Sin and suicide

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Hello:

I am trying to find out if a person has considered suicide is it a moral sin, thus damning them to hell.

scared
 
I don’t know the answer, but if they THINK it’s not a mortal sin then is it their fault for not knowing and therefore will they still be damned in hell forever?

What about those with psychological disorders who aren’t capable of looking into this level of detail?

I’d think a just God would take everything into consideration
 
We know that God is a merciful God. When a person commits suicide they are not in control of their mental faculties. Depression is an illness that left unattended can sometimes lead people to contemplate suicide. God cannot condemn someone who did not know what they were doing. The Lord’s mercy is never ending. When someone commits suicide we pray to the Lord for them and their family.

The family of the victim of suicide is in need of love, support and consolation. There are many questions, and some may go unanswered. We as Christians live with the hope of resurrection. In consoling the family, we have to remember that the victim was sick, he or she probably did not know what they were doing. He or she did not realize the hurt caused to their family and friends as a consequence of their action, therefore we need to pray to God to have mercy on his or her soul.
 
Not only is it a commandment not to kill (which includes killing yourself), Judas died from suicide. It is a traitors death. It is taking the gift of life given by God, and deciding it’s just not good enough for you. Of course, in all circumstances God is the judge, but if one is well enough in their right mind to understand this, one should know better than to kill oneself. If a person doesn’t know, then they most likely are relieved of mortal sin, because culpability requires knowledge of wrongdoing.

Plain and simply put, yes, suicide is a mortal sin.
 
Hello:

I understand that suicide itself is a mortal sin, thus damning one to hell.

But what I am trying to find out is the act of considering suicide a mortal sin?

scared
 
Thoughts are only sinful when they are willful. You have to let it go, encourage the thought, indulge the thought for it to be sinful. We all have thoughts in our heads sometimes that simply don’t belong there. You have to take control of those thoughts, use your better judgement, and get rid of them. If you know you’re headed down a path you should not be following, and you don’t take steps to change your ways when you could, when you have the power to do so, that is when you are in sin. For some, this is extremely difficult, especially when considering suicide. For those idividuals, it is imperative they seek help and not try to fight the battle alone. Christ himself needed help carrying His cross.
 
So how does this fit in with God knowing everything about the past present and future? Apparently we have no choice in the matter?
 
So how does this fit in with God knowing everything about the past present and future? Apparently we have no choice in the matter?
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Feh, as if to watch a person do a thing was the same as to make him do it. Kemosabe, that’s an easy one.

Anyway, I would say that “considering suicide” counts as entertaining a temptation, which I don’t believe is a mortal sin. And, since you’re obviously still here, you didn’t give in. Way to go!👍

There was, until recently, a ban on burying suicides with Christian burial. I know in much of Europe they were traditionally buried at a crossroads with a stake through their heart, instead.:eek:
 
People know a bit more about the human mind than they did even 100 years ago (not that we know all THAT much).

I believe that a prelate once (Bishop Sheen? Cardinal Cook? not sure) was walking past a woman who was weeping because her husband had comitted suicide by jumping off a bridge. He stopped and said to her, “Don’t worry. He repented before he hit the water.”

So, the act of suicide is gravely sinful, but the conditions for mortal sin–full knowledge, grave matter, and full consent–may not be there for any given individual. . .or may be repented before death. In any case, we may trust to God’s mercy above all. WE obviously can never know fully the state of any person’s heart/mind/soul–not even our own. . .
 
Suicide is always a grave sin, not always mortal though if it doesn’t meet full knowledge (pretty hard not to meet that though since is it natural moral law, written in our hearst and minds) and/or full consent.

From the CCC - surely this should have been posted already by the 10th post in a thread about suicide? (-:

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.
 
Flopfoot said:
Suicide is always a grave sin, not always mortal though if it doesn’t meet full knowledge (pretty hard not to meet that though since is it natural moral law, written in our hearst and minds) and/or full consent.

From the CCC - surely this should have been posted already by the 10th post in a thread about suicide? (-:

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.

2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.

2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.

Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.
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so for individuals who are in despair and say maybe depressed, they wouldn’t be cast into Hell for taking their own lives? I would hope not after what they’ve been through in their earthly lives…
 
I just posted this same anecdote in another thread, but there is evidence in the Church that God allows the dead a last chance to repent. This would not, of course, eliminate expiation for sin, but any true repentance is sufficient to avoid damnation.

For example, Padre Pio told a woman who was very concerned over a loved ones’ suicide - after consulting with his guardian angel - that the man had in fact repented and was in Purgatory.

So the apparant (to some) impossibility of repenting of a mortal sin committed at death (in fact, causing death), does have a solution. God provides a way.

This should, frankly, provide little comfort to anyone considering suicide, however. 1st off, the pains of Purgatory are nothing at all to sneeze at, from all we’ve been told told my mystics throughout the ages. 2nd, turning to God gives anyone the strength to live, albiet possibly with severe suffering. There is never an honestly “good” excuse for suicide (of course!).
 
even if people are not damned to Hell for suicide, as mentioned, they will end up in Purgatory. I don’t know what Purgatory is like but at the very least, one’s punishemnt might be having to live the life of misery they were enduring in life for a super super long time before being let out. It certainly can’t be any better than the worst possible situation one can be in their own lifetime on Earth. Moral of the story, if you believe in God don’t kill yourself since you certainly aren’t going to Heaven, you may end up in Hell, and at best case scenario you are going to be in even more pain for a longer period of time in Purgatory than one could ever live in a lifetime on earth.
 
scared said:
Hello:

I am trying to find out if a person has considered suicide is it a moral sin, thus damning them to hell.

scared
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Matthew 5:28
28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

A little stretch? Is suicide is seriously considered it is a sin.

CCC
1493 One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience. The confession of venial faults, without being necessary in itself, is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.
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You can be forgiven
 
Remember that none of us here on earth–not even priests–know for sure whether a soul will go to heaven or hell. Only God knows. We have no way of knowing what God knows of the state of someone’s soul or of their repentence. We only know that God is merciful and we need to cooperate in the lives we lead and the choices we make. So even if something is a mortal sin, we can put ourselves back in a state of grace by repentence and renouncing sin.
 
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