Despair (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
Joseph Delany · 1913
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Description
A moral theology entry on despair, the voluntary and complete giving up of all hope of saving one's soul. It is no passive mood: will and intellect join in deciding that salvation is impossible. Motives vary, from sins judged too great for pardon to human nature judged too weak for grace, or God judged unwilling to help.
Mere dread of the future is not despair, and neither is the fearful shrinking of the faint-hearted, who still trusts while trembling at personal faults. Despair may also carry heresy when it assents to a claim against faith, such as God refusing needful aid. Counted always a mortal sin, it shuts off escape and often leaves its victims to surrender to every indulgence.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Joseph Delany |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 2 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |