Some are afraid of it. Others anticipate it. Some regard it as evidence of divine compassion; others view it as a sign of divine anger. Many are unaware of it, while many more have lost touch with what they previously understood.
The “it” refers to purgatory, and regarding Catholic doctrines on the afterlife, the Church’s perspectives on purgatory have historically been some of the most debated and misinterpreted.
Nevertheless, in spite of all the chaos, the principles themselves are not particularly intricate. At their core, they can be distilled into nine fundamental truths — truths that not only clarify the Church’s teachings but also uncover the everlasting importance of those principles for us and for those we have lost.
So, what are those fundamental components?
1. Purgatory exists
It might appear to be a straightforward observation, yet for certain Catholics, purgatory has turned into what pastor, writer, and blogger Father Dwight Longenecker referred to as “the overlooked teaching.”
“Numerous contemporary Catholics are unfamiliar with the concept of purgatory now,” stated Father Longenecker, who writes at Standing On My Head. “They’ve embraced the notion that sin carries no repercussions, that all individuals enter heaven since God is too kind to place anyone in any other realm.”
The Church’s teaching on purgatory, on the other hand, asserts the contrary. It alerts us to the fact that sin carries repercussions — everlasting ones — and that although God embodies Love, he still respects the free decisions made by individuals.
“That’s the frightening acknowledgment God gives the being,” remarked Dr. Regis Martin, a theology professor at Franciscan University and the writer of “Still Point: Loss, Longing, and Love of God” (Ave Maria, $11.95). “He regards the liberty we wield with utmost seriousness, even when it leads us directly to hell.”
With that noted, he went on, “While we can hope that few are so evil as to willingly remain miserable eternally without God, not many of us are so blameless that we can be instantly propelled into God’s embrace. The majority of us find ourselves in the middle ground.”
Thus arises the necessity for purgatory — the ultimate refinement of individuals who pass away in harmony with God yet have not completely severed their ties to sin or made amends for their misdeeds in this existence.
“When we come before Christ the Judge, all the compromises we’ve accepted, all the ambiguous situations our decisions have taken us into, must be addressed,” stated Martin. “We need to settle our accounts with the Judge.”
What’s An Indulgence?
An indulgence is a remission from either part or all of the temporal punishment a soul must undergo because of sin. We’re able to receive this remission thanks to the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, as well as the suffering, sacrifice and good works of all those united with him in perfect friendship — namely, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.
How do I get an indulgence?
Indulgences can be obtained in many ways, including making pilgrimages to holy sites, such as basilicas and shrines. Indulgences are also attached to special occasions, such as papal blessings or attending Mass on particular feast days, as well as through routine acts of piety — reading the Scriptures, praying the Rosary or the Way of the Cross and Eucharistic adoration.
General conditions for gaining an indulgence include:
– A Catholic must be in a state of grace.
– He must have no attachment to sin.
– He must make a good confession to a priest and receive Holy Communion.
– He must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (typically one Our Father and one Hail Mary).
– No more than one plenary indulgence can be obtained each day.
– The indulgence may be obtained for oneself or applied to the souls of the deceased.
2. Purgatory is not just a form of punishment.
It’s a gracious blessing and an evidence of God’s affection.
“Occasionally, individuals learn about the torment of souls in purgatory and they perceive suffering as the wish of an unforgiving God, a God who demands his due,” stated Robert Corzine, vice president for Programs and Development at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.
“But that’s far from the truth,” he went on. “God grants us forgiveness right away when we request it. The purpose of suffering is to reverse the harm we’ve caused. It’s God the Healer administering the cure to shape us into true reflections of Christ.”
And flawless representations of Christ are precisely what God invites each of us to transform into.
As per the Catholic teaching on salvation, God’s intention goes beyond merely rescuing us from hell — from a condition of everlasting separation from him. At its core, he seeks to liberate us from sin, from falling short of becoming the individuals he intended us to be.
“God resembles an exceptional heart surgeon, attempting to provide us with the new hearts we require,” Corzine stated. “However, we continue to squirm on the table, pulling away from the scalpel. Thus, death is akin to the anesthetic. In purgatory, we are no longer capable of resisting the healing we require, allowing him to complete the work he started during our earthly existence.”
