What happens to those who die with discord in their hearts?

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Ann_Stanton

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I have been thinking about dead relatives. Many in my family disliked the Catholic Church and members of the Church. Can they be reconciled with relatives who are Catholic? How can I be reconciled with these relatives? Will I be able to see them in Heaven or will it not matter because I am going to Heaven?
 
Thank you. I have prayed a 54 day rosary novena for them in the past.
 
Check out the CCC starting at paragraph 842. I know how you feel since all of my relatives by blood are not Catholic. And my dad died and my mom is old. They do not understand when I tell them about adoration, or when I say I prayed the rosary with them in mind. When I proudly told my mom that my daughter had her first confession, she kind of quietly scoffed.

I think Jesus knows their hearts and there have been some times when deep down they saw some truth in what the Church teaches. My dad for example used to love listening to Fulton Sheen. I doubt he admitted this to his fellow man-made church goers.

Before I thankfully became Catholic, I sensed something truly holy and sacred about the Church. I think many non-Catholics secretly do. The decision to become Catholic can be difficult.

Remember, God is merciful.
 
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CCC 1861 says, 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. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

Rebellion against the Catholic Church, which is the very Church of Christ, is serious matter. As the Catechism also says in 1857, For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

Though their dislike of the Church (which I can only assume suggests rebellion against it as well) is certainly grave matter, they may not have met the other conditions for mortal sin (which, as I cited, is what leads us to damnation). So, there remains hope for them. They may well be able to be saved, but you should certainly pray for them and fast when you can, offering it up for their salvation. This is something we should do for deceased Catholics, so imagine how much more we should do it for those who died apart from the Church.
 
No, more like I am so intent on pure worship I will not notice their absence.
 
I have a couple close relatives who died while giving every indication of hating close family members.

One of them went so far as to forbid any kind of obituary or funeral or even to let his own children know he had died.

Another one never reconciled with the Church, while in an irregular relationship, and had enticed several people away from the church when she left it herself.

Quite frankly, it scares me to think about their afterlife.

But it doesn’t matter. I hope for a secret deathbed conversion that nobody knew about and offer masses for their souls,
 
Thank you for your answer. These relatives were not Catholics at any point. At least one of them had dementia for many years prior to their death. Yes, their ultimate end in the afterlife does scare me.
 
Somebody with dementia is not making decisions with free will, so God would take that into account when considering their sins.

If these people lived good lives according to whatever their religious tradition was, I think there’s a good chance God would just send them to purgatory for a while rather than to Hell.
You should just pray for their souls.
 
No mortal can say with any authority exactly what will happen to your relatives.

All we can do is pray for them.
 
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