Purgatory

November 6, 2023

Sometimes, when I meet a person for the first time or, maybe I'll just see someone doing something nice for someone else or, when I slowly get to know someone over a longer period of time, I'll think to myself, 'that person is going straight to heaven'.  Have you ever thought that about someone?  They seem to love everyone and they literally exude a certain holiness even as they go about their lives here on earth, almost as if they are in a constant state of grace.  They have discovered what it means to walk with Jesus and to live the life God intended them to live, loving God with all their heart, all their mind, and all their soul and their neighbor(s) as themselves.

However, these people are most certainly in the minority here on earth and are, when compared to most of us (myself included), a rarity indeed.  When I come across someone like this, I like to think that when they die, they're going straight to heaven.  But what about the rest of us, the vast majority of the approximately eight billion souls on earth today?  Are we going to hell?  No, we aren't and this is where purgatory comes in.

What is purgatory?  Often maligned and absolutely ridiculed by pretty much every Christian denomination except the Roman Catholic church (where it's a doctrine of the faith), purgatory is a place of purification for those souls who die in God's grace but still retain some vestige of, or the potential for, minor sin (also known as venial sin).  Another way to look at it is to say that purgatory is a place where the soul is cleansed of all impurities.  Not everyone dies in a perfect state of grace and yet we must be perfect to enter Heaven.  Jesus says, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) 

I have had other Christians tell me that they don't accept the Catholic Church's teachings regarding purgatory because it is not mentioned in Scripture.  They are correct if all you are looking for is the word purgatory.  However, the fact that the word is not mentioned in Scripture doesn't make it any less real.  Read on to discover why. 

First, I'd like to make deference to one of the great doctors of the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux.  I strongly suggest that you read what Father Dr. Hubert van Dijk, ORC has written regarding the teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux on purgatory by clicking this link.  After reading his treatise, you are welcome to come back here and peruse my thoughts on the subject if you wish to or you can read them now.

Here's a simplistic way to look at the 'why' of purgatory, possibly making it easier for those who reject the notion of purgatory to begin to understand it.  I think most folks will agree that heaven is a place of absolute holiness, I mean, think about it, you are in the presence of God!  The Beatific Vision is the ultimate, direct self-communication of God to the individual person.  A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, and it doesn't get much holier than that.

So, imagine a person (we'll call her Janet) who dies a good person, one who believes in God and spent her entire life trying to do His will.  Now, let's presume that Janet died with some minor faults, and one of these was that she always excessively judgmental of her neighbor Megan and wasn't all that charitable towards her.

After she dies (and remember in this scenario there is no purgatory), she is admitted to heaven and at some point, comes across Megan.  Would she still have the proclivity to judge Megan?  Is God going to take away her free will when she dies?  Has Janet somehow been miraculously cured of this susceptibility to sin that she had while she was alive here on Earth?  Judging someone is sinful (“Stop judging, that you may not be judged." Matthew 7:1) and I think we can all agree that there won't be any sin in heaven.  So, how will Janet get past these feelings when she sees Megan? 

Janet's soul will be cleansed in purgatory.  Any minor sins that stain her soul or, her inclination to sin, will be removed in purgatory where she will become holy enough that she can rejoice in the beatific vision of God.  Then, when she sees Megan in heaven, she will feel nothing but love for her.

The preceding explanation is just an example and I'm not saying that this is exactly how things are going to be but if you give it some thought, hopefully you will see that it makes some sense, explaining the concept of purgatory in a simplified way.  Remember, only holy people can be admitted into heaven to be with God.  The stain of sin, however minor, must be washed away before our souls can even bear to be in the presence of God.  It is likely that the free will He gave us when He created us will not be taken away when we die.  We need to come to that holiness of our own accord; it won't be something that is forced on us.  A lot of Christians will say that Christ died for our sins and yes, this is true.  But does that mean we can sin with impunity and expect to just waltz into heaven?  Doubtful!

The author of 2 Maccabees writes in Chapter 12, "He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.

But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Thus, he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin."  (2 Maccabees 12:43-46, NAB¹).

Purgatory explains this passage from sacred Scripture by describing to us the necessity to pray for those who have died.  I know this has been said thousands of times before, but it bears repeating, prayer can't help the souls in hell, and the souls in heaven don't need prayer (emphasis mine).  So, why would God, through His own Word, tell us to pray for those who have died?

So, the argument for purgatory is simple - nothing imperfect can enter heaven, and very few of us die perfect.  And, since we are all members of the Body of Christ, our every sin mars the entire Body of Christ, so to enter heaven we must be perfect, and God’s Mercy grants us this cleansing so that we are able to enter heaven if we have no mortal (deadly) sins on our soul.

"Purgatory, like the Trinity, is a doctrine that is not mentioned by name in Scripture.  It is, however, well attested to in the Old and New Testaments.  The Catholic Church teaches that purgatory is a temporary state of purification that takes place after death for those who die in the state of grace and friendship with God (cf. Rom. 11:22), but who still have the vestiges of temporal effects due to sin, inordinate attachment to creatures, and whose will is not fully united with God's will.  This purification involves suffering (St. Paul uses the analogy of fire to emphasize this), as the process of God's fiery love 'burns' away all impurities that may remain.  Once this process of purification is complete, the soul enters into God's presence, the beatific vision, in which the perfect bliss of beholding God face to face lasts forever." —Patrick Madrid²

¹The New American Bible (from the USCCB)

²Patrick Madrid (born November 8, 1960) is an American Catholic, author, and radio host.  Aside from his radio presence, Madrid is best known for his work in Catholic apologetics since 1987.  He hosts The Patrick Madrid Show on Relevant Radio weekdays 9-noon ET, discussing current events, modern culture, apologetics, and a variety of "God topics."  Madrid does not have guests or conduct interviews on his show, but instead, engages listeners with personal commentary and interacts extensively with callers.  He has conducted thousands of apologetics seminars in English and Spanish at parishes, conferences, and universities across the United States, as well as throughout Europe, Canada, in Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.  Since 1990, he has been a regular presenter at the Franciscan University of Steubenville's "Defending the Faith" summer apologetics conferences and has been a guest lecturer in theology at Christendom College in their "Major Speakers" program.  Madrid has engaged in at least a dozen formal public debates with Protestant, Mormon, and other non-Catholic spokesmen.

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