Mortal sin

[ssms27]

If a person dies with an unconfessed mortal sin, will he go to heaven, hell, purgatory?

 

[Della]

Remembering of course that only God is the judge and that a person has to be culpable of mortal sin not merely to have committed a mortal sin, such a person would, unfortunately, find himself in hell. Also, remembering that such persons have deliberately turned their backs on God. No one can be culpable of a mortal sin he doesn’t know he committed, didn’t know was a mortal sin, and didn’t do with his full will.

 

[tjmiller]

A person with unabsolved mortal sin will go to Hell. Hypothetically, however, a person at the moment of death without the ability to confess could make a perfect act of contrition, and thereby receive justifying (saving) grace.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

tjmiller:

A person with unabsolved mortal sin will go to Hell. Hypothetically, however, a person at the moment of death without the ability to confess could make a perfect act of contrition, and thereby receive justifying (saving) grace.

So here the justifying grace = absolution for all intents and purposes?

I’ve had difficulty with this for a long time, so maybe a bit of clarification will help. By “unabsolved” I assumed you meant not absolved through the sacrament of confession, but that a perfect act of contrition does not need to involve a priest. The next question I have, then, is why a priest is ever “required” at all – unless it is to clear up when an “imperfect” contrition is made? There are many strategic reasons for having the priest involved, but I don’t understand why God would be so arbitrary as to choose the time-slice of a person’s physical death to seemingly sum up the whole person’s faith life in one go-nogo decision.

Perhaps it is different for those who are more advanced in the spiritual journey, but I heard JPII used to go to confession every day. The reason I bring it up at all, is that I seem to remember a scripture that once a person has been born of the spirit and their hearts and minds converted, they are no longer called by sin.

Alan

 

[thistle]

An Act of Perfect Contrition will result in forgiven sins under the firm intention to confess to a priest as soon as possible. If a person dies before the confession his sins would be forgiven. Of course only God will know the intention of that person.

 

[tjmiller]

I should rather have said “an act of perfect contrition” rather than “a perfect act of contrition”. The problem with perfect contrition is that it is quite rare, difficult to perfect, and known only to God. More common is imperfect contrition, or attrition.

Without the sacramental absolution of a priest, only perfect contrition can effect remission of mortal sin. With the ministry of reconciliation, however, the much more humanly possible imperfect contrition will suffice for that. What a comfort and a blessing!