mortal sin and Hell

[FreakyLocz14]

You’ll go to either Purgatory or Heaven. True Christians can’t go to Hell.

 

[Richca]

Hi gang - Ive read a lot about mortal sin, so don’t need the 3 criteria re explained. Heres my particular questions:

1)Lets say I commit mortal sin (miss Mass on Sunday because I’m feeling lazy; totally screw up at a party and sleep with someone not my spouse; panic at work and forge documents ( btw, I’m just giving examples, not saying Ive done these things!!!)

2)I decide to go to confession next Saturday

3)I have imperfect contrition - I am sorry, but also pretty scared of Hell - I have mixed feelings about my sorrow (as people often do), and I cant claim I have “perfect contrition”.

4)On Wednesday I get knocked down by a bus and killed.

My understanding, because I haven’t made it to confession yet, and my contrition is imperfect, is Im heading straight to Hell - is that right? It doesnt seem right to me, and yet thats the teaching?

Thanks! If folks can stick to this idea of mortal sin/imperfect contrition/not yet reached confession/killed by bus, Id appreciate it! Not veer off into other areas…

Hi Zaida,
St John Vianney said “The mercy of God is like an overflowing torrent - it carries away hearts with it as it passes. The good God will pardon a repentant sinner more quickly than a mother would snatch her child out of the fire.” Now to pardon or forgive a repentant sinner is justification, i.e., the blotting out of mortal sin with the infusion of sanctifying grace. All over in Holy Scripture we see that God is more than ready to forgive us our sins.
“Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool.” (Isaiah 1: 18).

Jesus gave us the story of the prodigal son and told us that we should forgive our brother not seven times but seventy times seven times which means an unlimited number of times. Now, surely, God cannot expect us to be more forgiving than He is.

The forgiveness of mortal sin by contrition with the infusion of sanctifying grace can be had of course before we actually confess these sins in confession. However, for this contrition to be true contrition we must have the intention of confessing our mortal sins in confession and be willing to perform the satisfaction the priest gives us.

Imperfect contrition or as the scholastics called it attrition is a sort of contrition without the infusion of charity or sanctifying grace. Perfect contrition or as the scholastics called it simply contrition consists in the blotting out of mortal sin with the infusion of sanctifying grace or charity. We cannot give ourselves perfect contrition any more than we can give ourselves grace. Nor can we give ourselves imperfect contrition or attrition without God’s grace as well.

Imperfect contrition is fear of God’s punishment while perfect contrition is sorrow or displeasure for sin for having offended God as He should be loved above all things including ourselves.

Fear of God is a good thing for the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord and St Peter says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The infusion of charity in our soul by God causes in us perfect contrition or sorrow for our sins.

St Thomas Aquinas says that the virtue of penance of which contrition is a part originates from fear and specifically the fear of God’s punishments which is servile fear, attrition, or imperfect contrition. The term of imperfect contrition is perfect contrition or simply contrition which Aquinas says results in filial fear and the infusion of sanctifying grace and charity. For even after the forgiveness of our sins, charity in this life causes us to still have sorrow and displeasure for them.

Since God is the first cause of imperfect contrition, for we cannot have this without His grace, I see no reason why this movement of God in our soul by His grace would not lead us on to perfect contrition if we but cooperate with it. For the end term of imperfect contrition is perfect contrition. Of course, although we may be forgiven our sins before we actually confess them in the sacrament of penance, for our contrition to be perfect we must have the intention of confessing them in the sacrament of penance and of making satisfaction for them and amending our lives. Contrition, confession, and satisfaction are the essential parts of both the virtue and the sacrament of penance. Confessing our sins in the sacrament of penance is necessary because Christ ordained that we should and it is also for our own benefit for who ever left the confessional without feeling better or with a lighter heart? It is also necessary because we don’t really know whether our contrition before confession has been imperfect or perfect. If it has been imperfect, the power of the sacrament makes up for imperfect contrition and we can be sure that our sins are forgiven upon leaving the confessional.

