"State of Grace" and Confirmation

[Craisin]

Would someone please give a definition and clarification of the concept of “state of grace”? I am wondering this in light of reading another post regarding confirmation not being recieved in a “state of grace”.

I particularly recieved the Sacrament of Reconciliation in 2nd grade before my first communion. Despite being confirmed in 8th grade, I did not go recieve the Sacrament of Reconciliation again until I was 22 years of age. I know I commited some very serious sins in middle and high school. Does this mean that I did not recieve the graces given to me in confirmation until I was 22, or what???

Confused?? Thanks!

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Would someone please give a definition and clarification of the concept of “state of grace”? I am wondering this in light of reading another post regarding confirmation not being recieved in a “state of grace”.

I particularly recieved the Sacrament of Reconciliation in 2nd grade before my first communion. Despite being confirmed in 8th grade, I did not go recieve the Sacrament of Reconciliation again until I was 22 years of age. I know I commited some very serious sins in middle and high school. Does this mean that I did not recieve the graces given to me in confirmation until I was 22, or what???

Confused?? Thanks!

That’s generally correct, if you were in a state of mortal sin at the time. The Sacrament was received but the effects of the Sacrament and the Grace of the Sacrament were “blocked” until you went to Confession.

 

[japhy]

From various Catechisms…

Trent: “Confirmation, unless some obstacle be present on the part of the receiver, imparts new grace.”

Baltimore: “To receive Confirmation worthily it is necessary to be in the state of grace.” (173)

Pius X: “To receive worthily the sacrament of Confirmation it is necessary to be in the grace of God; know the principal mysteries of our holy faith; and approach it with reverence and devotion.” (Confirmation, 14)

Contemporary: “To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace. One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (1310)

 

[Craisin]

Thank you, these were all wonderful answers as to Confirmation!!

Can someone still please explain what it means to be in a “state of grace”?

 

[japhy]

Can someone still please explain what it means to be in a “state of grace”?

From the Catechism: “Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace.” (1861)

The Modern Catholic Dictionary defines “state of grace” as the “condition of a person who is free from mortal sin and pleasing to God. It is the state of being in God’s friendship and the necessary condition of the soul at death in order to attain heaven.”

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Thank you, these were all wonderful answers as to Confirmation!!

Can someone still please explain what it means to be in a “state of grace”?

Sanctifying grace is the life of God in our souls. We first receive it at Baptism; it is increased by worthy reception of the other sacraments.

We are in the “state of grace” as long as we have sanctifying grace in our souls. We lose all sanctifying grace when we commit mortal sin (the Holy Spirit does not dwell where He is not welcome). If lost by serious sin, sanctifying grace is restored by a good confession.

Basically, we are in the “state of grace” permanently once we are baptized, as long as we are not guilty of any mortal sin that has not been absolved.

 

[emhansen6019]

So what about venial sin? Does it remove us from the state of grace?

I am heavily involved in out Newman Center on campus, and we recently had a forum evening in which our priest presented on a topic within the Catholic faith and opened it up for discussion afterward. Our last forum was on heaven, hell, and purgatory.

We know that nothing unclean can enter heaven (Rev. 21:27). So if I die with venial sin on my soul, I’ll probably end up in purgatory because I’m not 100% clean.

Also, I was doing some reading on the Catholic teaching on the end of the world because a girl in my Bible study had asked about it, and I was unsure. From the reading I’ve done in the Beginning Apologetics books by Farther Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham, it says that in the general resurrection when Jesus comes at the second coming, the bodies of all the dead will rise. It also says “Those who are alive and not in the state of grace will be changed body and soul into the condition of the damned. Those who are alive and in the state of grace will be changed body and soul into the condition of glory.”

So…if I should happen to still be alive when Jesus comes at the 2nd coming, but I have venial sin on my soul, am I still in a state of grace, or will I be "changed body and soul into the condition of the damned’?

 

[japhy]

So what about venial sin? Does it remove us from the state of grace?

Long story short, no.

So…if I should happen to still be alive when Jesus comes at the 2nd coming, but I have venial sin on my soul, am I still in a state of grace, or will I be "changed body and soul into the condition of the damned’?

No, but I would suspect that the “process” of glorification would include the sensations of purgatorial cleansing.