Mortal Sin and Prayer

[mattkubes]

I’m not sure if this has been discussed before (though I have a feeling it probably has), but it’s something that I’ve been wondering about for a while now.

I think I understand the concept of mortal sin killing grace in our souls, but I’m wondering what impact this has on the ‘effectiveness’ of prayer. I’m sure God can hear the prayers of those who are not in a state of grace, but will these prayers have any merit? If I pray for others (friends, family, of those souls in Purgatory), are those prayers answered? Will the Saints still intercede on our behalf? In this state, should we bother approaching God with out intentions in such an undeserving manner? I know the best solution to this problem is to go to Confession as soon as possible, but in our society where it’s rare to see more than a half-hour allotted to this Sacrament each week, we sometimes have to wait.

These questions might have simple answers, but the fact that even a single mortal sin can send us to damnation got me wondering as to whether or not there is a similar or parallel effect in this life. Thanks for your insight!

 

[HailMary]

There are no “wasted” prayers( which is what we call the Treasury of the Church) if the prayer had a good intention. It is true that God can hear us even in mortal sin and to think otherwise is irrational because how would a person ever recover from his or her state? The Prodgical son had no one to pray for him (at least the text does not imply this but we all know that Mother Mary was surley praying for his repentance) but nevertheless, it is a grace to be repentant and that grace is given only if it is asked (ie: prayer). The merits of Jesus Christ allowed us, even as sinners, to approach Him and rejoin His family. This is what makes the Old Covenant so radically different than the New Covenant. In the Old Coveant, if an “unclean” person touched another person, that person would become unclean too. Not so in the New Coveant, Christ “touched” people, and even if they approached Him and simply touched His garment, they were healed:

Matthew 14:36:

and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.

Mark 1:41:

And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

So I guess the point is, as long as you approach God repentant, like the Prodgical son, even in a state of mortal sin, He will hear your prayers. But, If you want my advice and the advice of the Saints, trust in Mary’s intercessions. She has the heart of Her Son and will take your miserable prayer, put it on a Golden Plate, and offer it to Her Son, the King, and He will not refuse your prayer because He cannot refuse His Mother anything.

 

[mattkubes]

It is true that God can hear us even in mortal sin and to think otherwise is irrational because how would a person ever recover from his or her state?

Thanks for your reply, HailMary! This is what I was trying to get at…I definitely follow the reasoning you mentioned above, but I guess I was wondering if the Sacrament of Reconciliation was the only place where our prayers were answered in such a grievous state - but this is probably mere speculation on my part. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a while now…thanks again!

 

[LilyM]

Thanks for your reply, HailMary! This is what I was trying to get at…I definitely follow the reasoning you mentioned above, but I guess I was wondering if the Sacrament of Reconciliation was the only place where our prayers were answered in such a grievous state - but this is probably mere speculation on my part. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a while now…thanks again!

If it were the case that the prayers of those not in a state of grace were worthless then it wouldn’t be a precept of the Church (binding on pain of mortal sin) that all Catholics, even those in a state of mortal sin, must attend Mass on Sundays.