Question about Salvation/Eucharist

[kjs55550]

Hello,

I am a 22 year old Catholic that just needs some clarification on salvation. I understand that Jesus will “forgive us not 7 times, but 77 times.” However, I am grappling with the concept of dying not in a “state of grace.” For example, what if someone were to commit a mortal sin (say, something ‘simple’ like participating in the Eucharist while not yet confirmed into the church, and they were aware that doing so was a mortal sin), but never took the proper steps to "reconcile’ the sin. Say they also died before entering the church and receiving the sacraments. Although they never followed proper protocol, they still had a heart for God and yearned to be with him?

Also, while we are on the Eucharist: I believe that the vast majority of Catholics (including myself) ought to refrain from the Eucharist as we may be receiving while not in a state of grace, but we still do it anyway. I understand that this is what the church calls us to do. I also understand that receiving the sacrament in this way is a very grave act. But here is my dilemma: we certainly should not be receiving, according to the church, but we go to Mass yearning for the bread of life and cup of salvation and express our faith in partaking. The vast majority of us do not do confession before every mass, or take the proper steps to be “in a state of grace.” In fact, I find that most people are constantly not in a state of grace (just by looking up a list of mortal sins). How then are we to be judged by this? I find so much of “official Catholic teaching” to be so legalistic and hard to follow.

Let me know how to open my mind to understanding this.

Thanks

 

[TheLittleLady]

“77 times” from the common parlance of that time is similar to me saying “a bajillion times” today. That number means an uncountable number of times.

As long as you have breath, there is forgiveness.

 

[kjs55550]

I understand that, that was not what I’m grappling with. I am grappling with the “processes” and “technicalities” of getting in a state of grace, based on official church teaching.

 

[humbleseeker]

The “process” to get in a state of grace is to avail yourself to the sacrament of reconciliation. It’s not overly technical.

 

[Traddy1962]

It’s not really that difficult. First one must be baptized, and it doesn’t HAVE to be in the Catholic Church; so long as the proper formula for baptism was used. Second, they should be in a state of grace before the receive. This means you can’t have committed a mortal sin, which the 3 requirements for mortal sin have to be met for it to be mortal. If you know you are in mortal sin, you must never receive Our Lord because that just incurs more mortal sin, no matter how badly you feel a desire to receive. This doesn’t outweigh the moral part of receiving our Lord unworthily. If you find yourself in a state of mortal sin, you need to go to confession and confess the mortal sin(s), before receiving the Eucharist. Keeping in mind that all known mortal sins must be confessed, any known mortal sins that are intentionally left out(due to embarrassment or whatever) just incur more mortal sin.

Hope that helps any.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I believe that the vast majority of Catholics (including myself) ought to refrain from the Eucharist as we may be receiving while not in a state of grace, but we still do it anyway. I understand that this is what the church calls us to do.

You seem to think that people fall out of the state of grace very easily, like on a weekly basis. While it’s true there are some people who are committing grave ongoing sins and don’t seem to be concerned, such as having sex outside marriage or living in some irregular relationship, there are also a great many people who don’t go around habitually committing grave sins. I know there are some people who find it difficult to believe that other Catholics aren’t committing grave sins regularly, but such Catholics are out there. Furthermore, even in cases where people do commit grave sins, they may be lacking one of the other elements such as full consent of the will or full knowledge that are necessary to actually eject them from the state of grace.

I would further suggest that unless these other Catholics are your very close friends or relatives and you’re intimately aware of their behavior, you shouldn’t be focusing on what others are doing or whether they might be gravely sinning, and further whether they confess regularly. You simply don’t know enough about most people outside your close immediate family and very close friends, to make that judgment. Many people do not commit grave sins so regularly that they would need to rush to confession before every Mass.

How about you just focus on your own self staying in a state of grace and not on what you think the “vast majority of Catholics”, many of whom you likely don’t even know personally, are doing?

I personally find it a little disturbing that when I get up to go to Holy Communion, there may be other Catholics sitting in the pews thinking, “There’s that bear going to Communion again, she must be in a state of mortal sin and should not be going” when they don’t even know me and don’t follow me around all day watching to see what I do and when I talk to God and when I go to Confession. But it’s good for my humility if people think that, I guess. I am certainly a sinner and for some years was a bad sinner (you wouldn’t have seen me marching up for Communion much because I usually didn’t even bother with Mass in those days) but in recent years have tried hard to mend my evil ways and make it up to God. I don’t wear a big placard announcing that to the strangers in the pews though.

P.S. And if you did happen to be out of a state of grace, as Traddy said above it’s not at all hard to get back in. I was out of a state of grace for at least 18 years if not longer. One day I decided to go to confession and try to be a good Catholic again. Confession took like 5-10 minutes and boom, I was back in a state of grace. God is kind and merciful and if we are sincere it is not hard to get back in a state of grace, and then receiving the Eucharist along with regular prayer helps keep us in a state of grace.

 

[DrawNearToGod]

After i developed fear of hell I gave up grave sin but still find myself in the confessional before every Mass because I find it hard to believe that i went from “zero to hero” for lack of a better term. (Not that a lack of grave matter means hero).

It’s mainly because of my judgementalism, unforgiveness, and resentment that I find it hard to believe I’m in a state of grace. Just stopping outward actions doesn’t seem enough.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Don’t you worry that you’re offending God by not accepting his gift of forgiveness and love, by continuing to doubt that you have really been cleansed of your sin and back in his good books?