Felony or Misdemeanor? The Gravity of Sin

Posted bylarenzosgold

“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.” Ecclus. 7:40.

In the spiritual life the Church distinguishes between two kinds of sin, mortal and venial. Mortal is deadly and kills the life of the soul, as a mortal wound to the body kills the man. Venial is not a deadly wound but wounds the soul, as a minor wound to the body does not kill it but only wounds it, such as a cut on the arm or some other injury that doesn’t take away life. Many people do not know the difference between the two because they are not familiar with them. In worldly terms, it could be compared to a felony, (a mortal sin),  of which kills the body and the sentence would be life in prison, or eternity in hell. A misdemeanor would be a lesser degree of the time with the sentence being not life in prison, but only a certain amount of years, such as 40 years in purgatory, or 20, or maybe 5, or maybe a short term of only a month, depending on the seriousness or lack thereof of the sin.

A serious violation of one of the 10 commandments for example, objectively speaking, would be a mortal sin, such as missing Mass on Sunday, taking the Lord’s Name in vain, or using the F bomb in public where anyone can hear it, especially children, or the sin of immodesty in women exposing parts of the body which should be concealed. Receiving Holy Communion in immodest dress is also a very grave serious sin.

A mortal sin is a very, very big sin compared to a venial sin, sort of life an elephant compared to a mouse. Or in the Bible Jesus gives the analogy of a mote and beam in the eye. A mote is like a small splinter whereas a beam is a very big thing.

To be in the state of grace is a term which means a person is in the friendship of God. The life of God is in their soul. It also means to be in a state of justice, or the state of justification which God imparts to the soul when we keep His commandments. “If thou wilt enter life, keep the commandments,” Jesus said. We first receive this justification through baptism. Later on, when a child reaches the age of reason, usually around 7 years, after committing a mortal sin, he loses that state of justification and becomes at enmity with God. If he dies in that state, he will lose his soul and go to hell.  But God is merciful. He does not want anyone damned, so He patiently waits for that child or adult to return to His grace by a good confession. Confession is the second means of gaining or regaining the state of justification and God’s friendship once again. This is how the soul is justified and sanctified. Frequent Holy Communion carries on this work of sanctification, and it does so in a marvelous way if it is frequent, especially daily. St. Matthew chapter 6 on the Our Father says, “Give us this day our supersubstantial bread,” (drbo.org), which the Church says is the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion with God. “Living bread,” St. John 6:51; not symbolic bread as the protestants say.

Confession expunges our sins, (as they say in legal terms when a man’s record is expunged), the Precious Blood flows over our souls at the absolution of the priest, and our souls are made beautiful again like a little babe at baptism. A saint was once shown the beauty of souls in church after they confessed their sins and were absolved. Imagine if you  had a beautiful dress, or a beautiful shirt, and you were going to gathering of people, and what care you would take not to spill anything on your clothing. This same care we should take on our soul after we have made a good confession.

But what about those who make bad confessions, hiding a sin or failing to mention a serious sin that they have committed countless times and caused others to sin? I know of a case of a woman who went to confession after 40 some years and was not properly instructed. Her mother and father were out of the Church for years so she wasn’t properly instructed. However, women know by nature than when they dress sexy, they are a temptress to men. So they cannot be excused from sin.  I asked her later, “Did you confess your sin of immodesty?” and she said, “No.” Thousands and thousands of times she was out in public not properly dressed, and seen by millions of men, causing untold numbers of lust, only God knows how many. Was her confession good? I make no judgements in this matter. I leave that up to God, but objectively speaking, it doesn’t look good.

 In the book HELL AND HOW TO AVOID HELL by Father F.X. Shouppe, he relates the story of a woman damned to hell for the sin of immodesty, whereas, otherwise, it said she had not lived that badly. But she revealed that she was unafraid to dress indecently. “The fear of the Lord driveth out sin.”   Ecclus. 1:27., drbo.org. It’s on page 81. You can read the story here: WOMAN DAMNED TO HELL FOR THE SIN OF IMMODESTY, https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2019/12/20/.  St. Paul said, “The immodest…will not enter the kingdom of God,” drbo.org. What amazes me is how the clergy allow so much indecency in the House of God and never say a word to instruct them, and even much worse, give them sacrilegious Communions! Now we are talking about manifest sin, not hidden sins the priest doesn’t know about. Now this manifest sin of immodesty is decreed by the Church not to be allowed in church, and not to receive Holy Communion. Jesus said, “Give not that which is holy to dogs,” (St. Matthew 7:6),  dogs meaning sinners, and what is more holy than Jesus in the Holy Eucharist? DECREE ON MODESTY  by Pope Pius IX, 1930, tinyurl.com/tdakwyaj.

