"What to think of Purgatory".(C.I., Nov. 2006, pp. 12-14) Father Ted Colleton, C.S.Sp. ably summarizes the teaching of the Catholic Church on Purgatory, using quotations from a variety of sources, such as St. Isidore of Seville Is·i·dore of Seville , Saint 560?-636. Spanish scholar and ecclesiastic. He wrote the encyclopedia Etymologiae, an important reference work throughout the Middle Ages. , St. Augustine, and Pope St. Gregory the Great Noun 1. Gregory the Great - (Roman Catholic Church) an Italian pope distinguished for his spiritual and temporal leadership; a saint and Doctor of the Church (540?-604) Gregory I, Saint Gregory I, St. . Another saint who developed insight into the traditional doctrine of the Church on Purgatory was St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510). Described as a mystic of the seraphic ser·aph n. pl. ser·a·phim or ser·aphs 1. A celestial being having three pairs of wings. 2. seraphim Christianity The first of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. order (because of her intense emphasis on love of God), St. Catherine--a woman who endured a miserable marriage--described Purgatory as a process, an opportunity, and a state. Her unique contribution was to explain that Purgatory is the result of a decision made by the soul itself at the moment of death. (Strictly speaking, according to St. Catherine, God does not "sentence" the soul to this intermediate state, although the decision the soul makes is in accordance with the will of God.) Moreover, far from being an act of fear, the soul's choice of Purgatory is swift, free, and wholehearted. The subsequent action that takes place is paradoxically both a plunge (into the purifying fire) and a jump (towards God). Connected with St. Catherine's teaching on Purgatory is her conceptualization of sin. She calls sin an impediment, imperfection im·per·fec·tion n. 1. The quality or condition of being imperfect. 2. Something imperfect; a defect or flaw. See Synonyms at blemish. imperfection Noun 1. , oppression, conflict, pain, stain, and deathly death·ly adj. 1. Of, resembling, or characteristic of death: a deathly silence. 2. Causing death; fatal. adv. 1. In the manner of death. 2. dullness. It is a substance alien to that of the soul, like a hostile invader. If we fail to appreciate the horror of sin in this life, despite the loving warnings of the Catholic Church, we will not fail to do so in the life that is to come, according to the writings of this beautiful and powerful saint. Source: Baron Friedrich von Hugel. The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in Saint Catherine of Genoa Saint Catherine of Genoa, a member of the noble family of Fieschi, part of the Guelph family,[1] was born in 1447 and spent her life and her means in succouring and attending the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. and her Friends, Vol. 1, pp. 283-294, 1908. Toronto, ON |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion