Temporal punishment due for sin?

[Jacob_B]

What types of punishments are due for sin?

For example say I commited a mortal sin, then I went to confession. I know i am now forgiven but what types of punishments are now due for my sin?

Does God Actually punish us in some way? Do we suffer some kind of hardship?

 

[kepha1]

Let’s say you kill somebody, and go to confession and are forgiven. But you have to pay the consequences of that sin…you sit in jail for a very long time. That MAY meet God’s justice, and if you don’t pay now, you will pay later.

Let’s say you throw a rock through my window. You repent, go to confession, are forgiven, and get absolution. Jesus paid for your sin. But what about my window? Does Jesus pay for it? No, that’s your responsibility. Paying for the window is the temporal punishment for throwing a rock through it.

But what about all the “broken windows” we did not get around to paying for in our lives, metaphorically speaking? God’s justice needs to be satisfied, and that is why there is purgatory. Temporal punishment occurs in this life, or the next. And God is so loving He accepts our prayers in lieu of after-death purification.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that David was forgiven for seducing Bathsheba and killing Uriah, but his son still died and his family was broken by Absalom’s revolt.

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man. Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul; 8 and I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, * the child that is born to you shall die.”

2 Samuel 12:7-14

 

[guanophore]

Let’s say you kill somebody, and go to confession and are forgiven. But you have to pay the consequences of that sin…you sit in jail for a very long time. That MAY meet God’s justice, and if you don’t pay now, you will pay later.

Let’s say you throw a rock through my window. You repent, go to confession, are forgiven, and get absolution. Jesus paid for your sin. But what about my window? Does Jesus pay for it? No, that’s your responsibility. Paying for the window is the temporal punishment for throwing a rock through it.

But what about all the “broken windows” we did not get around to paying for in our lives, metaphorically speaking? God’s justice needs to be satisfied, and that is why there is purgatory. Temporal punishment occurs in this life, or the next. And God is so loving He accepts our prayers in lieu of after-death purification.

This is an excellent example. Another might be that two teens fall into fornication, and a child results. They may go to confession, and receive absolution, yet they still need to deal with the consequences. Perhaps “consequence” is a better term? Will they compound the sin by aborting? Will they give up the plans they have for their young futures to raise the child? Will they suffer the pain of giving up the child? All of these are the temporal consequences of their sin.

 

[Vincent]

Does God Actually punish us in some way? Do we suffer some kind of hardship?

According to the Catechism,

. . . in has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the “eternal punishment” of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. **These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, **but as following from the very nature of sin.
​

 

[jjformica]

A wonderful priest in my parish explained it this way…

When we commit sins it is like driving a nail into a piece of wood. Going to confession merely pulls the nail out of the wood, but the damage (i.e. the hole) remains. Even if we die without unconfessed mortal sins on our soul, we must spend time in purgation (Purgatory) to “fill in the holes”, so to speak, and make our souls whole again and worthy of being in God’s presence. God does not “send” us to Purgatory; the soul chooses to accept purgation in order to be cleansed and made worthy of our eternity spent in God’s presence.

If we die with mortal sins on our soul we, of course, go to hell; having chosen to reject God altogether.

 

[guanophore]

A wonderful priest in my parish explained it this way…

When we commit sins it is like driving a nail into a piece of wood. Going to confession merely pulls the nail out of the wood, but the damage (i.e. the hole) remains. Even if we die without unconfessed mortal sins on our soul, we must spend time in purgation (Purgatory) to “fill in the holes”, so to speak, and make our souls whole again and worthy of being in God’s presence. God does not “send” us to Purgatory; the soul chooses to accept purgation in order to be cleansed and made worthy of our eternity spent in God’s presence.

If we die with mortal sins on our soul we, of course, go to hell; having chosen to reject God altogether.

I really like that analogy. This verse jumped out at me this morning:

John 5:13-14
13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.”

It is hard to imagine a worse temporal punishment than being ill for 38 years. However, eternal punishments are “worse” than temporal. We can also wonder, what sin did the man commit? If he was paralyzed, lying by the pool, is Jesus referring to feeling sorry for himself, or faithlessness in God?

