If God is love, why can't He forgive mortal sins through the Eucharist if He is present in it?

In the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (yes, that’s a hard word to say) which we profess on Sundays and other solemnities, we say “I believe in one God, the Father almighty.” We confess that God is almighty and indeed He is. Therefore, one easily wonders, why can’t the all-powerful and loving God forgive one’s mortal sins through the Holy Eucharist since the Eucharist is God?

One cannot say it enough: God always loves us and will always love us. God’s love is infinite and peaceable. Mortal sin, however, tries to stop His love from penetrating our being, our soul.

If someone has committed a mortal sin three things are assumed. The person did something that was gravely wrong. The person had full knowledge that it was sinful. And, the person freely and intentionally did the sinful act anyway. When a person sins mortally it is an action of the mind and heart which close off one’s self to God’s grace and love. Interiorly, the person says to God, “my will be done on earth” instead of “Thy will be done on earth.” And therefore, even though God continues to love the person, the person refuses to receive His love.

The necessary condition for mortal sins to be forgiven is simple: we must come before God with a penitent heart, with a heart that wants to return fully to God and to His Church, our brothers and sisters. God will always forgive us if we come to Him with a repentant heart. Repentance is key for God to forgive us. He is always offering His love and forgiveness to us, but it’s only if we turn away from sin and sinful inclinations that God’s love and forgiveness penetrate our being, our soul.

Can God forgive us through His Presence in the Holy Eucharist? Certainly. He does it whenever sinners come to Him. Many people, by kneeling before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament whether at Mass or outside of Mass, are given the grace, the capacity by God to finally confess their sins internally before Him at the moment, and then externally in the sacrament of penance. Yes, the Church tells us to confess any mortal sins in number and kind in the sacrament of penance before receiving Holy Communion (see Catechism, 1457). This may be the real question of the person asking: may I receive Holy Communion with an unconfessed mortal sin on my soul? The simple answer is “no.” We are told to confess all mortal sins before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion so that we may be properly disposed to receive God’s love. If a person approaches God in Holy Communion or anywhere not having let go of sin or at least having the desire to let go, God’s grace and love wash off the person like water off a goose’s back. In fact, it could be worse. The person who approaches Holy Communion intentionally unrepentant commits another mortal sin called sacrilege, meaning one treats God or the things of God with great dishonor and disrespect.

When we sin it is not only a sin against God but also against His Church with whom we should be in full communion. This is why the priest, Jesus Christ present in the ordained minister in the sacrament of penance, reconciles you both to God and to His Church. We need both to become holy. When we admit, out loud, the wrong we have done, it affects and brings a healing remedy to the soul and helps us in the future to stay with God and His Church. Our hearts no longer condemn us. Our hearts become peaceable, for we are reconciled to God and the Church whom we have offended and hurt.

A good way to get into the habit of confessing one’s sins is by praying an Act of Contrition every evening before you go to bed. This prayer tells God your sorrow for sin and reminds your soul what is right and wrong. It also is a continuous reminder to come before the Church’s minster, the priest, to ask for reconciliation with God and His Church.

The soul who is sorry for the wrong done, who desires to do God’s will, to choose what is right and to avoid what is wrong and acts upon it, is blessed indeed. Actively going to the sacrament of penance allows the love and mercy of God which is so abundant in the Holy Eucharist to fill that soul and move that person outside his or herself toward reconciliation with God and with one’s brothers and sisters.  

Building the courage to tell one’s mortal sins to the priest is most easily accomplished by kneeling or sitting before the almighty and all-loving God in the Holy Eucharist who can forgive any sin no matter how big.

Fr. Evinger is pastor of St. Joseph in Killdeer, St. Paul in Halliday and St. Joseph in Twin Buttes. If you have a question you were afraid to ask, now is the time to ask it! Simply email your question to [email protected] with the “Question Afraid to Ask” in the subject line.