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DoxieMama
Guest
I’m in RCIA and just getting to know the Catholic faith. If we die before being able to confess a sin, do we face Jesus after we die and get to ask Him for forgiveness? Or do we go to Purgatory first?
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andy92
Guest
If man dies in a state of mortal sin without having shown any form of contrition, then he is sent to hell. If he shows contrition and recognizes that his sin was wrong and doesn’t go to confession before he dies then he would spend time in purgatory for his sins and the purification of his past absolved sins. If he has received an indulgence and is sin-free and dies then by God’s Grace, he would be sent straight to heaven!
Basically
SIN+NOT CARING = HELL
SIN + CARING+REPENTENCE = PURGATORY
SIN+REPENTANCE+WORKS OF MERCY+GRACE=HEAVEN
Basically
SIN+NOT CARING = HELL
SIN + CARING+REPENTENCE = PURGATORY
SIN+REPENTANCE+WORKS OF MERCY+GRACE=HEAVEN
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philial
Guest
The only real & catholic answer is that, whatever happens, we are totally reliant on the infinite mercy of God, by reason of the blood of His Son.
We will all die in a state of imperfection. But if we live with our hearts & minds towards God, there’s no reason to believe this direction will not continue after death.
We will all die in a state of imperfection. But if we live with our hearts & minds towards God, there’s no reason to believe this direction will not continue after death.
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JRKH
Guest
In St Catherine of Sienna’s book “dialogues”, she records this explanation from the Father. To me it makes great sense. (Bolding mine)
"Wherefore, know, that at the moment of death, (unrepentant ones), having passed their life under the lordship of the Devil (not that they were forced to do so, for as I told you they cannot be forced, but they voluntarily put themselves into his hands), and, arriving at the extremity of their death under this perverse lordship, they await no other judgment than that of their own conscience, and desperately, despairingly, come to eternal damnation. Wherefore Hell, through their hate, surges up to them in the extremity of death, and before they get there, they take hold of it, by means of their lord the Devil.
"As the righteous, who have lived in charity and died in love, if they have lived perfectly in virtue, illuminated with the light of faith, with perfect hope in the Blood of the Lamb, when the extremity of death comes, see the good which I have prepared for them, and embrace it with the arms of love, holding fast with pressure of love to Me, the Supreme and Eternal Good. And so they taste eternal life before they have left the mortal body, that is, before the soul be separated from the body.
"Others who have passed their lives, and have arrived at the last extremity of death with an ordinary charity (not in that great perfection), embrace My mercy with the same light of faith and hope that had those perfect ones, but, in them, it is imperfect, for, because they were imperfect, they constrained My mercy, counting My mercy greater than their sins.
“The wicked sinners do the contrary, for, seeing, with desperation, their destination, they embrace it with hatred, as I told you. So that neither the one nor the other waits for judgment, but, in departing this life, they receive every one their place, as I have told you, and they taste it and possess it before they depart from the body, at the extremity of death – the damned with hatred and with despair, and the perfect ones with love and the light of faith and with the hope of the Blood. And the imperfect arrive at the place of Purgatory, with mercy and the same faith.”
So it appears that we come before the Lord before we go to our destinations (including purgatory)
Hope this helps.
Peace
James
"Wherefore, know, that at the moment of death, (unrepentant ones), having passed their life under the lordship of the Devil (not that they were forced to do so, for as I told you they cannot be forced, but they voluntarily put themselves into his hands), and, arriving at the extremity of their death under this perverse lordship, they await no other judgment than that of their own conscience, and desperately, despairingly, come to eternal damnation. Wherefore Hell, through their hate, surges up to them in the extremity of death, and before they get there, they take hold of it, by means of their lord the Devil.
"As the righteous, who have lived in charity and died in love, if they have lived perfectly in virtue, illuminated with the light of faith, with perfect hope in the Blood of the Lamb, when the extremity of death comes, see the good which I have prepared for them, and embrace it with the arms of love, holding fast with pressure of love to Me, the Supreme and Eternal Good. And so they taste eternal life before they have left the mortal body, that is, before the soul be separated from the body.
"Others who have passed their lives, and have arrived at the last extremity of death with an ordinary charity (not in that great perfection), embrace My mercy with the same light of faith and hope that had those perfect ones, but, in them, it is imperfect, for, because they were imperfect, they constrained My mercy, counting My mercy greater than their sins.
“The wicked sinners do the contrary, for, seeing, with desperation, their destination, they embrace it with hatred, as I told you. So that neither the one nor the other waits for judgment, but, in departing this life, they receive every one their place, as I have told you, and they taste it and possess it before they depart from the body, at the extremity of death – the damned with hatred and with despair, and the perfect ones with love and the light of faith and with the hope of the Blood. And the imperfect arrive at the place of Purgatory, with mercy and the same faith.”
So it appears that we come before the Lord before we go to our destinations (including purgatory)
Hope this helps.
Peace
James
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lizaanne
Guest
So I’ll answer the actual question you asked, which has not been done.
You are in the process of becoming Catholic. You have the intention of confessing as soon as you can, and of living a life free of sin afterward. If you were to die today we would rely on God’s mercy and hope for you to avoid hell.
Only those who are 100% perfect go straight to heaven and avoid purgatory. Purgatory is where we are perfected prior to entering heaven and residing with God for eternity. Even saints go to purgatory - no one (aside from Our Lady) has been perfect and without sin on this earth - as far as we know.
~Liza
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ProdglArchitect
Guest
Lol, I’m glad that someone else caught that
Do not be afraid. Trust in God, who knows that in your heart you are seeking to partake of the sacraments He has given us.
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DoxieMama
Guest
Thanks everyone! 
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Ophelia23
Guest
That was incredibly interesting to read. Thank you for your post!
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