Q. Does the Catholic Church Still Believe in Purgatory?
A. Yes
Q. What is Purgatory?
A. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church
THE FINAL PURIFICATION, OR PURGATORY
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.
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 and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:
I Peter 1:7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
St. Gregory the Great: “As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, 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.( Dial. 4,39:PL 77,396; cf. Mt 12:31.)
Mt. 12:31 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
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.
II Macc 12:46 It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.
From the beginning 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:
St. John Chrysostom: “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 hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.“, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41,5:PG 61,361; cf. Job 1:5.
Job 1:5 When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
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Filed under: Church Fathers, Purgatory | Tagged: Catholic
When Rowan Williams,Archbishop of Canterbury
was asked if he believed in purgatory, it is
said that he answered something like, Well, I
don’t know as a believe in it so much, but I
certainly do hope for it. Now that’s profound
Pdrgatory is nothing more than scare tactics
Some may have abused the Doctrine of Purgatory as a scare tactic but it is no longer used in that way today.If you make it to Purgatory there is no possibility of going to Hell. You are on your way to Heaven.
Purgatory is not mentioned in the Holy Bible. That must mean it does not exist or God would have told us. Actually God said: to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19).
Returning to dust doesnt meant go to a waiting area..it means returning to the earth. We then await resurrection upon our Lords return. Purgatroy is man’s idea of a second chance after death. The scriptures say otherwise.
Comment: Purgatory is not mentioned in the Holy Bible. That must mean it does not exist or God would have told us.
Response: Based on the method of your interpretation of Sacred Scripture then belief in the Trinity and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is excluded because it “must mean it does not exist or God would have told us.”
Comment: Actually God said: to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19).
Returning to dust doesnt meant go to a waiting area..it means returning to the earth. We then await resurrection upon our Lords return.
Response: This refers to out bodies. Our souls live on after the death of our bodies and are in being “someplace”. Unless you believe we are only a body without an eternal soul.
Comment: Purgatroy is man’s idea of a second chance after death. The scriptures say otherwise.
Response: Purgatory is the name given to a time of purification in order to be Holy as He is Holy and enter into His presence. It is not a second chance. All chances for repentance and salvation end at death. CCC1092
Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who cleanses continually during a believer’s lifetime. Salvation is not by works on earth nor through some process in the afterlife, the idea is disrespect to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture says it is appointed man once to die and after that the judgment. There is no writing of an intermediate state where one can redeem themselves. How can that be when you will be judged by your works, by the things that you do in the body? It is impossible for a purgatory to provide a means to do what only living human beings can do. The idea is bogus.
There’s more however no need to press this into the ground there is no foundation for purgatory in scripture, the idea necessitates ignoring Abraham’s Bosom as the repository of the righteous dead, righteous by way of Yeshua’s righteousness being imputed in believers. Those who are imputed with his righteousness and are as pure as any could ever hope to be, we are glorified with his glory, no work to salvation.
Thank you for this article. I linked it to my Purgatory web site, Holy Souls Online.
“There is no writing of an intermediate state where one can redeem themselves”
The Catholic Church teaches that man can never redeem himself. Only Christ does that. Purgatory is not a place of redemption. It a place of purification. Hence the name “purgatory” which is related to the word “to purge” or “cleanse.”
“Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who cleanses continually during a believer’s lifetime”
The Holy Spirit does this in this life and in the next life. The Holy Spirit cleanses us in Purgatory. We do not cleanse ourselves.
“the idea necessitates ignoring Abraham’s Bosom as the repository of the righteous dead,”
Actually, you’re the one ignore the story. Question: is the rich man in Hell, as in, the place of the damned who are eternally separated from God. Some translations of the Bible say “Hell”, others say “Hades” or something similar. But this place cannot be the place of the damned, for the rich man feels charity, which is a grace from God. But those in Hell are eternally cut off from God, and thus they are cut off from his graces. Thus this is not the place of the damned, but some other place where God’s grace is still present. Nor, clearly, is it Heaven. Thus, it must be Purgatory.
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