 

[CentralFLJames]

God can at His sole discretion permit you to serve your punishment here on earth, or later in purgatory or a combination of the two. The good news is that we can get a remission for the time God wants us to serve in purgatory - which the saints tell us is infinitely worse than any imaginable punishment on earth in terms of suffering the separation from God in the certain knowledge of His goodness.

So, Catholics should use every available Church facility to try to remit the portion of punishment that must be served in purgatory while still alive. There are hundreds of different indulgences that each of us should be constantly working. One can even gain a full plenary indulgence for the full penalty owed in purgatory but these are very hard to gain since one must be very very repentant and utterly devout. But by working many indulgences regularly once can grew progressively in grace an increase their favor with God to remit more and more of their punishment. On Divine Mercy Sunday we have promises of full plenary as well if we commit to this devotional. Anyone who is not Catholic is missing HUGE HUGE graces and opportunities available only through the merits of The Mystical Body of Christ - The Catholic Church.

James

 

[Ceil-1]

Plus, we must be purified because we have soiled our robes.

 

[bengal_fan]

Let’s say you kill somebody, and go to confession and are forgiven. But you have to pay the consequences of that sin…you sit in jail for a very long time. That MAY meet God’s justice, and if you don’t pay now, you will pay later.

here is the problem with this analogy…
God’s justice HAS BEEN met. Jesus paid the penalty that God demands for sin. what you are speaking of is the punishment that MAN demands for sin.

Let’s say you throw a rock through my window. You repent, go to confession, are forgiven, and get absolution. Jesus paid for your sin. But what about my window? Does Jesus pay for it? No, that’s your responsibility. Paying for the window is the temporal punishment for throwing a rock through it.

i love this one…
paying for the window is not punishment… this is where Christians get it wrong. it is reconciliation. it is not a negative but a positive. i have wronged you. God forgives me. you forgive me (well, you do if you believe Jesus when He says that if you forgive you will be forgiven… if you don’t forgive you won’t be forgiven). but the window still needs to be paid for. because of the forgiveness given to me by God and by you… i desire to pay for the window because i want full reconciliation with you. it is not a punishment, but a gift that i get… to take part in reconciling our relationship. “he who is forgiven much will love much.” if i break God’s window… guess what. that window has been paid for by Jesus. any debt we owed to God was paid in full on the cross. the reason to do “penance” is to show God our thankfulness for the gift He gave us… not to pay for something that has already been paid for.

But what about all the “broken windows” we did not get around to paying for in our lives, metaphorically speaking? God’s justice needs to be satisfied, and that is why there is purgatory. Temporal punishment occurs in this life, or the next. And God is so loving He accepts our prayers in lieu of after-death purification.

God’s justice was satisfied on the cross. it is called “satisfaction atonement” and was first fully taught by anselm of cantebury. purgatory is not a punishment or a payment for sins. we have NO POSSIBLE WAY to ever pay for any sins. Jesus did that. purgatory is a cleansing before we enter into God’s presence. a purging of the stain of this world. it is not a punishment… it is a bath. the dirtier we are, the harder God has to scrub. it will not feel particularly good i am sure, but it is not a punishment. it is a gift.

 

[bengal_fan]

Perhaps “consequence” is a better term? .

yes it is.

 

[bengal_fan]

I really like that analogy. This verse jumped out at me this morning:

John 5:13-14
13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.”

actually, Jesus is calling the guy out. read the story again. the whole thing. the man did not want to be healed. Jesus asked him and the man gave an excuse of why he couldn’t heal himself. the man never asked Jesus to heal him and never responded to Jesus’ original question with a “yes.” this is proven by the man’s reaction. he doesn’t thank Jesus (not that a lot of the recipients of His power did). he simply picks up his mat and walks home. on the way he is approached by the pharisees and they attack him (verbally) for carrying his mat on the sabbath. he immediately tells them the one who healed him told him to do it (blaming some one else rather than rejoicing at his healing, he lets fear take over). then Jesus sees the mad and tells him not to sin anymore “that nothing worse befall you.” the bible says the man immediately went and told the priests it was Jesus who healed him (for he didn’t know who did it originally). as soon as he knew the name, he went and gave Jesus up to the pharisees. this man is a precursor for judas and Jesus simply saw that and pointed it out. this passage has nothing to do with temporal punishment but in denying completely the work of Christ in our lives.