The Concept of Purgatory

Many have asked me to comment on the difference in doctrine between the east and west on the existance and purpose of the purification of the soul after death, known in the Catholic church as Purgatory.  Being Byzantine Catholic, myself, I'm not really able to comment on Orthodox teaching regarding this matter.  I can, however, explain a bit about why the Catholic church teaches what it does about Purgatory.  The following is an apologetics lesson I prepared for our teen ECF class a few years back.  I hope it is helpful.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:    III. 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.

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During this time of the year, many people celebrate All Hallows Eve by putting ghostly figures on display.  What, exactly, do these figures represent?  Why do people claim to have seen them?  If they do exist at all, what do they really want?  Ultimately, where do the souls of the dead go when they leave their material body?  Is there a place of purification known as purgatory and should we pray for the souls who exist there?  First, let’s explore this topic as we usually do:  Where in scripture do we find answers to these questions?

 

First, let us establish that nothing defiled (sinful, unclean, needing purification) can enter heaven.

Rev 21:27  (talking about Heaven)  27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Now, let us see who it is who is without sin:

Psalm 14: 1-3  1The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God " They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.

2The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand,  Who seek after God. 
3They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.

Well now, the sinful can’t enter heaven, and all are sinful:  exactly how can we get there?  We know that Jesus wants us there.

1 Timothy 2:1-4   1First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  3This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

John 14: 2-3    2"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  3"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

In short, Christ desires that all men be saved so that they can be in heaven, with Him.  Because no man is just, but all sin, and nothing sinful can enter heaven, according to scripture, there must be a way for souls to become pure after death, so that at least, SOMEONE can enter heaven, according to the wish and will of Christ!  But what is it?  Scripture gives us a glimpse of this place in the book of Maccabees.  There was a battle in which many soldiers who were supposed to have been followers of God were killed.  When Judah Maccabee collected the bodies of the dead for burial, he discovered that they had idolatrous items under their armor, proving that they had been deceptive about their loyalty to God.  He concluded that this was the reason for their defeat.  He talks about praying for their souls in the following passage:

2 Maccabees 12: 42-43   And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection…

 

We offer silver for a sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead whenever we have a Divine Liturgy said for them!  We are acting according to scripture when we do so.  Why then, do our Protestant brothers and sisters not believe that this is necessary?  After all, it’s in the Bible…or is it?  Do you remember that Martin Luther, the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism removed seven books from the bible when he left the Catholic Church?  Can you guess which of the books he removed?  You’re right!  He did away with the first and second book of Maccabees, where we find the only scriptural foundation for the act of praying for the dead, and thereby for the concept of purgatory.   How sad for them that they’re missing such a pivotal unit of information for the salvation of their souls!  Without a belief in the need to pray for the dead, who will pray for the Protestant soul?  I see the need for a mission here.  

 

The concept of purgatory even pre-dates Christianity as a whole.  Evidence of this can be found in the fact that Orthodox Jews have the ancient practice of Quaddish.  This is a prayer of mourning and reparation made for a soul by his family for eleven months after his death.  Jews find the concept of purgatory treated in their most ancient non-scriptural writings of instruction as well.  In a book called The Life of Adam and Eve” it is noted that Adam will be in purgatory until the last day.  

 

There are several New Testament passages that can be considered somewhat of a proof for the existence of purgatory.  

Matthew 12:32   32"Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

 

Here Christ tells us of a state, beyond this world, in which the penalty due for sins, can be forgiven.

1 Corinthians 3:13,   13each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.

St. Paul seems to imply that there is some kind of punishment or suffering which occurs at judgment, in reparation for bad works.  This would support the concept of purgatory.  

 

Now that we have determined that there is such a place, let us find out more about it.

 

There are many reported sightings of the dead by various saints.  Here are some that were published on a Catholic news site, for you to consider:

 

St. Faustina Kowalska was visited three times by a recently deceased nun, on April 29, 1926. During the apparitions, the spirit begged Sister Faustina for help so she could be released from purgatory.  

 

St. Padre Pio reported that "there were more souls of the dead who come up the road [leading to the monastery] than souls of the living."

 

During the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the three children, 10-year old Lucia asked Mary if the they would go go heaven. Mary answered yes, but that Francisco would have to "pray many rosaries". Next, she asked what happened to two young friends who had recently died:  "Is Maria das Neves in Heaven?"  "Yes, she is" [answered Mary].  "And Amelia?"  "She will be in purgatory until the end of the world."

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A Lutheran minister, no believer in Purgatory, is the puzzled recipient of repeated visitations from "demons" who come to him seeking prayer, consolation, and refuge in his little German church. But pity for the poor spirits overcomes the man's skepticism, and he marvels at what kind of departed souls could belong to Christ and yet suffer still...

After a week of hearing ghostly noises, a man is visited
in his home by the spirit of his mother, dead for three decades. 
She reproaches him for his dissolute life and begs him 
to have Masses said in her name. Then she lays her hand on his sleeve, leaving an indelible burn mark, and departs....

There is a church in Rome 
which is home to Piccolo Museo del Purgatorio 
(Little Museum of Purgatory).  Inside is a collection of physical evidence left during visits by souls suffering in purgatory. 
These souls tell us that they are experiencing a type of 
cleansing fire. As their presence draws near, witness report feeling intense heat. Sometimes, the Holy Soul has reached out to leave a reminder - and the slightest touch of their hands leaves burn marks.  The message brought to us by these voices from purgatory is this:

"You in the world have no inkling of what we have to suffer!  Being abandoned and forgotten by those who have been nearest to us in the world: that is most bitter. Sometimes they stand at the tombs of our bodies and don't pray for us at all. They act as if we don't exist any more. God's justice commands us to be silent. But we stand at the door of their houses, of our former dwellings, and wait. 
We stand there and wait. Days, years. We wait for them to give us a small sign of their love by prayer and sacrifices. 
But we stay there in vain. We cry in vain for love. For help!
Tell them...Love should not die at death. We are still alive 
and we are hungry for love! For your love!"

 

Our early Church Fathers discussed their belief in purgatory often in their writings and instructions.  Here are a few examples:

 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386) “Then we pray also for the dead, our holy fathers, believing that this will be a great help for the souls of those for whom the prayer is offered”  (Catechesis, 32).

 

St. Augustine told the story of the death of his mother, St. Monica, in his Confessions.  He stated her final request:  “Lay this body anywhere at all. The care of it must not trouble you. This only I ask of you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.” St Augustine did remember his mother at the Liturgy and commented that he did not weep for her even as he prayed.  St. Augustine also mentioned that, “Some believers will pass through a kind of purgatorial fire. In proportion as they loved the goods that perish with more or less devotion, they shall be more or less quickly delivered from the flames.” He said also that the dead “benefited by the piety of their living friends, who offer the Sacrifice of the Mediator, or give alms to the Church on their behalf. But these services are of help only to those lives had earned such merit that suffrages of this could assist them. For there is a way of life that is neither so good as to dispense with these services after death, nor so bad that after death they are of not benefit” (Enchiridion 69, 110).

We must, as an entire church, east and west, believe in the ability to assist a soul who has entered eternal life because of our Eastern celebration of All Souls Days.  If the soul was in complete union with God in heaven already, why would the Church ask us to pray for them at all?  What good would be needed?  What good would it do?  During this Halloween time of year, especially here in the US, when so much is made of the state of the dead, why not offer a prayer for them?  Let us pray for the deceased of our families, and especially the souls of those who may have been neglected or forgotten.  May their memory be eternal!