What is a sin?  Any action that alienates or cuts us off from ourselves, others, and God. Two main types of sin  Mortal sin  Venial sin

 Mortal (or Serious) sin  A very grave or serious violation of God’s law done willingly and knowingly.  Cuts us off completely from God.  Can only be forgiven through the Sacrament of Reconciliation

 Venial sin?  Venial means “forgivable.”  A less serious offense  Weakens our relationship with God, but does not cut us off.  Can be forgiven through any Sacrament, as long as there is true contrition for one’s sins.  Reconciliation, Anointing, Eucharist, all have the power to forgive a venial sin

Sin of Commission vs. Sin of Omission A sin of commission is doing something sinful; an action. It’s the type of sin in which we are most familiar. For example, if a man brutally beat an elderly lady on the subway, we’d all be infuriated and disgusted. Or if a man cheated on his wife, we’d immediately know it was sin. Why? Those things are easily recognizable as sins of commission. It’s something someone did that they shouldn’t have done.

A sin of omission is NOT doing something you could have done, usually for someone’s good; a lack of action. The degree of guilt incurred by an omission is measured by the dignity of the virtue and the magnitude of the precept to which the omission is opposed, as well as the amount of deliberation.

A person may be guilty of a sin of omission if he fails to do something which he is able to do and which he ought to do because he has put himself into a state or situation whereby he is unable to complete the action. For example, if a person chooses to become inebriated and is therefore unable to perform a necessary task, that person is responsible for that failure, even though that person is physically unable to perform the task because he or she knowingly put themselves into a state (drunkenness) where accomplishing the task was impossible.