There are two things to know to understand this blog. First, my daughter is all consumed by Harry Potter right now, but we are taking it slowly. She has to read the books before she sees the movies and she can't read the books until my wife and I feel she is ready to read them, especially the darker ones. That means, I have to read the books.

OK, that's first; now second. If you are unfamiliar with the series, there are three curses-hexes-spells that are considered "unforgivable"; they command an automatic life sentence in prison if used. One of these spells, the Cruciatus Curse, is used to simply torture.

With that as back ground, I was very struck by one of the battle sequences. Without giving away the plot, Harry Potter was provoked to absolute fury by one of the evil followers. In his anger, he shouted Crucio!, the words used to cast the Cruciatus Curse. The victim was hit. She yelled in pain, but then nothing more happened. She said to Harry:

Your first time to use an unforgivable curse, eh? You have to mean it. You have to want to torture someone and enjoy it.

Thank you, J. K. Rowling, you have given us a bit of good theology.

Venial sins are smaller sins that weaken our relationship with the Lord and His body, the Church. Sins such as these can ultimately damage the relationship so badly that the relationship with the Lord is severed. Mortal sins are those sins that, in a single act, severe our relationship with the Lord. To be a mortal sin, three things have to be in place:

1) Grave act - It has to be bad

2) Full knowledge - You have to fully know that what you are doing is a grave sin

3) Full consent - You have to freely choose to do that act, you have to mean it

Harry committed an unforgivable act, but he did not want, despite his rage, to torture and he certainly did want to enjoy torturing. I think you of the greatest lies we are tempted to believe is that we are not forgivable. I dare say all of has have done things we are not proud of. These sins often have a double effect. First, we do something wrong. Second, we torture ourselves with guilt and doubt God's mercy ...and the forgiveness of others.

I have found that God's mercy and forgiveness is so far beyond my limited comprehension. The only truly unforgivable sin when we blaspheme the Holy Spirit. When we feel the Holy Spirit's promptings to embrace the mercy of Christ and continually say no. Let go. Let go of the guilt. Allow yourself to be embraced by the unfathomable arms of the Lord. Be Forgiven.