Is there forgiveness after death?

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Jae

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Hi,

I live in the maritime provinces and have been brought up in the Catholic Faith.

My wife recently asked a retired teacher to pray for the conversion of our son who is seriously ill with cancer. The response she got was that we should not worry, if he is not converted before he dies, he will after he dies! God never abandons us.

How would you respond to this person?
 
Jae said:
Hi,

I live in the maritime provinces and have been brought up in the Catholic Faith.

My wife recently asked a retired teacher to pray for the conversion of our son who is seriously ill with cancer. The response she got was that we should not worry, if he is not converted before he dies, he will after he dies! God never abandons us.

How would you respond to this person?
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I’m sorry that your son is ill and pray that he and your family is guided through this by God.

There is only forgiveness of venial sins after death. If a person dies with un-repented Mortal sins their salvation is uncertain. It is also important to fully understand Venial and Mortal sin from the Cathechism.
 
It is a rather curious statement. You will of course have my prayers for the conversion of your son. Regarding forgiveness, I think God does forgive always, but we may not be able to accept his forgiveness always. While we live in time, we can change our mind, after death I am not sure that is possible.

As a Catholic, I think we can always hope that any person will ultimately find their way to God, but we must also be willing to accept the fact that no matter how much we may hope and pray otherwise, that some may be lost. Further, certainly those who die in friendship with Christ will have a better chance of being friends with Christ after death than those who don’t die in his friendship. Forgive me I am rambling here. In any case, just remember that conversion may come even at the moment of death in a way that we may never know in this life. I will pray for you son to be healed in the way God deems best and also for you and the rest of your family. I am sure others on here will do the same.

–
Bill
 
Pray to God’s mercy? I’ll remember you in my prayers today.
 
Thank you for your kind words.

We were hoping this person (a religious) would have had some positive influence with our son. He knows what the Church teaches, but for some reason he lost his faith along the way.

My wife and I pray for him daily, the state of his health is not good.
 
Jae said:
Hi,

I live in the maritime provinces and have been brought up in the Catholic Faith.

My wife recently asked a retired teacher to pray for the conversion of our son who is seriously ill with cancer. The response she got was that we should not worry, if he is not converted before he dies, he will after he dies! God never abandons us.

How would you respond to this person?
Click to expand...
Regarding your original question others have answered it.

With regard to your son, pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy in the presence of your son daily.
Christ promised Saint Faustina that if it is prayed in the presence of someone who is dying then he will stand between God the Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Saviour.
 
Thank you.

My wife and I have been reciting the rosary on a daily basis for the past 25 years, it’s a beautiful prayer.

I found the following pertinent information in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: “He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell.”

1034 Jesus often speaks of “Gehenna” of “the unquenchable fire” reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. Jesus solemnly proclaims that he “will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,” and that he will pronounce the condemnation: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!”

1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.” The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1847 “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
 
Jae said:
Hi,

I live in the maritime provinces and have been brought up in the Catholic Faith.

My wife recently asked a retired teacher to pray for the conversion of our son who is seriously ill with cancer. The response she got was that we should not worry, if he is not converted before he dies, he will after he dies! God never abandons us.

How would you respond to this person?
Click to expand...
Hello Jae,

Can you ask for confirmation as to what this retired “teacher” means? Are they saying that God never even abandons people while they are burning in hell for all eternity? Or are they stating that they do not believe that Jesus damns anyone to hell?

I will allow God to judge your son. As for the “teacher”, if they have rejected Christ’s teachings and are giving false, spiritually deadly, advice to the unrepentant, this is a horrible sin. Do what you can to straighten out any disinformation any false teacher may have fed your son, for the salvation of his soul.

WARNING! Jesus Does Not Forgive All

I will pray for your son. May God be with you.
 
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