Today, a slight change of pace during this season of "measured pace." Several individuals have inquired about my use of a sentence that in essence was as follows: Sins against the Holy Spirit are never forgiven. What does the Church teach in this matter? Most of us believe that God will forgive any sin. So, what is this sin against the Holy Spirit?"Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." [Mt. 12:32]
"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." [Mk. 3:29]
"And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." [Lk. 12:10]
So, it is clear that in the writings of the 3 Synoptic gospels there is such a thing as a sin against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven. Again, what is this sin?
Shaking up all the theological and dogmatic lingo, this sin can be expressed this way: it is to deliberately refuse to accept his mercy by repenting, rejecting the forgiveness of his /her sin(s) and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this sin can be best understood as a hardness of heart.
There are other sins that offend the Holy Spirit also cited in the Catechism:
1. Despair -- "By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy." (C.C.C. # 2091)
2. Presumption of God's mercy -- "There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God's almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit)." (C.C.C. # 2092)
3. Impugning the known truth -- (Clarification) To "impugn" the known truth means to attack it by word or argument, to resist it, to contradict it, or even to oppose the known truth or to challenge it as false.
4. Envy the spiritual good of another -- (Clarification: Regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians states, "All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually as the Spirit chooses." To envy the spiritual good of another is to question the Divine judgment of the Holy Spirit in His distribution of spiritual gifts. It is to be jealous of another person who has a gift different than one's own gift. Through envy, one rejects the gift that he has received from the Holy Spirit, determining in his own mind that the gift he has received is not good enough for him and he wants someone else's gift.)
5. Obstinacy in sin, (Clarification: To be "obstinate" means to resist the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, to be stubborn, to persist in sin, to be unyielding.)
6. Final impenitence -- (Clarification: "Impenitence" means to be uncontrite, unrepentant, hardened, unconverted, to be without regret, shame or remorse.)
All of the above can be found, along with other areas of Catholic interest on the Canadian website Catholic Doors Ministry. This question is answered in the FAQ section of the website.