As for being hit by a bus or car and being killed before going to confession after committing a mortal sin. Since in the case you present, the person had at least some sorrow for commiting the sin and intended to go to confession on Saturday, it would seem to be against the goodness of God to assign this person to hell after being killed. As I pointed out above, St John Vianney says that God is more ready to forgive than a mother to snatch her child from the fire.

Technically, imperfect contrition does not result in the forgiveness of sins for it is not quickened by charity and sanctifying grace. So, technically, a person who dies in a state of imperfect contrition does not have sanctifying grace and without sanctifying grace we cannot get to heaven. In my view, this person impedes in one way or another the movement of God’s grace concerning the virtue of penance of which contrition is the first part, and which begins with imperfect contrition and ends with perfect contrition.

Richca

 

[TRH1292]

I think that you have not understood what I had typed which was based on the specific scenario given by the OP which was having committed mortal sins, the person realised what they had done and wanted the Sacrament of Reconciliation but died before reaching it. On that basis they were facing God, had repented (albeit it imperfectly) and therefore, were not cut off from God when they died. That is why I quoted the sections on Purgatory, had the OP put the scenario as dying unrepentant, then I would have probably used the Sections you quoted.

As you will also see from my post I suggested the OP read ALL of the sections in the CCC about Purgatory and the Sacrament of Reconciliation as I was fully aware that I had posted small sections only in response to the specific scenario given.

I do not agree with your view that a repentant sinner will end up in Hell simply because they repented before God, but were unable to reach the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Having read the part of the CCC on Purgatory and the story in Maccabees about offering the prayers for the faithful died in sin, I am confident that our Merciful God would not send repentant sinners to Hell. If he did, Heaven would be empty.

God bless

Where is my view? I never stated any personal view of my own, I simply pasted what the Church has said. So, if that is what you are disagreeing with, then there is a serious problem. The OP was asking about imperfect contrition, and the catechism says imperfect contrition is not sufficient. Case closed.
Is it good to have confidence in God’s mercy, it is not good to deny the teachings of the Church. God is willing to forgive and have mercy on everyone, and he gives all people sufficient grace to repent and be saved, including those who can’t reach the sacrament of reconciliation. But this repentance must be perfect contrition to avail for Salvation, as the Church teaches.

 

[TRH1292]

To say we can get to heaven without sanctifying grace (without being in a state of Grace) is a very serious false teaching.

 

[TRH1292]

I will still go with the CCC in its fullness. Only God knows if a person has repented of their sins before they die and whether they repented only out of fear of hell (imperfect) or because they know they have offended God.

I am not saying that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not very necessary or important because we do not know what moment we will be called (which is why the daily examination of conscience is also important) . But that if we genuinely cannot receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before we die, but have truly repented because we have offended God and He has accepted our repentance we no longer separated from Him but are again in communion (whether we are in a state of grace or not can only be known by God).

Not everyone can get to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there are still large parts of the world where the faithful do not have access to a Priest very often e.g. Australian outback, Africa, Middle East etc. Would the Church or even God reject a truly repentant sinner simply because there are not enough Priests available to minister the Sacraments?

Aside from the canonized saints, we cannot know the fate of any people at all whatsoever. We do not know the fate of those that die. We should not speculate about individual people in a morbid and judgmental way.

We can’t know if a person’s contrition is imperfect or perfect. We can’t know if a person is in a state of Grace or not. But we can know that we must be in a state of Grace to go to heaven, and we can know that imperfect contrition is not sufficient outside confession.

God is not bound by his sacraments and is willing to forgive. God will forgive those who come to him with Supernatural contrition, that is perfect contrition, regardless of the ability to go to confession.

 

[zaida]

Hi gang - This is a great discussion and I thank you for your responses - it made me realize, as well, that I havent really explored what is “meant” by “perfect contrition” - I need to read more about that.

I think one thing we are all agreeing on is Gods mercy and our need to cooperate with His mercy

blessings to all - go under the mercy!