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gman
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 26th, 2007 |
| Location: | Virginia Beach, Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Mike | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | nondenominational |
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Posted: Thu Nov 29th, 2007 02:03 pm |
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First, please correct me if I am misunderstanding the RC doctrine on this, I believe I have it right from the materials I have been reading.
Is it true that if you die after commiting one of the mortal sins, say missing Mass one week, and die instantly in a car wreck the following Monday, that you are doomed unless you have undergone the rite of confession first?
I know this is one of the things we protestants throw out, that we don't need to see a priest to have our sins forgiven, we just confess them straight to God ourselves.
If RC doctrine is as stated in my scenario, I just have a hard time thinking that God would doom you for eternity just because you didn't have a chance to confess to a priest before you died.
Please help me work through this!
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New Creation
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| Joined: | Thu Nov 22nd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 79 |
| First Name: | Paula | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | wicca 9 yrs, Anglican 5 yrs, RCIA now! |
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Posted: Thu Nov 29th, 2007 02:25 pm |
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| I'd like to ask a question about this too. I am supposed to start RCIA next Monday. I'm guessing that I can't do confession and receive forgiveness until I am "official". So what do I do until then?
____________________
always a seeker
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CajunRick
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Posted: Thu Nov 29th, 2007 02:27 pm |
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gman wrote: Is it true that if you die after commiting one of the mortal sins, say missing Mass one week, and die instantly in a car wreck the following Monday, that you are doomed unless you have undergone the rite of confession first?
No.
Those who truly repent of their sins and have the intention to confess as soon as possible are forgiven instantly by God. Only unrepented sins, or the refusal to submit to the authority of the Church, will result in damnation.
God knows what is in our hearts. If we are truly contrite, God will forgive us even before we ask for forgiveness. However, that's not enough. When we sin, we hurt not only our relationship with God, but the entire Body of Christ as well. When we seek forgiveness from the priest, he forgives us not only on God's behalf, but also on behalf of the Church which we have wounded. He also pronounced those blessed words, "I absolve you of your sins."
The priest, by virtue of his ordination, stands as God's agent in the forgiveness of sins, but God is not limited by God's sacraments and is free to offer forgiveness outside of the sacrament. Otherwise, only Catholics could go to heaven!
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CajunRick
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Posted: Thu Nov 29th, 2007 02:29 pm |
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New Creation wrote: I'd like to ask a question about this too. I am supposed to start RCIA next Monday. I'm guessing that I can't do confession and receive forgiveness until I am "official". So what do I do until then?
You will be expected to confess shortly before you make your profession of faith. You are not subject to the authority of the Church until then, so you will continue to do whatever you did before. You can confess to the priest if you wish, but he will not give you sacramental absolution until you are nearly ready to be received into the Church.
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