Sin separates us from God
“As a Church, we need to do a better job teaching the faithful about the consequences of mortal sin, and this is a message everyone needs to hear.
“Living in a state of mortal sin is dangerous for a soul because when we die in that state we will definitely cause the soul to spend eternity in hell away from God.
A friend asked me if people are aware of the old Roman Catholic teaching that a person should not receive Holy Communion if one is guilty of being in the state of mortal sin. I told him, I am not sure because nowadays we do not really preach nor talk about it. Allow me to discuss here about sin. We still have two categories of sin, namely mortal sin and venal sin. But what we will talk about today is mortal sin.
What is mortal sin? The word comes from the Latin word “mortale,” which means causing death. It is the purposeful severing or ending of our relationship with God through sin. All sin hurts our relationship with God, but some sins are so severe that committing them is us actively choosing to turn our back on God and no longer be in a relationship with him.
For a sin to be mortal, it needs to meet these three criteria.
First, the act has to be a grievous matter. Second, we know that the act is wrong, and third, we have chosen to do it freely, with full consent and commit the sin. So, we know it is wrong, we know God has said not to do it, and yet we make a freewill choice to do it anyway. By those circumstances, we damage our relationship with God through this action and choose a life without a relationship with God. Remember that for a sin to be mortal, the above three conditions must be present.
Living in a state of mortal sin is dangerous for a soul because when we die in that state we will definitely cause the soul to spend eternity in hell away from God. Yes, hell exists, my dear friends.
In disobeying the Ten Commandments of God, we commit mortal sin.
The Church teaches that those in mortal sin should repent and be reconciled with God first before receiving Holy Communion. A Roman Catholic person under the state of mortal sin is still welcome and encouraged to attend Mass, but should not receive the Eucharist until he or she restores his or her good relationship with God through Sacramental Confession.
Holy Communion is a sacred banquet in which Jesus becomes intimate with us. He desires to be one with us in Holy Communion, much like a married couple becomes one flesh.
Jesus has a heart; He knows how we feel. Jesus feels hurt everytime we commit mortal sin. So when we know that we have committed a sin, we must first apologize and beg for God’s forgiveness. He will surely grant it in the saving sacrament of confession. And then, once our broken relationship has been healed, we can return to the intimate banquet of the Eucharist.
As a Church, we need to do a better job teaching the faithful about the consequences of mortal sin, and this is a message everyone needs to hear.
God desires us to always be in a relationship with Him in this world and continue that relationship for eternity with Him in heaven.
God loves us, however. He does not force us to be with Him for eternity if we don’t want to.
God is constantly there to forgive and restore the relationship with us. All we have to do is go to confession, acknowledge our sin, and ask for forgiveness. God is always waiting for us in the confessional and desires to fix that relationship.