What to think of purgatory?

James Boswell put a question to Dr. Samual Johnson." "What do you think, Sir, of purgatory as believed by the Roman Catholics?" Johnson, a devout Anglican and the embodiment of English common sense, replied: "Why, Sir, it is a very harmless doctrine. They are of opinion that the generality of mankind are neither so obstinately wicked as to deserve everlasting punishment, nor so good as to merit being admitted into the society of the blessed spirits; and therefore God is graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be purified by certain degrees of suffering. You see, Sir, there is nothing unreasonable in this." "But then, sir," Boswell asked, "their masses for the dead?" To which Johnson replied: "Why, sir, if it be once established that there arc" souls in purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them, as for our brethren of mankind who are yet in this life."

--Boswell's Life of Johnson, 1701

St. Teresa of Avila said she knew of only three people who at death went straight to heaven, one being a saintly dominican priest, Fr. Ibanez. St. John Bosco had a vision of his mother four years after her death, and when he asked her whether she went straight to heaven she answered, No. And Margaret Bosco was a very holy woman.

--From G.H. Duggan, in a letter to Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Nov. 1994

Strange as it may seem, I think it is easier to write about Hell or Heaven than about Purgatory. The Scriptures, especially the New Testament, leave no doubt as to the existence of Hell as a place or state of eternal punishment. In describing the Final Judgement, Our Lord tells us that he will say to the wicked, "Depart from Me ye accursed into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels...." The Gospel is also very explicit regarding the existence of a place or state of eternal happiness called Heaven: "Come ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you (Mr. 25)."

But it is not easy to find a definite reference to Purgatory in the Scriptures. However, it is there both in the Old and the New Testament, but rather by implication than by positive statement.

Old Testament

In the Second Book of the Maccabees, Chapter 12, we read that Judas Maccabeus discovered, after doing battle, that many of his soldiers, now slain, had sinned by acts of profanity. When he and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen, "Under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the lazy, forbids the Jews to wear. So it was dear to all that this was why these men had been slain (2 Ma. 12:40)."

Judas then decided to send money to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead:

"The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.

It is a holy and a .wholesome thought to pray for the dead that the), may be loosed from their sins (2 Ma. 12: 42-45)."

This is a definite proof that the Jews believed in some kind of "cleansing" of sin after death. The Book of Maccabees was written some 170 years before Christ.

New Testament

In the New Testament, we find Jesus declaring, "Whosoever shall speak against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him either in this world or the, next (Mt. 12:32)."

St. Isidore of Seville (d. 636 A.D.), a Doctor of the Church, explains that these words "it shall not be forgiven him either in this world or the next" prove that in the next life "some sins will be forgiven and purged away by a certain purifying fire."

St. Augustine states, "That some sinners are not forgiven 'either in this world or the next' could not be truly said, unless there were other sinners who, though not forgiven in this world, are forgiven in the world to come."

Early Church: words of petition

We find belief in the existence of Purgatory in the very early Church, for example, in the teaching of the Fathers, in the liturgies of the Church and in the engravings on the very early monuments, particularly in the catacombs.

On the tombs of the faithful were inscribed words of hope, words of petition for peace and rest. As the anniversaries came around, the faithful gathered at the tombs of the departed to "make intercession for those who had gone before."

St. Augustine sums up the belief of the early Church in these words: "Some there are who have departed this life not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness."

The Councils: defining the doctrine

Based on Scripture and the writings of the early Fathers of the Church, we find several Councils defining the doctrine of Purgatory--for instance, the Council of Lyons in 1274; the Council of Florence in 1439; the Council of Trent with a "Decree on Purgatory" in 1563. Add to all this the custom of the Church, from time immemorial, of offering Masses for the deceased and "for the souls of the faithful departed" and we cannot but conclude that the doctrine of the existence of Purgatory is an article of Faith.

Here is a quotation from the Council of Lyons (1274 A.D.):

"If those who are truly repentant die in charity before they have done sufficient penance Jot their sins of omission and commission, their souls are cleansed after death in purgatorial or cleansing punishments."

The very" word "purgatory" comes from the word "purge," to purify.

Today's teaching is unchanged

The Catholic Catechism, No. 1030, gives us the same teaching as the Councils in slightly different words:

"All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death the), undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven."

The Catechism then quotes Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604):

"As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that before the Final Judgement, there is a purifying fire. He Who is Truth says that whosoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this life nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age but others in the age to come, that is, after our departure from this world."

Probably the latest official statement of the Church on Purgatory is that of Vatican Council II, 1962-1965. The Church, the text says, "accepts with great devotion this venerable faith of our ancestors regarding this vital fellowship with our brethren, who are in heavenly glory or who, having died, are still being purified (Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, VII, 51)."

The pains of purgatory

Although the Church has very definitely defined the existence of Purgatory, she has never made any official statement regarding the exact nature of the punishment to be suffered there. So we have to depend on the private opinions of theologians and spiritual writers.

The views expressed in what follows in this article are taken chiefly from The Catholic Catechism by Father John Hardon, S.J. It is his opinion that the essential pain of Purgatory is that of "loss," because the souls there are temporarily deprived of the Beatific Vision (the direct sight of God).

We use the term "deprived" because we are made to be with God.

St. Augustine made a famous statement, "Thou hast made for Thyself, Oh Cod, and hearts are restless until they rest in Thee."

Sense of loss

While the soul is enshrined or enclosed in the body, it is so distracted by the desires and pleasures of this world that its desire for God is dulled. But once the soul is freed from the body, nothing in this world can attract it. It has only one desire, and that is to be with God and to see Him face to face. And to be deprived of this, even for a time, is a far greater agony than any suffering that can be imagined in this life.

But what makes the difference between this suffering and that of Hell is the fact that in Purgatory the soul knows that this loss is temporary and therefore includes the assured hope of one day seeing the Face of God. It is borne with patience, since the souls realize that purification is necessary and they would not wish it otherwise. It is accepted generously, out of love for God and with perfect submission to the Divine Will.

Sensitive Pain

On the question of the pains of sense, opinions are so varied that it would be difficult to discuss them adequately in a brief article. The term used in Scripture is that of fire. Suffice it to say that, if there is pain of sense, and it is even more severe--as St. Thomas Aquinas taught-than any pain of this world, it is minimal compared with the soul's desire for the presence of God.

How we can help the souls in purgatory

The Church has taught from the very beginning that we, the faithful on earth, can help the faithful in Purgatory--who cannot help themselves. We can do this by our prayers, by our penances, and by gaining indulgences for them. Perhaps the best quote on this subject is that of St. John Chrysostom (347-407):

"Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why should we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and offer prayers for them."

Nothing can be more beneficial to the souls in Purgatory than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Why? Because it is the Sacrifice (passion and death) of Our Lord Jesus Himself.

Father Ted Colleton, C.S.Sp. is a member of the Spiritans. This article first appeared in Catholic Insight, January/ February 1995.