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 Question:
One of my Protestant friends has asked me
about Purgatory? I don't know much about
Purgatory and the things she said to cast doubt
on Purgatory were hard for me to defend.
What
is Purgatory and how do I explain it to my Protestant
friend?
Answer:
The
simplest answer is that Catholics believe:
Purgatory is the name that Catholics give
to the final purification which occurs at the
end of life. Because we still sin in this life,
but will not be sinning when we are in glory,
between death and glorification must come purification.
This is something even Protestants admit. Purgatory
is thus the final rush of our sanctification.
It is our transition into glory. All through the
Christian life God is purifying our hearts, giving
us greater holiness, but this sanctifying process
is not complete (or anything like complete) until
the end of life. Thus what God did not choose
to give us in this life, he chooses to give us
once we are dead.
"The only additional points on which the
Catholic Church insists concerning the final purification are
that, like sanctification in this life, it can
involve pain or discomfort, and that, as when
someone is being sanctified in this life, we can
pray for someone being sanctified in purgatory.
The Church does not teach that purgatory occurs
in a special region of the afterlife or even that
it takes place over time, for we have little idea
how time works in the afterlife, and purgatory
may be instantaneous from our point of view."
Over the years, I too have had some of my Protestant
friends ask me to defend this belief. I
always hesitate, because I fear that in explaining
my understanding of purgatory, I place too much
energy on a relatively small portion of Catholic
Theology. I would rather talk about things
that bring us together as common Christians than
on issues that are sometimes used to divide us.
But when I have been pressed to explained it,
I try to make sure to point out that lot’s
of people misunderstand what Catholic’s
teach about purgatory. We believe purgatory
is not a middle state between heaven
and hell (like a distinct region or destiny of
the afterlife) . It is simply a state of
sanctification for souls as they go to heaven.
Purgatory is the final stage of sanctification
(maybe instantaneous ). Everyone who goes
to purgatory goes to heaven.
A priest in our deanery often shares " when
most of us pass into eternal life --- since we
are very human --- most of us are not ready to
love everyone and everything the way God does
--- we hold grudges; we still have people we call
enemies; and on and on. Purgatory is that
action by which God purifies our ability to love
and so to live in heaven forever."
Well said!
As a noted Catholic Cardinal (now Pope Benedict)
once explained, this final purification may take
place in the immediate presence of God (to the
extent that God's presence may be described in
spatial terms). As we are drawn out of this life
and into direct union with Jesus, his love and
holiness burns away all the dross and impurities
in our souls and makes us fit for life in the
glorious, overwhelming light of God's presence
and holiness. Put simply, purgatory is our souls
transition from the imperfection we experienced
on earth to the eternal joy we await in Heaven.
When pressed for more, I have referred my friends
to a great article that explains our understanding
of purgatory in more depth than I could in conversation
alone. It's called How
to Explain Purgatory to Protestants, although
it's very helpful for Catholics as well.
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