4

Did any medieval Catholics have a pious belief that immediately after death, God gave people a last chance to repent of their sins and thus save their immortal soul from going to hell for all eternity?

I recently came across the following tidbit about St. Padre Pio in which he affirmed his own belief that repentance immediately after death was possible.

"I believe that not a great number of souls go to hell. God loves us so much. He formed us at his image. God loves us beyond understanding. And it is my belief that when we have passed from the consciousness of the world, when we appear to be dead, God, before He judges us, will give us a chance to see and understand what sin really is. And if we understand it properly, how could we fail to repent?" - Close encounters of a special kind with Padre Pio: The Souls in Purgatory, The Guardian Angel, the devil.

This got me thinking of what a priest that once told me some years ago: “Some Catholics in the Middle Ages (500 AD - 1500 AD) had a pious belief that immediately after sinners had died, Our Lord gave them a final chance to repent!”

The priest in question is no longer amongst us and I have never known him to state something like this erroneously.

Can anyone find any references from any Catholic sources about the possible existence of this pious belief during the Middle Ages?

Improve this question
5
  • I am not sure, but I think that Cardinal Cajetan speculated about that option.
    – Thom
    Dec 5, 2019 at 23:34
  • @Thom I doubt it was Cdl. Cajetan (1469-1534); he was after Benedict XII's 1336 dogmatic definition (although Cdl. Cajetan was heterodox in his interpretation of the "exceptive clause" of Mt. 5:32 & 19:9).
    – Geremia
    Dec 6, 2019 at 16:50
  • 1
    @Geremia Joseph White, O.P. comments on this here at 1:11:50.
    – Thom
    Dec 6, 2019 at 18:48
  • @SolaGratia I am not saying this is a tradition or that saints have held this pious belief. I am simply asking for reference dating from the Middle Ages on this subject matter.,
    – Ken Graham ♦
    Dec 7, 2019 at 2:44
  • 1
    @Thom That opens the door to the possibility of demons repenting, too, but they are obstinate in evil (I q. 62 a. 2; cf. Cajetan's long commentary on that article).
    – Geremia
    Dec 7, 2019 at 4:33

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

John XXII (reigned 1316-1334) (in)famously held the opinion that one's particular judgment did not occur immediately after death. His successor Benedict XII (reigned 1334-1342) defined the following dogma in Benedictus Deus (1336):

we define that according to the general disposition of God, the souls of those who die in actual mortal sin go down into hell immediately (mox) after death and there suffer the pain of hell.

Thus, those who die in a state of mortal sin do not have a chance to repent after death.

Now that this dogma has been defined, it's not a pious opinion but heresy to hold a contrary view.

Improve this answer
7
  • 3
    "Mox" often means "soon". What's your source for translating it "immediately" instead?
    – Matt Gutting
    Dec 6, 2019 at 20:12
  • I know what the Church professes in this domain, but I am looking for a reference to the existence of a particular pious belief that some Catholics may have held during the Middle Ages.
    – Ken Graham ♦
    Dec 6, 2019 at 22:55
  • 1
    @MattGutting Even if mox isn't synonymous with statim here, his statement still excludes repentance after death.
    – Geremia
    Dec 6, 2019 at 23:24
  • 3
    If mox means "soon" rather than "immediately" (statim), the possibility seems to exist that the soul is judged at some short time after death, rather than immediately at death. That would leave open the possibility of repentance immediately after death, and judgment soon (mox) thereafter.
    – Matt Gutting
    Dec 7, 2019 at 6:13
  • 2
    @MattGutting "That would leave open the possibility of repentance immediately after death" No. He affirms that "the souls of those who die in actual mortal sin go down into hell," regardless of how soon after death.
    – Geremia
    Dec 7, 2019 at 21:07

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .