The Last Things: Purgatory

By Father Michael N. Lavallee
pastor, St. Peter Parish, Northbridge

In his book Purgatory, author Michael J. Taylor asks, “Is the concept of purgatory disappearing from Catholic belief and consciousness?” Taylor suggests that “changes in Church practice, along with new theological developments, are to a degree responsible for the current minimal interest in the concept of purgatory.” Yet, Taylor clearly asserts that “purgatory remains an official and defined teaching of the Church and has been so since the Second Vatican Council. Its doctrinal status was reconfirmed at the councils of Florence and Trent.”

Mr. Taylor explains that the councils of Florence and Trent “speak of a post-death process of purification where sinners more fully atone and satisfy for their offenses against God and neighbor.”

No serious consideration of the Church’s teachings on Catholic death and burial practice would be complete without a brief exploration of the doctrine of purgatory. As Michael J. Taylor observes in his book, this exploration is more necessary than ever as some contemporary Catholics may believe that purgatory is no longer part of what the Church believes. Certainly, however, this is not so. As much as heaven and hell exist as realities in God’s universe, so does purgatory, where God’s mercy prepares the souls of the deceased to enter heaven’s joy.

What exactly is purgatory? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as “a state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for those who died in God’s friendship but were only imperfectly purified.” The Catechism simplifies this definition by stating that purgatory is “a final cleansing of human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of heaven.”

Several aspects of the Catechism’s definition of purgatory are important to note. The first is that rather than a place, purgatory is a state of being, as are heaven and hell.

Secondly, purgatory is for souls who are saved and will enter into heaven after they have been purified. It is not an ‘intermediate’ state where souls will forever remain like heaven or hell. The Church asserts that purgatory lasts for as long as it is needed for those being prepared for heaven.

Thirdly, the catechism teaches us that purgatory is for those who “died in God’s friendship.” This means that those in purgatory, though having venial sin at the time of death, still enjoyed friendship with God, though it was imperfect. This is opposed to the possibility of having mortal sin which severs one’s friendship with God. To “die in God’s friendship,” then, means to die in a state of grace, without mortal sin. Finally, we consider the ‘imperfect purification’ of the deceased who are in purgatory, noted in the catechism’s definition.

The Church teaches us that penances of the faithful, freely undertaken throughout their lives, help to purify their souls of attachment to sin. These penances, enthusiastically embraced by the saints during their lives, encouraged their greater attachment to God and hatred of sin and its effects. The ‘imperfect purification’ of those in purgatory means that though they loved God and neighbor to some degree in life, this love was not adequate enough to make them saints. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a penance as “a conversion of heart toward God and away from sin, which implies the intention to change one’s life because of hope in divine mercy.” The Catechism lists some external acts of penance as “fasting, prayer and almsgiving.” Therefore, to avoid purgatory, the Church encourages the faithful to engage in frequent penance and walk on the path of ongoing conversion.

Though the Church teaches us that purgatory exists, some opponents of the Church argue that purgatory is a fallacy as it is not mentioned explicitly in Scripture. In his book Where is that in the Bible?, Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid explains that purgatory is “well attested to in the Old and New Testaments.” Although the word ‘purgatory’ itself is not found in Scripture, Mr. Madrid shows that many passages in Scripture allude to its existence. Mr. Madrid cites 2 Maccabees 12:38-46, 1 Corinthians 3:10-16 and 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6, as some of the passages which witness to the truth of purgatory. In addition, let us include the words of Mark 9:49, spoken by Jesus himself, which proclaim “Everyone will be salted with fire.” In the Church’s history, some believers have seen in these words divine reference to purgatory.

But why is purgatory necessary? Mr. Madrid cites Revelation 21:27’s description of heaven as the reason. Madrid cites this passage as teaching “nothing unclean shall enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood…” Thus, only those perfectly purified of sin and human imperfection are ready for heaven’s purity and the all-holy presence of the living God.

With this being explained, why is it, still, that some contemporary Catholics struggle with the idea of purgatory? In the text Purgatory, author Michael J. Taylor suggests “in earlier times, Christians seemed more conscious of their sinfulness, their many weaknesses. Most felt unworthy to see and be with God so quickly (after death). Instinctively, they felt a need for more intense spiritual purification before heavenly intimacy with God could take place.”

Thus, Mr. Taylor implies that today’s Christians lack an understanding of their own sinfulness and need for purification even now while on earth. This lack of understanding of what sin is, how it affects our relationship with God and our need to repent of sin and be converted from it before we meet God face to face is the reason why purgatory no longer seems necessary.

As we consider the questions of why purgatory is necessary and why some contemporary Catholics struggle with believing in it, we must now reflect upon how Catholics are invited, by the Church, to respond to the possibility that their deceased loved ones or friends may indeed be in purgatory after death.

In brief, the answer is to respond with prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church observes that “From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice (the Mass), so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.” The catechism also notes that “almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance” may be undertaken, in charity, by the faithful on behalf of the dead. These forms of prayer for the dead, the Church teaches, assist them in moving through purification and into heaven. This is because, as the Order of Christian Funerals notes “the ties of friendship and affection which knit us as one throughout our lives do not unravel with death.” Thus, in the mystery of the Church, we show love for the deceased by praying for them while they, while being purified, may pray for us in return.

This is why offering a funeral Mass for a deceased loved one is fundamentally an action of charity. Not only does the Mass show honor and respect for the life of the deceased. The Mass is also, importantly, the most loving and effective prayer which can possibly be offered for a deceased person and which assists them, if they are being purified after death, to move through purification and into heaven.

In The Wisdom of The Saints: An Anthology, author Jill Haak Adels quotes St. Catherine of Genoa as she describes heaven and purgatory. She writes, “I see that the being of God is so pure (far more than one can imagine) that should a soul see in itself even the least mote of imperfection, it would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than go with that spot into the presence of the Divine Majesty.” Perhaps, through these words, St. Catherine expresses why a soul would himself understand his need for purification after death. Then, in the presence of God’s ultimate perfections, the soul could only see piercingly his imperfections in comparison and come to fully desire the saintly holiness God wants for him. In this way, then he would gladly enter purgatory as a way to achieve this.

In closure, let us reflect upon a beautiful prayer for the dead found in Purgatory by Michael J. Taylor. “O God, we pray that the dead experience your presence and love face to face. May they love you with the intensity with which you love them. In their eternal happiness, may they remember our spiritual needs as we, at death, remembered them… Amen.”