Trusting In Mercy Vs Presumming On Mercy

[BarbTherese]

Good question!
My take: It is impossible for a person who is [u]perfectly[/u] trustful and confident of God's Loving Mercy to commit a mortal sin in the first place, but human nature is only perfected in Heaven. The virtues are all intimately linked and one cannot be perfect in one without perfection in them all. Perfect trust in God's Mercy (but not only) would understand that it is not deserving in any way whatsoever of God's Mercy, while it is a gratuitious Gift of God that He is in His Love eternally disposed to give to the [u]truly[/u] repentant and sorrowful for all offences against Him. Undoubtedly, in Heaven, many will eternally praise the Glorious and Loving Mercy of God and, again, in praising one attribute of Our God, we praise them all.

Imperfect human nature is not only incapable of perfect trust in God's Loving Mercy this side of Heaven, but some of the saints attest that it is possible even knowing that they are indeed truly repentant and sorrowful that God has indeed granted to them His Mercy. Our earthly life and our faulted human nature is full of many pitfalls.

Hence for imperfect human nature that does trust in God's Mercy (imperfectly), one theoretically could commit a mortal sin and either prior to it or immediately after remember that it can be confessed in a good Confession, remembering that a good Confession asks that one has a firm intention of not repeating the sin or sins. And if I commit a mortal sin thinking prior to the sin that it can be forgiven in Confession (a probable faulted understanding of the theology of sin, Confession and also of God's Mercy) hence not to be concerned, then I have committed two mortal sins : presumption and the sin itself. A good Confession in this latter instance would ask that a resolution is firm not to be presumptive on God's Mercy again, as well as a firm intention not to commit the sin itself again. In other words, in an ideal world, if one commits the sin of presumption, it would be the first and last time. We do not live in an ideal world and our human nature is faulted and weak and inclined more towards self indulgence and self service than Love of God. To my mind, Jesus knew this and gifted us with the Sacrament of Confession.

What has been also warped through original sin is our knowledge of what brings our true happiness.

Morally speaking, there is a difference between trusting in God's Mercy and incapable due to internal or external pressure of resisting temptation (meaning that mortal sin is not present), and the situation of feeling quite free to commit a mortal sin because God will forgive it in Confession. In this latter instance, it is doubtful that true sorrow (sorrow for the offence with a firm purpose of amendment) requested by a good Confession would be present, and if this is so, it renders one's Confession authomatically invalid. We receive absolution conditional that we are truly sorry for sin with a firm purpose of amendment. Absolution is not 'magical', it asks dispositions on our part and it is Jesus to whom we confess and who forgives. And He knows our heart.

Edited September 6, 2012 by BarbaraTherese