What is a venial sin? I've often been asked what's the difference between a mortal and a venial sin and the only answer I can come up with is an analogy. Venial sin is like a misdemeanor and a mortal sin is like a felony. Please help me with a better response.

Yours truly,

Reggie N. Ferneau

I'm not sure about the misdemeanor/felony comparison but the Catechism explains the idea very well in paragraphs 1854 to 1864 paragraphs 1854 to 1864. 

In the first letter of John chapter 5 verses 16 and 17 the Bible talks about mortal and venial sins. John tells us that there is sin which is "unto death" and that there is sin which is "not unto death." 

Why, you may ask, is some sin "unto death, or mortal, and some sin not unto death?" by which is meant venial sin. 

("Venia" is a Latin word that means pardon. Some sins are easily pardoned. Any act of virtue or repentance pardons one of these lesser sins. The Lord only pardons mortal or deadly sins if the sinner has perfect contrition [repentant sorrow] or goes to confession with a sincere intention to repent.)

You may well ask, "What the heck does that mean?"

First of all, don't let the word "charity" confuse you. We Americans think of charity as giving used-clothing to the Salvation Army. The Catechism uses the word charity in its antique sense as the translation for the Greek word "agape" (caritas in Latin) instead of the word love, because our word love doesn't really embrace the whole meaning of agape. There really is no word in English that has exactly the meaning that the scripture tries to convey in the word agape. Agape means sacrificial love, love that hopes for no return.

There is only one really worthy object for the full devotion of the human heart: the infinite wonder and beauty of God. God is the only reality worth giving your whole life, which is what agape/charity really is.

So, when we prefer something small and petty like money or career or fun on a Friday night to the wonder of God’s infinite love, God, who made us free, in effect says, "Well good luck with that. I hope it works out for you. If not, I’m waiting for you over there by the confessional."

A complete turning from God kills the only really, truly, perfect  love that is available to us mortals. Mortal sin is always a kind of idolatry. It always puts something stupid ahead of the wonder of God's infinite and thoroughly amazing love, thus killing our spirits. 

Think about it. 

We believe that this possession or this job or this relationship or this pleasure is really going to make life wonderful. Divorce lawyers and repo men make fortunes off this particular variation of human stupidity. Most people think that God has decided that all the fun stuff will be mortally sinful. Quite the opposite. God has been kind enough to label things that are poisonous and toxic to the human soul. It may taste good going down, but it is poison and will kill you. It takes some people a very long time to realize they have taken poison. 
 

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One of my favorite pictures in the whole world is a particular part of Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.  As you look at the picture, just over to the lower middle right, you can see someone being dragged down to hell by a particularly pleased looking devil.  The person in question has his face half covered and the look on his face seems to say. "This can’t be happening. I didn't even believe any of this nonsense."

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Well, just because you say it's chocolate syrup in the glass and not battery acid doesn't make it any less deadly if you decide to drink it. God is merciful and will forgive ignorance or stupidity, but if you know something is poisonous, don’t drink it, no matter how refreshing it looks. 

So, mortal sins are mortal not by any arbitrary decision of a law court, but they are mortal because they kill the relationship between the human person and the reason for that human person’s existence, namely the perfect love of God.

Yours,

Rev. Know-It-All