Of Prison and Purgatory

Tonight was my return to the Rayburn Prison after my short vacation. It was good to be back with my brothers in community. After preaching a little bit tonight on All Saints Day, coming up this Sunday, we got into a discussion about purgatory. Is it real? What is it like? How long do you go there? Is it punishment?

So I thought we could go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and review purgatory. The section that addresses purgatory starts with paragraph 1030: "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. Then paragraph 1031: "The Church gives the name purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence(1439) and Trent(1563).

The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire (1 Corinthians 3:15 states: "But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire." A cursory exegesis of this points out that St. Paul can envision very harsh divine punishmentbut he appears optimistic about the success of divine corrective means both here and elswhere. Also, look at 1 Peter 1:6-7 where we read: "although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuiness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at te revelation of Jesus Christ." Exegesis reveals a long standing belief that the new life of faith must be subject to many trials before achieving fullness of salvation.)

We also read: "As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgement, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. (Based on Matthew 12:31)

Paragraph 1032: This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." (2 Maccabeus 12:46). From the beginnin the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: "Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesistate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them." (See Job 1:5).

In addition to these paragraphs about purgatory, one can trace the writings on purgatory from St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, St. Gertrude and St. Robert Bellarmine. We have the teachings of the Church also from Mary's appearance at Fatima.

John Paul II addressed purgatory in a larger address about the existence of hell in July 1998.

What is the greatest takeaway from this is that purgatory is an assurance of heaven and an opportunity for final purification. It is a dogma of our faith and one that we should not be afraid of. We should also return to the practice of praying for souls in purgatory as they cannot pray for themselves.

So as we approach All Saints and All Souls days, let us remember the souls in purgatory and pray for their entrance to heaven.