Venial sin (original) (raw)

According to Catholicism, a venial sin is a "temporary loss of grace" from God. A venial sin consists of a sin that meets only two or fewer of the following conditions:

  1. subject must be "grave matter";
  2. it must be committed with full knowledge;
  3. it must be committed with deliberate and complete consent.

A sin that meets all of the conditions is a mortal sin.

(Sub gravi is when a sin is committed to achieve an end. A levi gravi is a sin that is committed with no goal in mind.)

Each venial sin that one commits adds to one's time in purgatory. A venial sin can be left unconfessed. Venial sins remain venial no matter how many one commits; they cannot "add up" to collectively constitute a mortal sin.

See Jeremiah 7:26, Lamentations 4:6, Ezekiel 16:44-58, 1 John 5:16-17, Matthew 11:22, John 19:11.

"The Venial Sin" is a short story by Honoré de Balzac.