Damned If You Do...

[Mrs_Sally]

Ah, but the clever Catholic can avoid this option if they have the confession schedules memorized within a two hour driving radius. Don’t forget, a parish is not your only option. Retreat centers, Catholic hospitals, Marian sites, the cathedral, monasteries, etc. are all possibles. But if you live in Alaska, accessible only by plane, etc., the options diminish…

On a serious note, I completely agree with you about the urge to go right away.

Ha! You are right! I don’t have that important scheduled memorized, but I would definately call the priest on call at my parish.

 

[thistle]

That is kind of my point: damned if you do, damned if you don’t. unless of course you can make an act of perfect contrition which is close to impossible to do.

Thats not your point at all. Your attitude is that if you are in a state of mortal sin then whats the problem with setting out to commit lots of other mortal sins before you confess.
The problem is the attitude and lack of sincerity. If thats what you are like before getting to Confession then how can you really be sincere and repentent when you get there.

In my opinion anyway there is no reason not to go to Confession quickly. You know Confession times and it is also your right outside Confession times to ask to see your priest to confess.

 

[EasterJoy]

That is kind of my point: damned if you do, damned if you don’t. unless of course you can make an act of perfect contrition which is close to impossible to do.

I think that your answer lies in the Act of Contrition:

*O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you.
I detest all my sins because of your just punishment,
but most of all because they offend you, my God,
who are all-good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace,
to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. *

So the answer to “Aren’t you going to be toast no matter what you do, so what is the reason for behaving? It seems as long as you’re damned, you might as well do every bad thing you can think of. I don’t see any particular reason to go to hell halfway…” is this:

It is right to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ and to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ because God is worthy of it, not because there is a reward in it for you. If you don’t think that is true, what business have you to hope for Heaven? Do you think it is some kind of a reward for our righteousness? Ha! Heaven preserve us from a just reward for our “good behavior”!

Don’t you know that Hell is the most merciful place possible for those whose being does not revolve around God? What on earth would you do when you got there (to Heaven, that is), if you have no care for any suffering that doesn’t have a payoff in it for you? What would give you the idea that Heaven is your kind of a place, that it would make you at all happy to be there?

Of course I speak tongue-in-cheek, but seriously now: you do know that the whole of Heaven revolves around Him, right? Be careful what you ask for!

Do not fear that God’s mercy is too small, and do not teach others to fear Him. All we have to fear is our own smallness of heart, not God’s.

 

[Spirithound]

I don’t know though; you are still destined for hell either way you go. I hate to ask, but what is in it for me?

Read Dante’s Inferno, find out where your specific (hypothetical?) sins will get you.

 

[EasterJoy]

Read Dante’s Inferno, find out where your specific (hypothetical?) sins will get you.

Of course, technically, that is a work of fiction.

Although I will not argue that it is not within the realm of possibility that some total separation from God could be worse than others, it is also possible that there is no better or worse way to be eternally deprived of God. It may be that Hell is homogenous.

The hardening of the heart that leads to mortal sin, however, that obviously exists in degrees. It seems obvious that every one of our choices in this life each serves to make us each more receptive or more impervious to grace. Applying a blowtorch to dry soil seems a bad way to farm.

 

[JRKH]

Of course, technically, that is a work of fiction.

Although I will not argue that it is not within the realm of possibility that some total separation from God could be worse than others, it is also possible that there is no better or worse way to be eternally deprived of God. It may be that Hell is homogenous.

The hardening of the heart that leads to mortal sin, however, that obviously exists in degrees. It seems obvious that every one of our choices in this life each serves to make us each more receptive or more impervious to grace. Applying a blowtorch to dry soil seems a bad way to farm.

Well said.
We build our salvation or our condemnation one decision at a time.

Peace
James

 

[Spirithound]

Of course, technically, that is a work of fiction.

Although I will not argue that it is not within the realm of possibility that some total separation from God could be worse than others, it is also possible that there is no better or worse way to be eternally deprived of God. It may be that Hell is homogenous.

The hardening of the heart that leads to mortal sin, however, that obviously exists in degrees. It seems obvious that every one of our choices in this life each serves to make us each more receptive or more impervious to grace. Applying a blowtorch to dry soil seems a bad way to farm.

Indeed well said! I’m not a farm boy, but that does seem to be a very bad way to farm!

 

[EasterJoy]

Well said.
We build our salvation or our condemnation one decision at a time.

Peace
James

From a purely practical standpoint, then, the answer to the original question is that the more mortal sins one piles on, the less likely it is that one will ever get around to confessing them and the more likely that one will quickly return to the swill of sin even after confessing. One can build a “taste” for one’s own will over the will of God, a ruining of the spiritual palate, if you will, that becomes harder to change with each decision to choose vice over virtue, a taste that can harden into an addiction to mortal sins. That is why even venial sins are so ardently to be avoided. Flippantly choosing to sin can quickly put us into a pit with horrifically slick sides.

A “what’s in it for me?” attitude with regards to the pursuit of virtue is a very bad sign. If really meant, it shows there is a bit of spiritual numbness already set in. I do not mean to accuse the OP, but to point out that such a symptom shouldn’t be ignored. Sometimes this is not a sign of sin. There is such a thing as saints going through a dark night and being tormented by just that sort of consideration. Even they would of course share such torments with their spiritual directors, though.

