Do suicides always go to Hell?

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Patinkc

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This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
 
Patinkc said:
This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
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The Church teaching:

Suicide

CCC 2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

CCC 2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

CCC 2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.

CCC 2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.
 
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2280-2283):

Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls.

We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of. Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations.

Suicide is contrary to love for the living God. If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm
 
Patinkc said:
This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
Click to expand...
Please resist those thoughts, because we really do not know the degree of responsibility one has. The stance of the Church is milder today but it won’t b the Church who will judge you ate the end… please, don’t be tempted, for your own sake…
 
Hello Patinkc,

I am very sorry for your recent losses. I have no idea what kind of despair that is, and I can imagine that it would almost feel like hell on earth. That being said, please persevere in prayer and do all you can. You are at a very, very low point in life right now, but we have to understand, what seems impossible to us is possible for God. It may seem impossible for you to ever live a normal or joyful life again, but we simply do not know. Ending your life is certainly something you can never, ever take back. I’ve often heard it’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem. That temporary problem may seem like it just sucked all the life out of you, but we can never underestimate the power of our Lord. Please seek out all the help you can. I will pray for you, and please hang in there. -Anthony
 
My grandfather committed suicide. I never met him because I wasn’t born yet. It left my father and aunt orphaned, and they had a very difficult life because of it. (Their mother had died a few years before their father.) My father was placed in foster care; then he lived with his grandmother, and later he lived with a cousin. He did not have much of a childhood or life. Think of how your children would feel if you did something like that. It would always haunt them. It’s bad enough losing a parent through accident or disease, but suicide is awful. Life is very hard, and I guess it’s supposed to be. I can’t account for why some people have to face constant hardship.

If you truly love God, don’t kill yourself. He loves you and will care for you. Trust Him even though things seem bleak

No one lives forever, so you know it won’t go on indefinitely. Sooner or later you will see God, and you can then thank Him for taking you home. Just be sure it’s His decision and not yours.
 
Patinkc said:
This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
Click to expand...
I am sorry for your present situation. Thistle has given you the reference from the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding suicide. You may not be responsible due to possible mitigating circumstances, but only G-d knows for sure your degree of culpability. However, one thing is certain: G-d does NOT want you to commit suicide. Your situation may be tough now but it can always change. Keep hunting for a job; remember, it need not match the salary and working conditions of your previous job so long as it gives you adequate income. Also, one job can lead to another. And remember these words of advice in your moments of weakness, that have gotten me through rough times: “Where there is life, there is hope,” “This too shall pass,” and “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

Continue to talk with your priest and your psychiatrist. Join a support group if you need to. Don’t go it alone and never give up no matter how bleak things may seem.
 
Patinkc said:
This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
Click to expand...
Please reconsider. Your life is worth more than you know. Passionate feelings can cause you to make bad judgement. Many have been in uour place. You are not alone. And help is out there for people just like you. Your eternal destination is what is most important and suicide can certainly play a big role I that.
Just a quick story. I don’t know all the answers but based on my only experience with the supernatural it was a very unpleasant experience. One of unmeasurable pain and loss. Imagine your pain magnified more than you could ever imagine…
In my younger college years my roomate had a Quija board. I had no real interest in it but it did intrigue me some. One night I had planned to fool around with if with friends. It turned out to be a really horifying experience. We contacted a soul from the other side that had ended his own life along with his wife’s. This demon I guess you would call him now was full of hatred but sorrow at the same time. He was hot and miserable but wanted us to join him. He hated anything good and really had a lot of power it seemed. All I can say is that he knew of Hell and Lucifer and was evil to the core. Admitted that he had committed suicide in his mortal life and was stuck in a terrible state and could not ever change it. No one with any good in them deserves that. No one. So get some help and do what it takes to strengthen your faith. God will rescue you and defeat the evil forces that are trying to influence you. You can find happiness again and realize how beautiful your life truly can be. Praying for u
 
Robert_Sock said:
We simply do not know. It’s all in the hands of God.
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YOU do not know. The infallible Catholic Church says that suicide is a grave (mortal) sin. And unless one can commit suicide and then afterward go to confession and be absolved, one who commits suicide dies in a state of mortal sin and goes to hell. So don’t do it!!!
 
I agree. I have always been taught that suicide is a mortal sin. Worse than killing another person. Listening to Catholic Radio (radio Maria) and interpretation of Daunte’s Inferno, there is a place in Hell for those who voluntarily end their Earthly life
 
Suicide is indeed grave matter, but one who commits suicide is not automatically in a state of mortal sin. For one to be in a state of mortal sin, there must be grave matter, full knowledge, and deliberate consent. In the case of suicide, the condition of grave matter is always present, but either or both of the conditions of full knowledge and deliberate consent may not exist.
 
Hi I understand how your feeling, I have tried to commit suicide many times since age 13. Please do not do it, you feel like there is nothing and things wont ever get better and you feel like you just want it to stop. I have a dr. also and am on meds which help a lot. The thing that has made feel better and took that empty feeling away is the church. Please don’t kill your self, if not for you children then for your soul. if you get that feeling wait a day and usually that suicidal feeling is gone. every day is a new day, do not act on those thoughts, they seem like that’s all there is but remember it also goes away. I will pray for you . You are loved

Our father who art in Heaven hallow be Thy name
thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation
and deliver us from evil
Amen
 
St. Raphael the Archangel, please pray for Patinkc.
St. Job, please pray for Patinkc.
St. Dymphna, please pray for Patinkc.
St. Philomena, please pary for Patinkc.
St. Cajetan, please pray for Patinkc.
St. Eugene de Mazenod, please pray for Patinkc.
 
