Likewise, certain sins are usually venial, but in certain circumstances
a venial sin may take on such malice as to be constituted mortal.

Our conscience, under God, is the best judge of our malevolence and
consequently of our guilt.



CHAPTER VII.
HOW TO COUNT SINS.

THE number of sins a person may commit is well-nigh incalculable, which
is only one way of saying that the malice of man has invented
innumerable means of offending the Almighty--a compliment to our
ingenuity and the refinement of our natural perversity. It is not
always pleasant to know, and few people try very hard to learn, of what
kind and how many are their daily offenses. This knowledge reveals too
nakedly our wickedness which we prefer to ignore. Catholics, however,
who believe in the necessity of confession of sins, take a different
view of the matter. The requirements of a good confession are such as
can be met only by those who know in what things they have sinned and
how often.

There are many different kinds of sin. It is possible by a single act
to commit more than one sin. And a given sin may be repeated any number
of times.

To get the exact number of our misdeeds we must begin by counting as
many sins at least as there are kinds of sin. We might say there is an