Venial sin

josephine maria don

bosco
 Venial sins are less serious sind that do not
cause death to the soul like mortal sins.
 Venial sins ,while serious in content or
participation should be given strong attention
because they lessen the love of God in the
heart and weaken the power to resist further
sin; they are still offenses against God and
leave marks on the soul.
 Venial sins make us more prone to continue to
commit sins and possibly commit mortal sins.
 Venial sins can appear to be mortal sins, but
fail to meet each of the three conditions for
mortal sin:

1.grave matter- if the nature of sin itself is not

grave then it’s not a mortal sin.

2.sufficiently full knowledge- if you don’t

know that it’s a mortal sin then it’s not.

3.full consent or freedom- if you are not

doing it freely then it’s not a mortal sin.
 If a sin is grave in nature, but the person did not have full
consent or sufficient knowledge that what they were
doing was sinful then it would be considered a venial sin.
 The Scriptures provide a differentiation between types of
sins; some sins are deadly (mortal) and some are not. For
this we turn to 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.”
 While not technically necessary to go to confession for
venial sins, it is strongly recommended that one confesses
their venial sins so as to strengthen one’s ability to resist
the temptation of sin and grow in love of God.
 Also, while considered “light sins” when added together the
light sins in aggregate can become very heavy and weight
deeply on the soul. It is the best confession for all sins.
 Venial sin can create an unhealthy attachment to things
not of God.
 Habitual venial sin will lead people away from God into
further sin and making going to confession and seeking
reconciliation with God much more challenging.