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Is God’s grace limited to the sacraments?
So does this mean I can make a confession to God in prayer and he’ll forgive it just as he would if I had gone to confession with a priest?
While God can and does offer forgiveness for sins of those who have perfect contrition outside of the sacrament, He gave us the sacrament for several reasons. One as assurance that we are forgiven, secondly because many if not most people do not have perfect contrition, but rather attrition, which is sorrow for our sins because we fear the punishment for sin.
The seven Sacraments are the greatest source of grace, however when we are in a state of grace, (no stain of Mortal sin in our soul) then we can obtain graces through wuch means as prayer, (formal like the rosary, or a prayer of our own composition) charitable works, (feeding the hungry, instructing those who need assistance, etc, done for the glorification of God) The key is to not impose a barrier to the reception of grace, by being in a state of grace, and we do that most successfully by frequenting the sacraments, most of all confession and the eucharist. They strengthen our resolve and our spiritual growth.
Many people will eat well, and go to the gym, avoid cigarettes and excessive alcohol to strenghten their bodies. However they forget that in order to have a strong and fit soul, they also need to exercise it. By frequesnt reception of the Eucharist, confession and spiritual practices we exercise our soul, and become more fit as Christians. Because many people did not think of their souls, and neglected to nourish them, the Church imposed legislation that (Latin Rite) Catholics go to confession and receive communion at least once a year, (during Eastertide) and attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
Confession also takes care of the communal aspect of sin. Since we are all one body in Christ, anytime someone sins it is a stain on the entire body. The priest acts as a tangible stand-in for God, but also for the community which we hurt when we sin.
I gotch ya. Branching onto the mortal sin and grace part, if I am in the state of mortal sin and decide to say a rosary, I wouldn’t get grace as opposed to if I said it in a state of non-mortal sin?
Well, I don’t know if I would put it that way. God’s outpouring of grace is not dependent upon the state of your soul, rather your reception of grace is. The teaching is that when you are in a state of sin you are less open to receiving God’s grace because you are choosing to turn away from God.
If a person dies in this grave sin and is only repentant at the throne of God once he sees him in all his glory, do you think God’s grace will be enough to save this person if in fact he is thoroughly contrite? Or did he have his chance on Earth and now it’s too late?
God’s mercy is endless. If someone is repentant at the throne of God hopefully God will be merciful.
There is also a theory among theologians that when we are before the throne of God, and His judgement is pased on us, we will be in perfect agreement with His will, as his judgement is truly Just. We will understand exactly why we recieve the disposition that we are given.
If we have gone through our lives striving to follow God’s will and doing our best to live a life of Grace, we can depend on not only God’s mercy, but also that He will supply us with the graces we need to be truly sorry for our sins.
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