A habitual thirst for the will of God, on the other hand, will make one want to run to reconcile with God immediately after a mortal sin, not principally because of the fear of hell, but because of the discomfort of having rejected God in the first place. If you live in Heaven now, you can feel Hell breathing on your neck now, too. It does not feel good. Even without having to sit through a single Mass at which Holy Communion must be avoided (as a man with a bleeding belly wound has to avoid solid food) the desire to return to life compels one to confess at the earliest opportunity.

 

[JRKH]

From a purely practical standpoint, then, the answer to the original question is that the more mortal sins one piles on, the less likely it is that one will ever get around to confessing them and the more likely that one will quickly return to the swill of sin even after confessing. One can build a “taste” for one’s own will over the will of God, a ruining of the spiritual palate, if you will, that becomes harder to change with each decision to choose vice over virtue, a taste that can harden into an addiction to mortal sins. That is why even venial sins are so ardently to be avoided. Flippantly choosing to sin can quickly put us into a pit with horrifically slick sides.

A “what’s in it for me?” attitude with regards to the pursuit of virtue is a very bad sign. If really meant, it shows there is a bit of spiritual numbness already set in. I do not mean to accuse the OP, but to point out that such a symptom shouldn’t be ignored. Sometimes this is not a sign of sin. There is such a thing as saints going through a dark night and being tormented by just that sort of consideration. Even they would of course share such torments with their spiritual directors, though.

A habitual thirst for the will of God, on the other hand, will make one want to run to reconcile with God immediately after a mortal sin, not principally because of the fear of hell, but because of the discomfort of having rejected God in the first place. If you live in Heaven now, you can feel Hell breathing on your neck now, too. It does not feel good. Even without having to sit through a single Mass at which Holy Communion must be avoided (as a man with a bleeding belly wound has to avoid solid food) the desire to return to life compels one to confess at the earliest opportunity.

Very well said indeed

I liken the spiritual training to military or Athletic training.
In each one is trained, with determination and through repetitions, to act, or rather to react, in certain ways. If one does well one rises. If one does not do well one sinks. While each may not reach the “Major Leagues”, each must do his very best to achieve the highest Level for shich God has equipped them.
The same in the Spiritual journey. We are constantly in “training” and constantly being tested. So each and every day, each and every decision, effects our attitude, our ability to respond to grace, and our ability to grow in Holiness and Gods beautiful Love.

Peace
James

 

[EasterJoy]

Very well said indeed

I liken the spiritual training to military or Athletic training.
In each one is trained, with determination and through repetitions, to act, or rather to react, in certain ways. If one does well one rises. If one does not do well one sinks. While each may not reach the “Major Leagues”, each must do his very best to achieve the highest Level for shich God has equipped them.
The same in the Spiritual journey. We are constantly in “training” and constantly being tested. So each and every day, each and every decision, effects our attitude, our ability to respond to grace, and our ability to grow in Holiness and Gods beautiful Love.

Peace
James

I think you’re exactly right, except the part about the Major Leagues. It may take more of a dip in Purgatory for some than for others, but all in Heaven will have been made into saints, make no mistake.

As I like to tell the kids I teach in religious education: Since Heaven is your goal, you may as well let the Lord get started on making you into a saint right now. You cannot be happy in eternity, unless you’ve been made into a saint. Endured forever, every sin is a torture, from your thoughts to your fingers and toes, and there is not enough ice cream or music or sports or video games in the universe to change that. Besides, even the saints going through dark times don’t ever say they wished they’d waited longer to get started than they did!

 

[JRKH]

I think you’re exactly right, except the part about the Major Leagues. It may take more of a dip in Purgatory for some than for others, but all in Heaven will have been made into saints, make no mistake.

As I like to tell the kids I teach in religious education: Since Heaven is your goal, you may as well let the Lord get started on making you into a saint right now. You cannot be happy in eternity, unless you’ve been made into a saint. Endured forever, every sin is a torture, from your thoughts to your fingers and toes, and there is not enough ice cream or music or sports or video games in the universe to change that. Besides, even the saints going through dark times don’t ever say they wished they’d waited longer to get started than they did!

The Major league statement was not to indicate not making it to heaven but rather to indicate that not everyone will be able to achieve the same level of holiness here on earth. For instance, not everyone would have the stamina to do what Mother Theresa did in India.
The important thing, which I know we both agree on, is that we do our absolute best to Love God and Love neighbor and to discipline ourselves in obedient service to God.

Peace
James

 

[Spirithound]

The more you deliberately keep piling on additional mortal sins, the less likely you are to suddenly cough up contrition at 4:00 pm on Saturday because we are creatures of habit, and if you spend all your time habitually not being contrite, then you are running a real risk of continuing with that.

What’s in it for you? Hmmm. God did not throw darts at a list of harmless behaviors and call the ones the dart hit “sins”. The things called “sins” actually harm us and others right now, spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc., even if we are too blind to notice. Can you trust God on this point? Why hurt yourself further?

It’s like brushing your teeth. If you think “Well, I’ll brush my teeth right before bed, but until then, I’ll eat all the candy I want”, well now you’ve just eaten a whole lot of unhealthy stuff. Not to mention then putting off brushing your teeth increases risk of cavities, tartar, gingivitis, and of course your breath smells