The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-01

/ BILE an evil as mortal sin, 1t must not
at all, or as slight evil. 1t is a
great evil; next to mortal sin, it is
the greatest of all evils. No physical
suffering, no misfortune, no punish.
ment in this world or the next, no
disease, not death itself, is so great
an, evil as a single venial sin,-real
sin, of course, not a mere Imperfect
ton.
Combining ourselves to actions that
are not merely less perfect than they
might be, but are strictly sinful,
though only venially sinful, it is Cath
Ole truth to say that such actions are
wholly unlawful, not to be justified
by any advantage whatsoever that
may be gained by them, or by the
avoidance of any physical or worldly
loss of suffering. 1t is not lawful,
for instance, to tell lie even to save
ones life, for the reason that there
is no comparison between the crea-
ture and the Creator. That Gods
holy will should be done is of more
Importance than any consideration
affecting the material advantage of
any human being All sin, even a
venial sin, is an offence against the
Almighty God of heaven and earth,
and a departure from His holy will
and law 1t is better for man to
die the death of the body than that
Gods will should be contravened and
His service neglected.
This is the fundamental reason why
nothing can excuse a deliberate venial
sin in Gods sight. 1t is an offence
against His Majesty. 1t is saved from
| involving man in mortal guilt only by
the fact that his mortal earthly ma
ture, his liability to lose sight of his
final end, the object of his existence,
his supreme good-which is nothing
else than God,-make it possible for
him to commit acts which, not involv-
ing, as mortal sin does, conscious
! remuneration of that supreme good,
yet have no reference to that final
end and object for which he was
created, and can not be referred to
God and Gods glory. What is venial
in a man would be of necessity a
mortal sin in an angel if angels
could sin at ALL, because of the fuller
knowledge of God and clearer insight
into the springs and motives of their
actions that angels possess. Let it be
never forgotten that, after mortal sin,
venial sin is the greatest evil that can
be.
The punishments of purgatory
throw lurid light upon the evil of
Wilful venial sin. 1t is undoubtedly
true that the severest chastisements
of purgatory are inflicted for mortal
sins that have been forgiven as to the
eternal punishment due to them, but
which involve the pardoned sinner
in a terrible liability to temporal
penalties. Yet the words of Holy
Scripture and the revelations made to
saints render it certain that the chas.
tisements of venial sin in Gods prison
house are truly awful. The souls who
! suffer there are the loved friends OF
; Cod; yet such is the nature of venial
sin that He who loves them SO we'll
' whose Fathers Heart yearns over
. them, must punish them with dread
. severity, since divine justice as wei
. as divine mercy is one of his attri
\ butes, and can not be set aside. Thai
. justice, while it must punish, yet car
not punish sin more than it deserves
r Venial sin,f then, is of such nature
n that it fully deserves those heavy in
q fiictions which lie upon souls in pur
4 gatory in consequence of their faults.
h Yet, alas! we go on, perhaps quite
happily, in habits of venial sin, adding
t sin to sin. 1T is only venial sin,
- we say, in action, if not in so man!
8 words; ct does not matter" Whe1
" this life has passed, when our eyes arr
= opened, we shall see that those venia
g sins have raised barrier between III
d and God,-that God who (then WI
i, shall clearly see) deserves our utmos
i love, our utmost service. We shall
|, see that not only is it wrong to seel
S our supreme happiness and final salts
Q faction in created things, involving
n ourselves in mortal sin, by which w
t turn our backs upon Him and reiec
e Him altogether, but that it is wron:
l. also, and a real iniquity, to go asid
n out of the way of justice,-to hinge
on the road and to play with the trifle
of the wayside, even though we d.
not turn our backs upon the goal an
travel in the opposite direction. Thel
we shall long for God, our only good
n our only satisfaction, with an unspeak
Y, able longing and thirst. Then w
m shall desire with all the energy of on
er being to fly to Him without impedi
Ie ment That ought to have been GU
d, disposition on earth. 1t might hav
" been; faith proclaimed that we ough
r to have sought God, and God alone
lie in all things. We had no lack o
1t teaching, no lack of holy examples, n
lie lack of the means of grace; but W
b. dallied and toyed with the things o
TO earth, and now we can not go to Go
c. till we have paid the uttermost fartf
or ing of the penalty due. We are save6
Is ''yet SO as by fire." While the founds
s. lions and the essential parts of on
spiritual edifice are safe by the mere
r. and grace of God, yet we have adde
n thereto and built thereon wood an
n hay and stubble;" and that work 9
Al ours must burn, and we must suffe
s loss
t, And the loss we suffer by venis