One must make an act of perfect contrition to be forgiven of a mortal sin outside of the Sacrament of Confession. But, there is really no way of knowing if you’ve made one or not and so you cannot know if you are back in a state of grace or not. Also, any act of perfect contrition always includes the resolve to go to Confession ASAP.
This is not my understanding although I admit I am new in the church. But the way the priest presented it to me was that you are in a state of mortal sin until the priest absolves you of your sin at the Sacrament of Confession and that therefore you cannot receive the Eucharist until then.
The Sacrament of Confession is the ordinary way for the forgiving of post-baptismal mortal sin. There are, however, extraordinary ways, such as an act of perfect contrition or general absolution. But, one cannot reasonably rely on these (there is no way you can guarantee you can muster perfect contrition on cue [or ever in your life]) and one should avail oneself to frequent Confession (which also greatly helps in avoiding future mortal sins).
Here’s the issue: if one is truly repentant, he would want to go to the sacrament of confession. So rejection of the sacrament likewise means an absence of complete sorrow for the sin. It’s taking God’s mercy for granted rather than using the means that Christ Himself gave us for forgiveness. We can’t be in a state of Grace if we are at the same time rejecting Christ’s gift to us, which is the Sacrament.
Isn’t it a bit more complicated than that? Dire cases? Approaching death?
Both yes and no. The situation has to be extreme indeed for one to have the opportunity to receive Communion, yet not have the opportunity for Confession (even its minimum form). While it’s possible, it’s also very very unlikely–for the simple fact that there has to be a priest available or else there would be no Eucharist to receive.
I haven’t said anything that would indicate that God would “turn down” repentance. But the point that needs to be made here is that sincere repentence includes a desire for forgiveness&absolution in the Sacrament. So, if one is rejecting (or feels he is not in need of) the Sacrament, then true repentance isn’t there to begin with. The Sacrament of Confession “makes up for” what is lacking in our own imperfect human contrition; so we are forgiven&absolved in-spite-of our less than perfect contrition by the Graces of the Sacrament. We cannot say that one can be repentant and yet at the same time reject or even disregard the need for absolution.
We are in agreement regarding receiving the Eucharist. (of course I’m not a priest)
CCC 1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.
Thank you!! I stand corrected. But it shouldn’t be uncommon. We should be able to ask for God’s forgiveness, with the intent of seeking absolution through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I guess what I was thinking is that “perfect contrition” excludes the idea of the fear of eternal damnation. Perhaps I was wrong. There is no way that a repentant Christian doesn’t fear eternal damnation. You’ve made it clear that the utmost reason for repentance has to be for love of God. We agree. Again though, the fear is still there and always a part of repentance. Jesus made it clear we are to fear eternal damnation. Better to chop off your hand…
The vocabulary here can be a bit confusing. “Perfect contrition” is as the catechism describes it. However, the word “perfect” cannot be literally applied to anything we as human beings do, because we are finite beings. The point is that we don’t take the word “perfect” in the term to mean “literally perfect.”
Now I’m confused. That’s twice that you’ve said that God would not turn down true repentance. No one’s saying anything to the contrary. I think there’s a good point here that you’re trying to make, but I just don’t see it. It seems to me that you see some conflict in what I’ve posted between the idea of God accepting true repentance, and what I’ve said in the posts. Please explain because it has me puzzled.We are in agreement regarding receiving the Eucharist. (of course I’m not a priest)
I just can’t imagine that God would turn down true repentance. My argument is that perfect contrition is nearly impossible. I believe that we are forgiven and back in the state of grace through sincere repentance. Of course to be truly repentant one would have to have the intent of receiving the sacrament from a priest.
The actual wording Trent uses is “although it **sometimes happen **that this contrition is perfect through charity, and reconciles man with God before this sacrament be actually received, the said reconciliation, nevertheless, is not to be ascribed to that contrition, independently of the desire of the sacrament which is included therein.”
I think we’re in agreement here. Maybe I’m tired after the shifts I’m working. We agree. True repentance is accepted by God even before the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I guess I’m thinking about a Catholic Channel discussion where I believe Lino Ruilli was talking about getting on a plane and not being sure of being in a state of grace. As a faithful Christian, if death is near and we have sinned mortally and not been able to get to confession, then repentance will probably involve quite a bit of fear if the plane is going to crash. But, I believe that God would know that we are truly sorry, even though a “perfect act of contrition” may not be humanly possible at that moment.
My understanding is that you cannot be absolved from mortal sin except through the intercession of a priest in Confession and therefore you cannot receive the Eucharist; if you attempt to receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin you are committing sacrilige.