Fearing Death Because We Are Not Perfect

Jesus said go and sin no more, but we are not made instantaneous saints. unless we die on a good day right after confession, how can we live without fearing death since we can never be perfect even if we live to 100 despite prayer and asking for Holy Spirit to help. how can we live focused on grace instead of condemnation?

That is a very good question that requires some stepping back and looking at exactly what is a Saint. Someone who is a "Saint" is not that same as someone who is and always was "perfect." Someone who is perfect is someone who is without sin, actual or original. The Church teaches that Jesus and his mother are the only two people born who were ever perfect.

The Saints were not... by any stretch. Look at our first Pope - he denied Jesus three times during the passion and Jesus made him the head shepherd. Saint Paul was a persecutor of Christians before his conversion and was responsible for the the death of the first Christian martyrs. St. Augustine denied the faith, was a fornicator, and fathered at least one child out of wedlock.

So, if you are a sinner, you are in good company. In 1 John 5:17 it is written "All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal." Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God--there is no disputing that. But why would Paul tell Christians in Rome to keep the faith--"otherwise you too will be cut off" (Rom 11:22)--unless he feared for their salvation? There are other times when the apostle indicates the necessity of remaining with Christ lest salvation be lost (1 Cor 9:27, Phil 2:12). Yet salvation is not lost by every sin; as James says, "We all stumble in many ways" (Jas 3:2).

You are fortunate as a Catholic. No matter how many times you stumble and fall, you can always go back and drink from the endless well of forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where our sins are wiped away and we can try again. Just like St Peter, Augustine, and Paul, God knows we are going to stumble along the way. He loves us just the same.

I hope this has helped.