The Catechism states that there can be mitigating circumstances. In addition, Fr. Vincent Serpa has addressed this in the Ask an Apologist section several times.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=196213

The Church has never declared any specific individual to be in Hell.

Patinkc, please continue to seek help. Suicide can lead to hell. That is a possibility. God would judge your culpability, but why risk it?

Just advice from me, and this is neither medical advice nor theological advice, just my personal experience: keep busy. Don’t let yourself become lost in such thoughts. Volunteer for things at Church. Read Scripture. You are in my prayers. 🙂
 
Hang in there. Take your medication, work in therapy, and go to Adoration.

You will come out the other side. I know. I did.

What astounds me the most - besides God’s mercy - is what I couldn’t see at the time: There are so many people in my life who would have been hurt. Don’t think no one cares. They do.

If we, strangers on the internet, care so deeply, how do you think your friends and family would feel?

Remember, it is not your job to determine when your life ends. It is God’s.

Hang out in the sanctuary. Where the consecrated Host is, Jesus is present. Know that He is truly in that place with you, not far off in Heaven.

Your friend who is praying for you,
 
Patinkc said:
This is my first post. I am a desperate man. My wife and younger son moved out on me about 5 months ago. Two weeks ago I lost my job. I am consulting both a priest and a psychiatrist as well as trying to hunt for a job. I should also add that I am 59 years old. I have an older son who is in college.

Despair has put thoughts of suicide in my head. I try to fight them off because I was reared to believe that suicides always go to Hell. It feels like all I have left to live for is to go to Heaven (which will be wonderful) but I probably have 20 more years on this earth to endure first. How can I endure all of that time in this situation?

If I should give in to this temptation in a moment of weakness, will I automatically go to Hell? I’m asking this very seriously,

thank you.
Click to expand...
I am so sorry about your current situation. I do not know, nor do I think anyone can tell you if suicide will lead to hell. Only God knows that. I would say that it is not worth the chance. I too have had times where I told myself that peace and love will only come through death when joined with God. It may seem like you are in a living hell right now, but know that it is only temporary. Do not take the chance of it being a permanent situation in the real hell. That being said, there is beauty in the pains in life, though it can be hard to see sometimes. I heard a man say once that if you never have anything but sunshine, all you will have is desert. Though the storms may make things difficult, the rain will eventually stop. At that point you will begin to see the flowers. God willing, you will have 20 more years to life, but it won’t all be in this situation. Pray for the strength to continue and know that when you pray, God will embrace you with his love and hold you through these trying times. Never cease in your prayers and know that you are loved. Read your Bible, specifically the story of Job. He lost everything but never lost his faith. He hated his birth, but pushed through. I will pray for you.
 
God never gives us a cross that we cannot bear. When it seems too heavy He will carry you. Trust in Him, you will survive. My prayers are for you.
 
I could not say for sure if you would go to hell. However the last thing you would be doing in your life is murder which is a mortal sin. Instead of giving into despair offer your pain up to God and try to do his will. God loves you and he puts us all through tough times. I know things look down now but don’t give up.
 
I fight suicidal thoughts every day (actually, it’s been more like ever other day recently). I have been out of work for 4 years. I used to teach college until I had the son of an administrator in one of my summer classes, whom rarely showed up for class, and his parent tried to force me to pass him. When I didn’t, I lost my career (so much for standing up for your beliefs, right?). If you’ve been out of work just recently get a new job *as fast as possible *because NO ONE is hiring people who have been out of work over 6 months, and you need to be working to keep you SANE.

I**n the last two years: **my mother died in a car crash, my wife left me and took our 6 year old son to live with her at her parent’s house, my house was foreclosed and I was forced to live with my father (who already had my sister and her son living with him), my nephew has mental issues and punched me in the face and after an argument with my father over the issue I was kicked out when I had about $100 left in my bank account, my ex wife of all people helped me get into an apartment and gave me my divorce settlement early so that I could pay my rent 1 year in advance because my credit rating is destroyed. I lost my medical insurance due to the divorce and thus lost my prescriptions for my diabetes medicine AND the antidepressants I was taking (cymbalta) which also treated my diabetic neuropathy and my ADHD medication. I live alone in a basement apartment (alone for the first time in my life) and I get the privilege of seeing my beautiful 6 going on 7 year old EVERY TWO WEEKS instead of daily when I used to drive him and pick him up from school, and I am in constant pain each and every day.

I’m not even the worst case scenario in this world. Neither are YOU. There are people in impoverished countries that would probably kill to trade places with you or me.

So YOU STAY ALIVE!! You haven’t earned the right to leave. Offer up your pain for the salvation of souls and the souls in purgatory. Whatever events that led up to your current situation may not have been in your control, but the sobering reality is that God allowed it to happen to you. You owe God to stay alive and endure, and unite your suffering with the suffering of Christ on the Cross. That is your duty! (Talk about your 4 letter words).
 
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