No priest to confess to

[Sir_Knight]

Tried to go to confession on Saturday. Left my wife & daughter at a barbeque. Drove almost an hour to the church. Waited in line with several other people for close to an hour for a priest to come but no one showed up. Even went to the rectory to see why there was no one there to hear confession at the listed times but the housekeeper yelled at me in a foreign language.

This experience got me to thinking …

Suppose there was a hardened sinner who decided to make an attempt to return to God and the sacrements. He tries to go to confession but the priest does not show up at the times listed (sort of like what happened with me). On his way home from church, he is hit by a truck and dies. What is the state of his soul if he had numerous mortal sins?

If a priest was present to hear confession at the times listed, he would have been absolved of all of his sins (assuming he made a good confession and didn’t intentionally leave anything out) and would have been free of any mortal sins when that truck killed him.

But through no fault of his own, there was no priest present even though one should have been and now he died with all of these mortal sins upon his soul.

Discussion?

 

[Brain]

in that case we would trust god’s mercy. He is the author of justice after all. though the sacraments are the best and 100% reliable way to gain grace and blessing, I belive hope and trust completely that in dire circumstances where death is imminent, the words “My Jesus, mercy” or the honest intention to have ones sins forgiven are enough to redeem any man in the Lord’s mercy. That is not to say though that he wont have one heck of a purgation awaiting him (as we all will), but I trust that such a man will be brought home safely.