What is a mortal sin? It’s a sin that turns us against God, a serious violation of one of His commandments, and which drives the life of God out of our souls. As Father Hugh Twaites said, “It makes our souls so noxious that God has to move out.” Moreover, St. Alphonsus said the devil then moves in on the throne of our heart. St. Alphonsus also said that when one receives Jesus sacrilegiously in Holy Communion, he attempts to place Jesus on the throne of his heart alongside Satan! Can you imagine a more horrible sin? So great is this sin that Jesus revealed this to St. Bridget, “There does not exist on earth a punishment severe enough to punish a sacrilegious Communion.” And yet, the Novus Ordo clergy will give immodest women routinely Holy Communion without blinking an eye! Unthinkable.

This is a felony to the greatest extent. It was said one time that the German mystic, Teresa Newman was suffering and expiating for a priest who had been in purgatory for a 100 years! If these clergy who do these things are fortunate enough to confess  their sins and obtain pardon for them before they die, they will probably be in purgatory for a 1,000 years! I can’t imagine them deserving anything less. After all, they not only give them sacrilegious Communions, they do not remove them from the church as the decree says, but they do not correct them and let them go right back in public tempting countless souls. Who knows how many sins of lust will be committed because the clergy fail to do their duty?

It is the duty of the clergy to instruct souls and guide them to heaven. Any grave failure in this matter would be a mortal sin. Malachy says, “The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law of God at his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts., 2:7. At his mouth. And modesty is the law of God. ‘’ In like manner women also in decent apparel: adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly attire.” 1 Timothy 2:9. Also, St. Paul says they are the dispensers of the mysteries of God, which means they are to instruct us in all spiritual things. ‘’ Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God.” 1 Cor. 4:1.

Our Blessed Mother has warned us often regarding certain fashions that will offend Our Lord very much. At one juncture she gave a warning to Enzo Alocci, saying that when the great chastisement comes, only one quarter of mankind will survive, because of our sins. This is what she said about immodesty in the churches: “Son, go and tell the priests to be stricter towards the faithful and send away all persons entering the church in indecent dresses, for it is not suitable to come in the presence of the Divine Majesty in such indecency.” Here is the  entire text, https://motherofgodlibrary.org/2024/07/05. And what about you in the pew? Have you complained to the pastor about these things? Apparently the Blessed Mother wants us to speak up. ‘’ A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” Eccles. 3:7. Silence is the easy way out, is it not? A saint once said, “Just as it is a sin to speak when we should keep silent, so also it is a sin to keep silence when we should speak.”

Let us remember then, that a felony, a mortal sin, can give us life in prison in the fires of hell, no parole, no reprieve. A misdemeanor, a venial sin, also mars the beauty of our souls, and if they are committed with impunity without any effort to overcome them, (lukewarmness), they can lead to mortal sin. “He that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little.” Ecclus. 19:1. One grain of sand will not sink a ship but enough of them, however small, will sink the ship. Too many venial sins weaken our soul, just as a soldier in battle receives so many wounds he can fight no more. Then, therefore, the many venial sins will eventually cause one to commit that mortal sin and possibly lose his salvation. St. Alphonsus said that, “In the Bull of her canonization it revealed that St. Teresa of Avila never committed a mortal sin, but at one point in her life she was tepid, (lukewarm), and the Lord showed her, her place in hell if she did not shake off her tepidity.” She actually saw where she would be in hell someday for all eternity if she didn’t shake off her tepidity because it leads to mortal sin, and possibly damnation.

Do you want to save your soul? In that letter on Fatima that came out many years ago, it said Mary told the children that 75% of the people would perish. Are you in her small group? It also quoted St. Bonaventure who said, “He who neglects the service of Our Lady will be damned in his sins. Advice on saving your soul. Protestants have nothing to do with Mary but remember, those in Bethlehem who turned away the mother were turning away her Son. If only protestants avoided sin as much as they avoided Mary!

  1. Pray your rosary every day. 2. Wear the Brown Scapular always. 3. Go to confession frequently. 4. Go to Mass and Holy Communion frequently, even during the week if your work allows it. 5. Make visits and Holy Hours frequently, even daily visits if possible. 6. Read good spiritual books and periodicals. St. Padre Pio said, “I am horrified at the damage done to souls by their failure to read good spiritual books.   7. Do penance, and make sacrifices for sinners. Mary told the children of Fatima to say this prayer when you are offering something up, some suffering: O Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Immaculate heart of Mary. Mothers and Fathers, make sure you instruct your children in the faith. In order to do this, you also must be informed. A CAREFUL FATHER I WANT TO BE,  motherofGodlibrary.org/2020/01

Notification Concerning Men’s Dress Worn By Women