The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-02-10
SIN AGAINST HOLY Ghost
THE TEACHING OF THEoLoGiANS
ON THIS SUBJECT.

cised by the Church with the words
of st. Matthew. Chap. xii. 81; 81. Mark,
ill. 20; st. Luke, xii. 10, which appar-
emily make the sin against the Holy
Ghost an exception to all absolution,
was solved i'm the Question Box by
stating that the sin against the Holy
Ghost is final impenitence. This is
the solution offered, not by the Church
but by st. Augustine.
This solution seems unsatisfactory;
in fact, st. Augustine himself does not
seem to be very proud of it. He says
at the close of his treatise: "As far
as have been able, If indeed I have
been to any extent able, have treated
this most difficult question" (Sermon
LXXI.) In Difference to st. Augustine,
st. Thomas gives final impenitence a
place among the possible answers to
the question, what is the sin against
the Holy Ghost, but does not adopt it
himself. According to st. Thomas the
sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin
that is committed from malice, not in
deed from the inclination of vicious
habit, but from malice, that SCOTS
at and tramples upon the hindrances to
sin. He, who despises the fear or mercy
of God, who combats the manifest truth
or grieves over the largess of grace
in the world, who minimizes the vile
ness or magnifes the fleeting good of
sin, all in order that he may more
freely sin, is said to sin against the
Holy Ghost. Hence presumption, de-
spair, impugning the known truth,
envy Of another's spiritual good, i'm
penitence (not final impenitence) and
obstinacy are called by st. Thomas
sins against the Holy Ghost. Bellar-
mine gives another solution. He says
that the sin against the Holy Ghost
is Ito attack a known and manifest
truth and to represent 1t as devilish
and detestable.''
There are two questions. There is
the question, which grew up in the
schools, what sins, since all sins are
against the Holy Ghost, should espe-
cially be called the sins against the
Holy Ghost. This question evidently
was suggested by the words of the
Gospel. but goes beyond them. The
other question is, what was the sin
against the Holy Ghost, which the
scribes in the passages indicated are
said to have committed. st. Thomas
gives an adequate answer to the first
question, but does not in the above
solution explicitly answer the second.
Bellarmine gives an answer to the Sec
ond, but does not answer the first. St.
Augustine does not satisfactorily an
swer either one or the other by final
impenitence. In fact, final impeni-
tence is not sin at all, but circum-
stance of sin, which may accompany
any grievous sin, If the sinner be cut
off in his sin. To make final impeni-
tence the sin of the scribes st. Aug
ustine had to do violence to the text
saying that Christ threatened them
with final impenitence, il they did not
cease ascribing his works to the un-
clean spirit. But st. Mark declares
explicitly that Our Lord said that "He
who shall blaspheme against the Holy
Ghost shall never have forgiveness but
shall be guilty of an everlasting sin" !"
because they said: "He hath an un-
clean spirit" mark ill. 30.) Appar-
emily the words of Our Lord referred
to a sin already committed, not to a
possible one, and furthermore He was
talking of a sin and not of it's pun
ishment. Final impenitence is proper
ly punishment of the sin He was
speaking about.
IL there liz solution to the ques-
ton that can be called the solution of
the Church, 1t In that the sin of the
scribes and all sins called sins against
the Holy Ghost are not easily forgiv-
en-. No sin is unforgivable. The
Church i'm practice and i'm the contro-
versies with the Montamiss and No
vations has always held that all sins
are forgivable and forgivable by
the power granted to the Church
by Christ, and exercised In His
name. In the grant, whatsoever you
shall loose" whose sins you shall
forgive" ETC., there lis the most ample
power to cover all sins. But will GER
tain sins be subjected to that power?
Not easily, not ordinarily, answers the
Church. Why? Because those guilty
OF such sins, not through frailty, not
through ignorance, but of set and de
terminate purpose, cling to them and
trample on the ordinary motives,
which move the sinner to return to
God. Hence ordinarily they are guilty
of an everlasting sin. But God i'm His
infinite power can excite i'm them ex-
traordinary motives or give to the or
dinary extraordinary force. We may
hopefully pray for any sinner. Scribes.
possibly, who listened to those words
of Our Lord, were converted; apos
tates returned to the fold. But gen.
orally such were In reality guilty OF an
Everlasting sin.