Who Dies in a State of Mortal Sin, this one perpetuates his departure from God and the Church forever

Who Dies in a State of Mortal Sin, this one perpetuates his departure from God and the Church forever

There are people, who do much harm to others and cause them much suffering. They are cruel and unfair. They are consciously trampling on God's commandments, disregarding the sins committed.

There are also those, who do not accept God's call to conversion. Finally, there are also such, who postpone conversion. They say, that in their old age they will think about God and their own salvation. Do they realize it, how bad is sin ? - What may happen to them as a result of such conduct ?

Jesus Christ warns unrepentant sinners

Jesus Christ was called the friend of sinners. He spoke of the Father's incomprehensible love for the "prodigal son". He called himself a shepherd who tirelessly searched for lost sheep. Jesus forgave sinners who turned and defended the harlot from stoning. Yet Jesus also said these serious and hard words :

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off ; it is better for you maimed to enter eternal life, than with two hands to go to hell into an unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off ; it is better for you to come into life lame, than to be thrown into hell with two legs. If your eye causes you to sin, rake them out ; it is better for you with one eye to enter the kingdom of God, than to be thrown into hell with two eyes, where the worm does not die and the fire does not go out " (Mk 9, 43-48).

Christ's words : "To be thrown into hell into the unquenchable fire", you will hear in 26 Sunday during the year (year B), they speak of the damned state, which is an irreversible condition, eternal. The condition of the damned is the result of his continuing sin.

Christ, who loved people so much, that he gave his life for each of us, to save everyone from eternal damnation, more than once he warned against this terrible and incomprehensible danger. These serious and hard words of Christ are also a warning, which you read in the Gospel of St.. Brand : better to lose everything, which is even so expensive, like a hand, leg or eye, than to be damned forever.

The mysterious reality of hell

The moment of death irrevocably and irretrievably strengthens our relationship to God. If a person dies in a state of mortal sin, he will be separated from God forever. God gives this to man at the time of death, what he consciously and voluntarily wanted during his life and which he did not renounce to the end. God never violates man's free will,
Based on the words of Scripture, which speak of eternal punishment, man tries to fathom this mystery. During his life, he got to know God by faith, now she recognizes it even more clearly, who is God. He realizes, that he himself had excluded himself from eternal life with God. The more he suffers.
In life, he could enjoy hope, now he has lost it forever, what could he expect - the everlasting joy in communion with God and His saints. He was called to love God and people, but he rejected this love forever. Now she can't love, can only hate. All this is a source of despair for the damned. The punishment of eternal rejection will affect the whole person, therefore, after the resurrection of the bodies, also his body.

The scriptures speak vividly about hell

During the liturgical year, you will hear many excerpts from Scripture. about God's righteous judgment on sinners and about hell. To understand these different sayings of Scripture, you should be asking about it, what the inspired author wanted to say through these pictures. For this, it is necessary to distinguish between the literary genre and the content.
Many of these statements are related to the image of the structure of the world, what the Israelites and Christians of the apostolic times had. They thought, that the world is built, as it were, of three floors. The lowest floor is the underworld, where the dead were, and at the very bottom of the damned. The second floor is the surface of the earth, where people face trials and fulfill God's plan. Finally, the third floor is the world above the ground, over the heavenly vault, where, In their opinion, God resides and all are saved. That is why the people of that time placed hell in the basement, and the sky above the firmament of heaven.
Today we know, that the whole universe is completely different, than the people of that time imagined. In the Scriptures. we cannot search for information about the structure of the universe and about it, where is heaven and hell. God used an inspired author and his images, but by this he wanted to teach us about salvation, about invisible reality, what is heaven and hell.
Christ also teaches about hell, using different images. When speaking of Hell, he often uses the image of fire. For example. Christ ends the parable of the net thrown into the sea for a catch with these words :
,,So it will be at the end of the world : the angels will come out, they will separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the furnace that is burning ; there will be crying and gnashing of teeth " (Mt 13, 49-50). Despite such sentences, like the last one, we cannot literally imagine hell as a kind of fiery furnace. ,,Stove on fire ”is a symbol of the wrath of the most holy God, who justly judges all unrepentant sinners and leaves their sins unpunished.

How will I answer God ?

When you hear the words of the Gospel of St.. Brand (Mk 9, 43-48), quoted in today's catechesis, remember, that Christ warns you against taking your sins lightly and calls you to conversion. How do you accept this warning and Christ's call ? Do you put off your conversion until later? ? How do you pray morning and night for God's light and strength to overcome sin? ? There is no such sin, whom God could not forgive, because Christ repented of all sins. You have to trust God completely.

You can express a request for forgiveness in the words of a psalm 129 :

“From the depths, I cry to you, Lord,
Oh lord, listen to my voice.
Incline your ears
to my loud plea.
If you keep the memory of sins, Lord, Lord, who can stand ?
But you are forgiving, that you may be feared.
I trust in the Lord, my soul nourishes : I am waiting for your word.
My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen of the dawn.
Let Israel seek the Lord.
For there is kindness with the Lord
and with him plentiful redemption.
He redeemed Israel
from all his sins ".

■ Think:

1. How Christ dealt with sinners during his lifetime on earth ?

2. Why did Christ talk about hell ?

3. What do you know Christ's sayings, in which he warns sinners against hell ?

4. Why is the moment of death so decisive for a person ?

5. How should the images of Scripture be understood?. talking about eternal punishment ?

■ Remember :

61. What is the death of a Christian in a state of mortal sin ?

The death of a Christian in a state of mortal sin is the fixation of his departure from God and the Church forever.

■ Task :

Remember different statements about hell and say something, which of them are a distorted image.