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repentance


dairygirl4u2c

Is repenting out of fear of hell enough to justify true repentence such as that out of love of God?  

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anyway, I was talking generally with the intention of warning against the sin of presumption, because it is hard to truly objectively judge our own intentions. I do not presume to know the mind of any individual who believes they are sorry solely out of love of God, I would merely caution them to be cautious of the sin of pride.

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[quote name='Aloysius' date='Jul 25 2005, 01:19 PM']I would say many many many saints never had 'perfect contrition', it is not a requirement for sainthood.  That's not a bad thing, it should be acknowledged in humility.
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he, that actually makes me feel a bit better...
Even after I confess and receive the sacrament, I can never fully shake off the feeling of fear... been that way since I can remember.

I was truly unaware that perfect contrition was not a prerequisit for Sainthood. I guess I just naturally assumed otherwise. Does any Saint come into mind that would fit that bill?

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I know [i]at least[/i] at one point in St. Ignatius Loyola's life he was constantly going to confession out of fear of hell. I don't think he necessarily had [i]perfect[/i] contrition even by the end of his life (because you can't even have 1% of another reason other than pure pure love of God)

hmm.... someone like St. Francis probably did have perfect contrition.

I'm thinkin someone like St Thomas Aquinas might not have had [i]perfect[/i] contrition

I don't know, because this is really something that no one can judge without being able to read your soul, not even you yourself can objectively judge it very well.

[the above commentaries on those saints are merely my opinion cause we could never really know]

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[quote name='Aloysius' date='Jul 25 2005, 03:21 PM'][snip][the above commentaries on those saints are merely my opinion cause we could never really know]
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:) Maybe you should include a general disclaimer in your signature to avoid any unpleasant reactions!?!? lol... just kidding there...

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thessalonian

We are told in Proverbs I believe it is that "the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord". When one first becomes a Christian and repents many times it is out of fear of hell. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling Peter tells us. Later as we grow in knowledge of Christ love of him takes over and it is out of offense to him that we repent. So once again with catholicism it is both/and rather than either or. That is why you continue to ask these questions of Catholics, yet never really frame it right.

Edited by thessalonian
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