The teaching of the Church on
Purgatory is brief. The Council of Trent taught:" There is a
Purgatory and the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the
faithful'. The Council Fathers went on to warn against superstitious practices,
but they encouraged the suffrages of the faithful for the dead- Masses,
prayers, alms and other works of piety.
The Second Vatican Council taught:
" This sacred council accepts loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors
in the living, communion which exists being us and our brothers who are in the
glory of heaven ,or who are yet being purified after their death and it
proposes again the decrees of the Second Council of Nicea, of the the Council
of Florence and of the Council of Trent."
Pope Benedict XV1 in his encyclical
Letter of Hope focused on the judgement of God, even the possibility of
damnation. He refers too to I Cor 3:12-15 which reads:
" We personally have to pass
through fire so as to become fully open to receiving God and be able to take
our place at the table of the eternal marriage feast".
Pope Benedict suggests that Hope is evident in the intermediate state of Purgatory. He raised the theological speculation that the 'fire' of Purgatory is a cathartic encounter with Jesus Christ at the moment of judgement. The fire of purgation is not so much punishment, rather a way of receiving the saving work of Christ, in atonement of the debt set up by the echoing effect of our sins.
Purgatory can be understood therefore
as the Divine Mercy beyond death. Therefore, this intermediate state in
eternity is not so much a second chance as an intensification of God's patient
and severe mercy. The Church teaches that Purgatory is a state of being
where we are loved intensely by God and where our conversion is completed.
God's purifying love embraces the souls detained in the merciful process of
Purgatory. They cannot be lost and are saved. They are detained to
be purified, refined and enabled to adjust and be prepared for the full
enjoyment of the Beatific Vision and the glory of eternal resurrection.
God wishes all of us to be
saved. Some of us put off the call to holiness or attend to it in a lukewarm
manner here on earth. So purification is necessary after death. Some of
us suffer more than others and seem to experience our purgatory on earth. And of
course, there are the death bed conversions.
Let us not ignore the teaching of the
Church on Purgatory- do not be fooled by the evil one, who wishes us to believe
it does not exist. Purgatory is a place of hope, mercy and love.
Purgatory- a place of purification makes perfect sense to me. My late
father was very fond of quoting Fr Corapi when he used to say to me
'remember to pray for my soul because "I won't be perfect when I check
out"'
May your All Souls Day be a blessed
one for you, and your deceased relatives and friends.
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