“Sinners are dead while they live, and the just live after they are dead.” ~ St. John Chrysostom
If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, keep reading. If you know someone who is in this situation, I encourage you to share this e-mail with them.
Terrible is the state of a soul that finds itself in mortal sin. But, most Catholics in this state are acutely aware that they need to fly to the confessional and make a sincere act of contrition and a firm purpose of amendment, thereby bringing their soul back into a state of grace. And, so they do. However, there are more than a few Catholics that “choose” to persist in a state of mortal sin. Some even rationalize their sinful actions, justifying their terrible offenses towards God. Worse yet, some of those Catholic have even deluded themselves to the point where they even receive the most Holy Sacrament of the altar while knowingly being in mortal sin. Sacrilege!
“The devil wants you to pay attention to your feelings. Jesus wants you to pay attention to His Truth.” ~ Unknown
There are many reasons why some choose to persist in this state; shame, guilt, despairing of God's mercy or even believing that they have dug themselves into a hole so deep, that there is no getting out of it, so they double down in their wicked ways because, it's easier to do this than to swallow their pride and humble themselves before God.
Some even choose to persist in mortal sin because they are afraid of what their penance may be in order to receive absolution from the priest, and they are unwilling to do it – not even knowing what their penance might be, but assuming it will be something they feel like that they are not emotionally capable of doing such as; having to make restitution to someone they wronged, to publicly restore a reputation which they have calumniously destroyed or, even the fear of having to reconcile with a spouse. What is the common thread among all of these reasons? Unmitigated pride and a lack of humility. This is what caused them to fall into mortal sin to begin with, and so the vicious cycle of sin continues and the death of the soul persists. Oh, what misery befalls the soul who willingly chooses to commit spiritual suicide!
“Thou dost weep over a body from which the soul has departed, but not over a soul from which God has withdrawn Himself.” ~ St. Augustine
Here are the terrible consequences of being in mortal sin:
- He loses the supernatural beauty of the soul and becomes unclean before God.
- He loses charity towards God and towards his neighbor.
- His understanding is completely darkened, and his will immensely weakened.
- He loses the merit of all the good works he had previously performed, and none of those which he does in a state of mortal sin gain for him a reward hereafter.
- Finally, he is liable to fall into other mortal sins.
There will be no peace in this life or the next for the soul that chooses to remain in mortal sin. If you are lingering in grave sin because your sense of shame and/ or guilt is preventing you from repenting, you are only making things worse for yourself. Grave sin will continue to erode your soul and you'll find yourself falling into a worse and worse state over time. At the end of the day, it's your pride that will cause you to lose your soul. As the devil makes a playground out of your soul, your moral compass becomes all but useless, because you are unable to exercise the virtue of Charity; carrying out further acts of wickedness and your mental state becoming more bitter and hate filled.
Mortal sin brings temporal chastisements upon the sinner. God sends earthly punishments to restore the spiritual health of the sinner. The temporal penalty most certain to follow upon mortal sin is interior disquietude. Mortal sin destroys the serenity, the cheerfulness of the soul, as a high wind disturbs and ruffles the smooth surface of a lake.
“The wicked are like the raging sea, that cannot rest” (Is. Ivii. 20). Apprehension and terror follow mortal sin like its shadow. He who lives in mortal sin, carries hell about with him. ~ St. John Chrysostom
Mortal sin, moreover, brings temporal misfortunes on the sinner. Adam and Eve give us a perfect example. They were driven out of paradise, condemned to labor in the sweat of their face, and made subject to death, because of their sin. The most ordinary consequence of sin is sickness; hence Our Lord said to the man whom He had cured: “Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen unto thee” (John v. 14).
Want is sometimes the punishment of sin; witness the prodigal son (Luke xv.). The loss of property and of reputation are also consequences of sin, as is the case with thieves and drunkards. The guardian angels cease to protect those who give themselves up to sin. St. Basil says that as smoke drives away bees, so sin causes our good angel to depart.
And for those poor fools who have no contrition at all for their sin? On their last day, it would have been better had they never been born at all! How can one not pity such a person!
Many times, you will see Catholics in this state either abandon their faith altogether or degenerate to some fake, protestant “religion” in a vain attempt at soothing their guilty conscience, lying to themselves that they are still a good, “Christian.”
Even while in mortal sin, we are still obligated to keep the Lord's day holy, which means, we must attend Mass on Sundays and all holy days of obligation, even though we cannot partake in receiving the Holy Eucharist. Every Sunday and day of obligation that passes which that person does not attend, only compounds the number of mortal sins upon their soul, making their situation even worse!
“It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.” ~ Saint John Chrysostom
You find these people also abandoning prayer, which is exactly what the devil wants! When we pray, the devil and his demons flee from us, especially when we evoke the name of Mary. One cannot pray and sin at the same time. When one ceases to pray, they cease to ask for the graces they need to carry their daily cross and to avoid occasions of sin. Prayer is how we are given “our daily Bread”. We must ask for it! Yes, we have sanctifying grace while we are in a state of grace and we do, at times, receive actual graces from God without directly asking for them, but that is not always the case! We are nothing without the help of God and we must continually ask the Lord for His aid. When we are in mortal sin, we should be praying even more fervently!
This unfortunate soul may ask, “But, does God even hear my prayers when I am in mortal sin”?
Yes, He does! But, there is a difference between having our prayers heard and gaining merit. Father Darin Schmidt addresses the issue nicely:
"Can God talk to you if you have a mortal sin on your soul?