3. The distress experienced by spirits in purgatory isn’t bodily anguish.
Over the years, creators aiming to express the anguish of purgatory have illustrated individuals afflicted by a raging fire. However, these images do not serve as a direct depiction of the events occurring in the purgative condition. They cannot be. Within purgatory, the spirit exists apart from its physical form, meaning it can only experience suffering on a spiritual level, rather than a physical one.
That doesn’t imply, though, that the fires of purgatory aren’t genuine. They are.
“The flame through which we are cleansed is an inner blaze fueled by love for God,” stated Susan Tassone, who has authored seven publications on purgatory, including “Prayers, Promises, and Devotions for Holy Souls in Purgatory” (OSV, $9.95). “Right after their passing, the spirits in purgatory witnessed God in all his splendor. They observed his love, his kindness, and the intentions he held for us. And they long for that. They crave for it, with a desire that exceeds the warmth of any terrestrial flame.”
Put differently, the main anguish experienced by individuals in purgatory is the absence of the vision of God. They endure what Tassone referred to as, “a spiritual fever.”
As that fever intensifies, it cleaves the soul from transgression, a mechanism that is nearly as excruciating.
“To the degree that we are bound to our sin, breaking free from it causes pain,” remarked Corzine. “Perceiving it in all its terribleness — how it harmed us and others, how it diverted us from God’s ideal purpose — no actual fire could feel as agonizing as that.”
4. The spirits in purgatory undergo happiness, in addition to suffering.
In the “Divine Comedy,” while Dante journeys through purgatory, the spirits he comes across endure pain, yet unlike the spirits he found in hell, they accept their suffering willingly and joyfully, devoid of self-pity and always ready to embrace their trials once Dante’s inquiries come to an end.
In their enthusiasm, those imaginary beings affirm the lasting Catholic doctrine that purgatory is not the farthest chamber of hell, but instead the foyer of heaven. Each soul in purgatory is destined for glory. Their destiny has been determined, and in the end, it is a fortunate destiny. Thus, the duration they endure in purgatory, whether brief or extended, is characterized not solely by anguish, but also by happiness.
“Anything of value necessitates suffering to achieve advancement, but that suffering comes with a benefit at the conclusion,” stated Father Longenecker. “At times, it can be beneficial to view purgatory similar to the journey of becoming physically fit. There’s discomfort, but it’s an indication of advancement. It signifies that you’re heading towards your desired destination. This transforms it into a joyful suffering.”
5. Our supplications for the deceased hold eternal significance.
The spirits in purgatory may be destined for redemption, yet the journey of purification can still be prolonged and excruciating. Aside from meekly yielding to the cleansing flame of Christ’s affection, there’s little those spirits can do to hasten the process or alleviate the suffering.
That’s where we step in.
“We ought to be fervent in seeking graces for the souls in purgatory,” remarked Tassone. “Once the soul departs from the body, the opportunity for earning merit comes to an end. The soul is in a state of vulnerability. This is why they require our intercessions — the Rosary, adoration, the Stations of the Cross, and, most importantly, the Mass. The Masses we have dedicated to the souls in purgatory represent the most profound act we can perform for our cherished deceased. This is due to the fact that the Mass is the utmost expression of worship, the supreme form of prayer.”
Praying For the Holy Souls
How can you help the souls in purgatory?
1. Pray the Rosary for departed friends, relatives and the most forgotten souls.
2. Daily, recite this simple prayer: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
3. Visit a loved one’s grave and say a brief prayer for them.
4. Have a Mass celebrated for loved ones on the anniversary of their death.
5. Have 30 days of Gregorian Masses celebrated for loved ones through the Pious Union of St. Joseph or other missionary orders that offer this ministry.
“It truly is one of the most comforting beliefs of the Church,” Martin remarked. “No one is isolated. We are supported by the shoulders of giants, with Christ being the greatest of them all. Our hardships and sacrifices can be transformed into real help for the holy souls due to his suffering and sacrifice.”
In several respects, he elaborated, our connection to individuals in purgatory is merely a furtherance of “the rationale of love,” where “You reach out so that someone else may find it less challenging. And that tenet isn’t constrained by mortality.”
It is likewise not constrained by time. The Church instructs that purgatory functions beyond the limitations of space and time as we perceive it on earth. This indicates that we should continuously pray for those we have lost.
