The seven deadly sins, which the Church calls the capital sins, are pride, greed (avarice), envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth. They are called “capital,” from the Latin caput, “head,” because they are the sources from which other sins flow. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “They are called ‘capital’ because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia” (CCC 1866). Below is what each sin means, the virtue that heals it, whether they are always mortal sins, where the list comes from, and prayers for overcoming them.
The seven deadly sins and their opposing virtues
| Capital sin | What it is | Opposing virtue |
|---|---|---|
| Pride | An excessive love of one’s own excellence; putting self in the place of God | Humility |
| Greed (avarice) | An inordinate love of money and possessions | Generosity |
| Envy | Sadness at another’s good and the desire to have it for oneself | Kindness and charity |
| Wrath (anger) | A desire for revenge; anger out of proportion or against justice | Patience and meekness |
| Lust | A disordered desire for or enjoyment of sexual pleasure | Chastity |
| Gluttony | An excessive desire for food and drink | Temperance |
| Sloth (acedia) | Spiritual laziness; sadness or indifference toward God and the good | Diligence and zeal |
Each sin in a little more depth
- Pride is the root of all sin, the sin of Satan and of Adam and Eve: wanting to be like God without God. It shows itself in vanity, arrogance, contempt for others and refusal to be corrected.
- Greed makes money and possessions an idol. Jesus warned that “you cannot serve God and mammon.”
- Envy is not simply wanting something good; it is being saddened by someone else’s good. “From envy are born hatred, detraction, calumny, joy caused by the misfortune of a neighbor, and displeasure caused by his prosperity” (CCC 2539).
- Wrath is not every feeling of anger; righteous anger at injustice can be good. It is anger that seeks revenge, harms others or holds grudges.
- Lust treats another person, or oneself, as an object of pleasure rather than a person to be loved.
- Gluttony includes eating or drinking too much, too greedily, or with excessive fuss, and drunkenness.
- Sloth, or acedia, is not just physical laziness but a weariness and sadness about spiritual things that makes us neglect prayer and the duties of love.
What Scripture says
St. John names the roots of worldliness:
For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever.
St. Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury,
Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects,
Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity,
Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law.
And Proverbs lists things the Lord hates:
Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief,
A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.
Are the seven deadly sins always mortal sins?
Not necessarily. The capital sins are deep tendencies and vices from which particular sins arise. A particular act is a mortal sin only when it involves grave matter and is committed “with full knowledge and deliberate consent” (CCC 1857); otherwise it is venial. The name “deadly” reflects how dangerous these vices are to the life of the soul if left unchecked. See mortal and venial sin.
Where the list comes from
The list is not found as such in the Bible. In the fourth century the desert monk Evagrius Ponticus described eight evil “thoughts” that tempt the soul. St. John Cassian brought this teaching to the West, and Pope St. Gregory the Great, around the year 590, reshaped it into a list of seven, with pride as the root of all. St. Thomas Aquinas explained them in the Summa Theologiae, and Dante structured the terraces of Mount Purgatory around them in the Divine Comedy.
How to overcome the capital sins
- Know your predominant fault. Most people struggle with one or two of these more than others. Ask God to show you yours.
- Go to confession regularly. See the examination of conscience and how to go to confession.
- Practice the opposite virtue. Answer pride with small acts of humility, greed with generous giving, envy with praise of others, anger with patience.
- Pray and receive the Eucharist. Grace, not willpower alone, heals the heart.
- Avoid the near occasions of sin and ask a spiritual director or friend for help.
A prayer against the seven deadly sins
Written for this page:
Lord Jesus Christ, meek and humble of heart,
free me from pride and give me humility;
from greed, and make me generous;
from envy, and make me rejoice in the good of others;
from anger, and give me patience;
from lust, and give me a pure heart;
from gluttony, and teach me temperance;
from sloth, and fill me with zeal for you.
Make me a new creation by your grace. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What are the seven deadly sins in order?
The traditional order of St. Gregory the Great begins with pride; the Catechism lists them as pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth.
What is the worst of the seven deadly sins?
Pride, which Christian tradition considers the root and queen of all sins.
What are the seven virtues that oppose the deadly sins?
Humility, generosity, kindness (charity), patience, chastity, temperance and diligence.
Are the seven deadly sins in the Bible?
The list itself is not, but each of these sins is condemned in Scripture, for example in Galatians 5 and 1 John 2.
More guides
- Patron saint of anger
- Patron saint of weight loss
- Catholic prayer for purity
- Mortal and venial sin
- Examination of conscience
- Ten Commandments
- Act of contrition
- Gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Litany of Humility
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1857, 1866, 2539.
- Scripture: 1 John 2:16–17; Galatians 5:19–23; Proverbs 6:16–19, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job XXXI; St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 84.
- The prayer was written for this page.