Yes. We distinguish between sanctifying (habitual) grace and actual graces. Now the name ‘actual’ grace might make it sound like we’re implying other graces are not ‘real’ graces, but they are named ‘actual’ because they refer to particular and passing actions, whereas sanctifying grace refers to the state of being, the habit of holiness that persists after baptism as long as we do not sin mortally. It’s the difference between doing things, performing certain actions, and being human or, with sanctifying grace, being a child of God.
Mortal sin takes us out of the state of grace. We lose sanctifying grace and the theological virtue of divine charity, but God could still speak to us because those would be actual graces, passing actions that God can grant even to someone who is not in the state of grace. And He might grant them precisely to spur us to repentance, to Confession, and a return to sanctifying grace.” (end quote)
If this were not the case, God would not be able to call people to convert to the Catholic Faith, or to stir the soul of a fallen away Catholic to return to the confessional and begin practicing their faith again. And, being able to make a good confession while in mortal sin would be impossible without actual grace from God. God's merciful heart will forgive all these people, even the worst of sinners... if only they ask for it!
The simple, yet not always easy solution
“One of the first things the devil always does is to make people stop praying.” ~ St. John Vianney
Do NOT stop praying! Continue your daily prayers, as usual. Even in mortal sin, daily prayer will drive away the devil and can gain you the actual graces you need to move your soul and your conscience to repent!
Pray the Rosary!
“No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up on sin or they will give up the Rosary.” ~ Bishop Hugh Doyle
Our Lady helps us immediately when we ask her for assistance! She will always obtain for us from her Son, what we ask, if for the good our soul!
Keep going to Mass! Being in mortal sin is not a hall pass to stop going! Mass is not about you. It's about giving God the worship that is due to Him and that you ARE obliged to render!
“Confession is an act of honesty and courage – an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.” ~ John Paul II
Lastly, GO TO CONFESSION! This should go without saying, but sadly, many people need to hear it. And yes, this is the most difficult step that you will HAVE to make. It requires you to humble yourself. Pray for the virtue of humility. Pray for the grace to confess ALL of your sins. Do not leave anything out. Do not tip toe around the circumstances. As one priest I know put it: Be brief. Be blunt. Be gone. Confession is not the time to sugarcoat things. Heaven forbid, you enter the confessional with four mortal sins on your soul only to leave with five because, your guilt or shame prevented you from being ABSOLUTLEY honest with the confessor.
Again, pray to our Lady for an increase in the virtue of humility and the grace to make a good confession. Pray the Litany of Humility. But most importantly, GO!
“I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone.” ~ St. Francis Assisi
Get yourself straight with God. Don't worry about the penance. It will most likely not be nearly as severe or difficult as you fear. And, should it be something that you were dreading? Well, this is the time to once again, humble yourself and exercise the virtue of obedience. You will most certainly discover that the anxiety of worrying about the penance is worse than what life will be like after the penance has been completed. You may even find true peace of soul and some new found measure of happiness and love in your heart. Is that such a bad thing?
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Prayers to Help Us Three Hail Marys Devotion Pray this every morning and evening to prevent (further) mortal sins from befalling you: Say three times in a row Hail Mary full of grace... By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, oh Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy. Oh, my Mother, preserve me this day (night) from mortal sin. Amen.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary to Obtain Holy Perseverance O Queen of Heavens, I, who was once a miserable slave of Lucifer, now dedicate myself to thee, to be thy servant forever; I offer myself to thee, to be thy servant forever; I offer myself to honor thee, and serve thee during my whole life; do thou accept me, and refuse me not, as I should deserve. O my Mother, in thee have I placed all my hopes, from thee do I expect every grace. I bless and thank God, who in his mercy has given me this confidence in thee, which I consider a pledge of my salvation.
Alas, miserable wretch that I am, I have hitherto fallen, because I have not had recourse to thee.
I now hope that, through the merits of Jesus Christ and thy prayers, I have obtained pardon. But I may again lose divine grace; the danger is not past. My enemies do not sleep. How many temptations have I still to conquer! Ah, my most sweet Lady, protect me, and permit me not again to become their slave; help me at all times. I know thou wilt help me, and that with thy help I shall conquer, if I recommend myself to thee; but this is what I fear, I fear that in time of danger I may neglect to call upon thee, and thus be lost.
I ask thee, then, for this grace; obtain that, in the assaults of hell, I may always have recourse to thee, saying, Mary help me. My Mother, permit me not to lose my God. Amen.
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Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to make a simple point: never mind what you've done, just come home. ~ Luke 15:11-32
Remember, you are loved more than you can possibly know! Christ shed His Blood for you! Don't let His sacrifice have been in vain! The Sacred Heart of Jesus is overflowing with love and compassion for YOU! He desires for you to come to Him for forgiveness! All you have to do is ask for it with true contrition and compunction in your heart!
So, do not despair! But, do not wait, poor miserable sinner! Our time on earth is the time to gain God's mercy through prayer, fasting and penance. Once we pass into eternity, we then face God's justice, in which we must render a full account and which no excuses can be made. Tomorrow is not promised to us! Saint Alphonsus Liguori puts it plainly, “Act as if everyday were the last of your life, and each action the last you perform.” If you keep that in mind, you will get yourself sorted out and flee from future sin.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Simply reply to this e-mail to let me know what you think!
May the Blessed Virgin Mary preserve you and keep you and lead you to Heaven!
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