Is a mortal sin forgiven with an act of contrition

Apologetics Moral Theology
#1

If a person commits a mortal sin and has genuiene repentance and desire to confess that sin at the first opporutniy but dies suddenly before confession is available what is the status of that person with God on Judgment Day?

#2

Up to God.

BTW, the person doesn’t wait until ‘judgment day’; the person is judged at death and then on Judgment Day when the whole world ends and Christ comes again, all those who have died already won’t be ‘rejudged’ but rather, their judgments (and those of anybody who is left on the last day and is judged then) will be seen by all and known to be right and true.

God is just. . and God is merciful, and only God knows the heart.

But it’s still a much better idea to be prepared and to follow the norms and not expect that you’ll be given an EXTRAORDINARY ‘chance’ and that God is bound to obey YOU if ‘you’ decide to repent.

Normally, the way to have a mortal sin forgiven is to go to confession. If people were in the habit of regular Saturday confession the way they were in my early youth, you’d see a lot less of this kind of ‘what if’ question and more of a, “let’s be sure to get to confession regularly” posting.

#3

Thank you for your response. Since posting this question I have been reseaching the CCC and found the following:

1453 The contrition called “imperfect” (or “attrition”) is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.

So, I gues the real answer is that one should not take for granted anything relative to grave sin forgiveness unless it is obtained through sacramental confession.

Thanks again for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

#4