Deadly Sin

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. 1 John 5:16

So what do we do with our deadly sins? Well, in the Catholic Church, we believe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We go to "confession" and we tell Father the deadly, mortal sin we committed, as well as others if we so choose. And through him, and through our penance he gives us, we are forgiven.

St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians says, "And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18) St. Paul tells us that he was among the apostles chosen to be priestly, to give the Sacrament of Reconciliation for those of us whose sins are too serious to pray them away. It is also important to remember that we cannot just "pray them away" as I just stated. It's vital that we feel sorry for our sins in our heart. Remember, God knows what's in our hearts. And if we confess to a sin we are not sorry for, He will know.

So what constitutes a deadly sin?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is His ultimate and and His beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to Him.

Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

"If we say, 'We are without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8) We are sinful beings. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but He did not die so we could act recklessly. He died so we may have eternal life in Heaven with our Father. Before Christ, sin constituted death. And God loved us so much that He wanted to save us with His only Son.

So let's not let that love be for nothing. Live according to the commandments (1 John 2:3) so we may know Him and speak the truth.

Lord, stay by my side and help me to keep your commandments so my sins are minimal and forgivable.