthony,

In the context of 1 John, the passage is distinguishing between apostasy and the ordinary, daily sins one commits. If you look back at the practice of the ancient Church, there were a handful of sins; apostasy, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, etc. that were considered so grave that one was excommunicated until one was reconciled with the Church. So, "grave" sin was publicly scandalous sin. Missing Liturgy one Sunday (for example) was not a grave sin.

Joe

Yes indeed, which leads one to ask "who can be saved?" When one sets up perfect contrition as a formal requirement for salvation (for those who've committed mortal sin), at least in cases where one can't get to the confessional in time, then one risks leading people to despair.

Joe

Whereas I believe that anyone who sincerely prays "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," is accepted by God even if their contrition isn't perfect (in the scholastic sense of "perfect contrition". Now, in order to receive holy communion they must still be reconciled to the Church through sacramental absolution, but they should not despair because they may not achieve the incredibly high standard of perfect contrition.

Joe

Well, Joe, that is why confession, Last Rites, and viaticum are so important to Catholics. As well as not being in a state of mortal sin, since one never knows when one is going to die.

Alexis

Easy there, all I'm saying, to ALL of us, is, keep the scriptures in mind; there are sins that are unto death and those that are not. And through the Apostolic charism the Church binds and looses, and ultimately God judges.

Dn. Anthony

Contrition is a life-long struggle. Perhaps I can make an argument through fiction. Bear with me. I adapted an image I heard in a Protestant sermon years ago, I�m not sure where the pastor got it from.

Imagine a man has discovered a way to Heaven, he found a path that leads there. He saw angels traveling back and forth on that path and he stopped one and asked what they were doing. The angel told him that she was reporting to the archangels her successes of the day, but must head back to earth quickly and didn�t have the time to talk to him. Hearing this, he ran after the angel. He was unable to keep pace, so he slowed down and walked for some time.

He walked for what seemed like days until he sees a border in the path. When he walked up to the bolder, he saw that it was far larger than any bolder he saw on earth. Then an archangel appeared before him. He fell back and when he came to he was told that he can not go further on his own unless he moves the border in the path.

So motivated he was to see Heaven for himself he began to push. He pushed for that whole day, and the day after that. He pushed for the rest of the year. A decade passes and he looked at his calloused hands and asks to himself �Why must I push this rock? It is too big for me to move. I cannot clear the path on my own.�

A voice answers him, �Why must you question my command? You think that you were supposed to move the bolder, but that is not your role. You have kept focused on my command, and have struggled to keep it. You have kept focused when you could have given up. Your years of pushing has calloused your hands and strengthened your arms. A day�s walk would not tire you like it once did; you now have the strength to swim against any current you find yourself against. The command was for your benefit, to strengthen and focus your body and your mind.�

This is how I see our struggle with sin, contrition, and penance: that there is good in the struggle with our nature when we seek perfection and sainthood. Why not aim high and miss the mark, than aim for �at least� salvation and miss that too?

Terry

You realize Joe, that even Rome does not demand absolute certitude in understanding the gravity of these sins that are loosely categorized as mortal and venial. There is a great deal of latitude in understanding what it takes to be an infraction that is mortal.

On birth control, I thought you had come to believe it was not a sin at all. So that one is sort of out altogether.

On the matter of what it takes for perfect contrition... Well no one has lived to tell about having that final act of perfect contrition. Conversely there is hagiographical stories of saints such as St. John Vianney who had a vision, for example, of a man who flung himself from a bridge to his death... Whereas the Church had refused him a funeral for the suicide, he had a vision of the man in his last second in the free fall to his death. In that last second Grace reigned down and he understood his error with perfect contrition and hit the water in perfect contrition.

While there is always hope, that isn't an envelope I personally hope to push!

I meant boulder. I was typing without a spell check and just sent it without reading it over.

The purpose of the Church is to give guidance to the Faithful. The leaders in the Orthodox Church are also fulfilling their role: October 7, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The Assembly of Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church condemned abortion, contraception, pre and extra-marital sexual activity...just as the Pope is for the Western Church. It is a very Protestant idea to pick and choose what the individual thinks is and is not a grave/mortal since (i.e. contraception).