“No prayer goes unrewarded,” Tassone remarked. “The prayers we offer for our dear ones over the span of our lives contribute to guiding them into heaven.”
6. The sacred spirits advocate on our behalf.
The spirits in purgatory are unable to assist themselves, yet the Church has historically held the view that they can act on our behalf: They can intercede for us, aiding in the acquisition of the graces necessary for us to adhere to Christ more faithfully.
“We are blessed with remarkable intercessors among the holy souls,” Tassone stated. “They care about our salvation. Their desire is to aid us in recognizing the evil of sin and the significance of aligning our lives with God’s will, ensuring that we can enter heaven directly upon our passing.”
This is even more accurate, she went on, for the souls currently in heaven, whom our prayers assisted.
“These spirits act as our secondary guardian angels, sheltering us,” she clarified. “This is due to the blessing we assisted in bestowing upon them, which is the Beatific Vision, the ultimate gift above all.”
7. The Church’s doctrine concerning purgatory is based in Scripture.
If you seek scriptural proof for purgatory, begin with the Second Book of Maccabees (12:45), in which Judas Maccabee instructs that prayers and offerings be made for the deceased warriors who engaged in idolatry just before they passed away.
“Their entreaty suggests that there exists hope even after death for those who have sullied themselves,” Martin remarked.
In the New Testament, St. Paul similarly alludes to the purifying fires of purgatory when he states, “If any man’s work is burned up he will suffer loss though he himself will be saved” (1 Cor 3:12-15). He also appears to intercede for the soul of Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy 1:18.
Furthermore, as stated by Corzine, the presence of purgatory is the sole method to comprehend scriptural statements such as, “No unclean thing shall enter [heaven]” (Rv 21:27), alongside directives such as “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
“Reason necessitates purgatory,” Corzine stated. “In the absence of a means of purification post-mortem, the number of souls in heaven would be minuscule, made up solely of those who permit God to refine them during their lifetime.”
8. Purgatory was not a creation of the medieval Church.
While the Church did not formally establish the doctrine of purgatory until the late Middle Ages (beginning with the Second Council of Lyons in 1274), the conviction in a cleansing state following death dates back to the origins of the Church.
“The continuous testimony of Church history indicates that Christians have consistently prayed for those who have passed away,” stated Corzine. “Long before the term ‘purgatory’ was ever used, they acknowledged the necessity of offering prayers and having Masses celebrated for those who have departed this world.”
That continuous testimony encompasses the writings of Church Fathers and Doctors from the first century onwards. It also consists of accounts of Catholics observing the anniversaries of deceased relatives with Masses and prayers, the practice of burying the dead as one of the spiritual works of mercy, and centuries of Christians who bequeathed money in their wills for Masses to be offered for their souls.
Corzine stated, “Since the damned cannot gain from our prayers and the blessed in heaven require no prayers from us, that enduring testament suggests a different place or condition where souls reside who can benefit from them.”
9. Purgatory resembles a spiritual summer session.
How’s that?
To begin with, similar to how being in a classroom in January is less challenging than being in one in July, enduring the difficulties and making the sacrifices necessary for spiritual growth is simpler on earth than it is in purgatory.
Partially, that’s due to the fact that “on earth we continue to possess our physical bodies,” stated Father Longenecker.
“Our responsibility is to be transformed to Christ,” Father Longenecker shared with OSV. “That’s an obligation we are meant to fulfill here, and it’s a duty for which we are meant to utilize our bodies. It involves a physical aspect to it.”
This means that with our physical bodies, we are able to perform beneficial actions that help us detach from sin and selfishness. We can deliver a meal to the new mother next door, purchase a coffee for the homeless man in the city center, refrain from chocolate throughout Lent, and undertake pilgrimages to sacred sites. Without a physical form, all those tangible acts of compassion — every method of loving and aiding others, in addition to making amends for sin — cannot be accomplished.
At a more basic level, purgatory resembles summer school since, similar to summer school, attendance is not mandatory for anyone.
“Purgatory isn’t meant to be the standard,” Corzine stated. “God provides every one of us with the graces required in this life to achieve sainthood. We are capable of doing all the work needed to attain holiness here. We merely have to utilize the graces He offers us at present.”
Emily Stimpson is an OSV contributing editor.
