THE SIN OF PRESUMPTION

 Question:

"I don't understand the sin of presumption.
Is it deliberately sinning, because you can go to confession before committing the sin?
    Or, is it deliberately sinning, because it can be confessed later?"

    Think about what you are saying in the first part. How can you confess and be forgiven of a sin that you have not yet committed? Does a man go to a doctor to set his leg before he breaks it?
    It is the combination of premeditation, and then the ACT OF THE SIN, that drives forgiveness.

This is how the old Catholic Encyclopedia defines the sin of presumption:

It may be defined as the condition of a soul that...  hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon of sins without repenting of them.

    One wonders how sincere a person’s love for God is when he is readily willing to sin, and then disparages God's forgiveness.
    But God cannot be fooled.
    He reads hearts and knows our sincerity.
    To firmly decide to sin, and then act on that sin is to offend God. Then, because one thinks he can be forgiven for doing so, he has sinned TWICE.... and no absolution is possible for either.
    This is using God like a stooge, reducing him to a utility at the service of your whims. It is to laugh at his passion and death.

"Okay, well, what about committing just a little sin, with the idea that God will forgive you?
Its just a small offense - surely that is not a mortal sin?"
    
    Are you willing to bet your soul on that?
    The sin might be a trifle, yes. And if you committed it without deliberate intent, it could be forgiven and amount to nothing in the grand scheme.
    But your premeditation to commit the sin on the expectation that you can get away with it because of God's forgiveness - that is the big no-no.

The Baltimore Catechism puts it this way:

Q. 1183. What is presumption?
A. Presumption is a rash expectation of salvation without making proper use of the necessary means to obtain it.

Q. 1184. How may we be guilty of presumption?
A. We may be guilty of presumption:

1. By putting off confession when in a state of mortal sin;
2. By delaying both the amendment of our lives and repentance for past sins;
3. By being indifferent about the number of times we yield to any temptation, after we have once yielded and broken our resolution to resist it;
4. By thinking we can avoid sin without avoiding its near occasion;
5. By relying too much on ourselves and neglecting to follow the advice of our confessor in regard to the sins we confess.

    In the situation you describe, the sin to worry about is the sin of presumption. The sin of presumption is cumulative. It starts out with committing small sins, because you have decided that small ones are inconsequential, and getting forgiveness for those is easy.
    But you are planning to sin, then acting on the sin, thinking that God will let you slide... that is what trips you up.
    You are presuming that God will forgive your little sins. But you sin against God by having no intent to resist sin, and worse, to make His forgiveness your PRESUMED bargaining chip when you act on your pre-planned sin. 

    But over time, this conscious pattern of presumption dulls the mind to sin - you become de-sensitized to it, if you will, and are led to presume that God will forgive any sin you come up with, including whatever mortal sins you intend to commit. 
    An example of this is the man who habitually lies with prostitutes, then goes to confession over and over thinking he's covered...and can then go do it again.
    But that sort of man has dug himself an inescapable hole. Why?
    Because, his presumption makes him lack the very thing most needed to receive forgiveness of mortal sin: the abject and utter sorrow (called perfect contrition) for his grave sins against God.
    Without that, one is only playing with a revolving door, and God will not fall for such a farce. 

    I would also suggest that those who presume this way, refusing to submit to God's will during life, are in serious trouble when it comes time to die.
    A great many such sinners plan on a "deathbed repentance," where they finally confess with true contrition all they have done wrong against God.
    But playing such games, with a steadfast refusal during life to do God's will does not give much hope of a deathbed repentance.
    Firstly, God has promised forgiveness to those who TRULY repent. But He has never promised time to fully repent.  
    God says Himself that death may come to us at any moment, and blessed is the one who is already prepared for Him at that hour.

    That alone does not bode well for those caught in the sin of multitudinous presumption.

    Secondly, even granted some form of regret, the ingrained dispositions of a soul which has steadfastly refused to do God's will during life do not give much hope of suddenly attaining a perfect love of God and perfect sorrow for past sins at the last instant.
    Such a soul has done nothing to deserve the happiness of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.... and may not even know HOW to TRULY embrace it after a decades of playing loose with it. 
    If such a soul dies with partial, or imperfect contrition, thanks to a lifetime of abusing the Sacrament of penance and forgiveness, it is lost. 

    We are warned over and over by God against the presumption of delay in our obedience to Him. To carry on in sinful dispositions, determined to go on with them because God says he'll forgive them is the conduct of a fool. The only safe preparation for a good death, is a good life.

I suggest adopting this prayer from the Divine Mercy Chaplet: “Eternal Father, I offer you the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and for protection against this temptation.
For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on me and on the whole world.” Amen.

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