Allison Low, March 24, 2016

God is rich in mercy (Exodus 34:6­7) with an inexhaustible love for everyone. In the beautiful portrayal of the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11­32), Jesus reveals how our heavenly Father is always ready to run out to meet His repentant, wayward sons with an embrace of love. Throughout our earthly lives, God showers us with His mercy but this gift of love does not end at our death. God’s love extends into the afterlife as He offers one last act of mercy – Purgatory.

Receiving Our Eternal Sentence

When a person dies, he will be judged immediately by Christ (Hebrews 9:27). In Catholic Tradition this is called the particular judgment, the moment when the person will be given their eternal sentence; he will be sent to either heaven or hell. Those who are in friendship with God, who love God, without mortal sin on their soul, will receive the reward of heaven. Yet, in order to enter heaven and be in the presence of God, one must be perfect, pure and holy. “Strive…for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Referring to heaven, St. John writes, “Nothing unclean shall enter it” (Revelation 21:27). “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

If anyone of us were to die at this moment, how many of us could say we are completely pure? Even though we are in a state of grace, we are far from being holy. Scripture tells us we cannot be in heaven unless we are perfect. This purity is not merely superficial. Just as there is a vast difference between a gold­plated coin and a coin which is pure gold, so too with us; God does not simply cover our fallen nature with holiness without changing our interior being. God says we must be perfect in order to enter heaven. As difficult as this sounds, we should not despair by thinking the perfection needed for heaven is impossible. We are told nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Sacred Scripture is clear; God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). We can be confident God has a means to make us perfect.

God’s Merciful Plan

God has ordained our earthly lives as being the time of mercy when the process of purgation begins. God freely gives us His grace to purify and transform us and, as this grace increases within our soul, we are being increasingly renewed and perfected (Colossians 3:9­10). However, for those of us who die in a state of grace but not yet made perfect, God has given us the great gift of purgatory because of His merciful love. It is in purgatory where men can be made holy and enabled to enter heaven to be in the presence of God.

Unfortunately, there is a misconception which exists among our Protestant brothers and sisters who view purgatory as a second chance for the unrepentant or a “get out of jail free card” for those who have lived in sin. This is far from the reality revealed in Sacred Scripture and taught by the Church. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “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” (1030). Purgatory is a state after death through which a person is purified from anything which defiles the soul. When a person dies who is not in a state of grace, does not love God or dies with unrepentant mortal sinon his soul, he will go to hell. Purgatory is not an option for that person because they have already made their choice, and God, being the perfect gentleman, respects our choices. Purgatory is only for those who have been given the judgment that they will ultimately be in heaven but their soul is not fully perfected.

Purgation: Not a Second Chance

When we sin, we disobey God and act in ways opposed to love of God. Mortal sin, serious sin, is completely opposed to the love of God and destroys our relationship with God by removing sanctifying grace (1 John 5:16­17). Venial sins are less serious, but they are still acts contrary to love of God. With venial sin, our relationship with God is wounded but not destroyed and grace remains in the soul. Every sinful act incurs the guilt of sin and a consequent punishment, not because God is vengeful but because of the nature of sin itself. The guilt of sin is a result of knowing we have disobeyed God and is removed in an act of repentance, asking God for forgiveness. Once a sin is forgiven, punishment due to our actions still remains. Eternal punishment is the consequence of mortal sin because one has freely chosen to separate himself from God. However, because of God’s mercy, eternal punishment can be remitted in this life through absolution in the Sacrament of Confession or through an act of perfect contrition with the resolution of receiving the Sacrament of Confession (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1452, 1468­1470). With mortal sin, the Sacrament of Confession also reconciles the person with both God and the Church.

A further consequence of all sin is our relationship with God and our neighbor is injured plus we too are weakened, and we must make amends for these temporal punishments in order to be perfected. Impurities of our soul are not limited to sin as we can also form worldly attachments that lead us away from God and have sinful inclinations contrary to love of God. For all these impurities on our soul, with God’s grace, in this life we have opportunities to purify ourselves through various forms of penance, prayer, works of charity and with redemptive suffering, but, if we are not yet perfect after this life, we are purified in the next through purgatory (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1459­1460, 1472­1473).

Purgatory: Removing the Imperfections and Impurities

Imagine a wooden board, painted completely white and perfectly smooth with no damage or defects. This is like a pure soul without sin. Now, imagine nails have been hammered into this board representing the sins we have committed. You remove each of the nails as you repent but the result is nail holes remain. Over time the board also sustains scratches and stains which correspond to our worldly attachments and sinful inclinations. In order for the board to be restored to perfection, all of these defects must be repaired; we must experience purgation in this life or in the next to become perfectly pure.

Throughout Scripture, God reveals how He is a refiner and purifier of silver and gold (Wisdom 3:5­6; 1 Peter 1:6­7). This idea of refining and purifying is analogous to our sanctification, the process where God makes us holy. This process begins in our earthly lives, but, if a person dies in a state of grace but not yet perfect, it continues in purgatory.

When working to purify a piece of silver, the silversmith will apply very intense heat to the metal causing dross (impurities) to rise to the surface. He will remove the dross as it rises to the surface and will continue reapplying the intense heat until he finally sees the metal is pure. How does the silversmith know when the silver is pure? When he can see his own reflection in it. Similarly, penance, prayer and sacrifices in this life and purgatorial suffering after death are like this fire and heat (1 Corinthians 3:15). These experiences refine us to remove imperfections. When God can see His own reflection in us, we are free to enter heaven.

God’s Great Gift

Because we have a fallen human nature, we are not perfect and there is nothing we can do on our own to change this reality, which is why God Himself will purify us. This process of purgation begins in our earthly lives but is not always completed at the moment of death. The imperfect cannot enter into the presence of God, but for those in God’s friendship at the moment of death, there is good news. Our God is a merciful God and, because of this, has given us the great gift of purgatory. God makes us perfect and enables us to enter heaven and eternal communion with Him where we are filled with everlasting peace, joy and happiness.

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Allison Tobola Low is a lifelong Catholic, passionate for sharing Christ and the Catholic faith with others. She works full time as a physician in Tyler, Texas, and also received a Master’s degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO. Allison finds time to teach and share the Catholic faith every opportunity she can find, including being a catechist for Adult Faith Formation and RCIA at her local parish. Allison enjoys giving talks in parishes on a variety of faith-related topics and is also a regional leader for St. Paul Street Evangelization. Her website is www.pillarandfoundation.com where you can find short simple Catholic videos she creates (that are especially for children/young adults).

 

 

http://www.catholicstand.com/purgatory-gods-last-act-of-mercy/