Friday, July 18, 2008

What God will not forgive, repeat, will NOT forgive


Jesus warned in the Gospel that some sins will not be forgiven by God. These are sins against the Holy Spirit.

Remember that the Holy Spirit is not a bird flying around, but the breath of God.

Here is a reminder of the sins against the Holy Spirit:

Presumption upon God’s mercy.
Despair.
Impugning the known truth.
Envy of another’s spiritual good.
Obstinacy in sin.
Final impenitence.

I will give examples of each so that their meaning is quite clear.

One presumes upon God’s mercy when one conducts evil and figures it will “all come out in the wash” because “God is going to forgive you anyway.”

One is guilty of despair when one figures that there are some situations God cannot fix. In other words, you rob God of his ability to assist you in obtaining forgiveness.

One impugns the known truth when you know that you are spreading falsehood about faith in God, and does so deliberately for reasons such as financial gain or to rob others of their faith.

Envy of another’s spiritual good is when you envy another human being because you dislike that they are holier or more spiritual than you, either in fact or in your perception.

Obstinacy in sin is an offense against the Holy Spirit because it occurs even when you have had access to a more faithful and virtuous life and yet reject it with full knowledge so that you can continue to sin.

Final impenitence is being deliberately sinful and in defiance of God up to the moment of death. One cannot “repent” after death when one actually sees the fires of hell and the reality of heaven that one has continually scorned.