Why purgatory

From Death to Life After Christ rose from the dead, death remained, but no longer as a dead end to be feared. Faith in Relationships Catholics believe that in Christ the bond of our communion holds even between the living and the dead.

Catholics have a purgatory and imagination problem. Quang Tran Quang D. Show Comments 1. Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more. Dear Fr. Quang, Thank you for your excellent article on Purgatory.

I agree with you that our consideration of Purgatory is a sign of spiritual maturity, not a regression to simplistic notions. The Tradition of our Church has a great deal of Wisdom. Vatican II is still in its early unfolding. Pope St.

What if Purgatory can begin in this life here on earth, now? Purgatory works to heal our bad decisions and actions. Enter our time of purgation, and the good Advocate electrician: The Holy Spirit electrician rips apart, sometimes painfully, all of these bad connections.

Then, the electrician of the Spirit splices and reworks the circuits and lines in good connections and sequences. We become more alive, more aware, and much better at working with the Holy Spirit as a result.

We might even begin to learn some of the languages of the Holy Spirit, and so become even more equipped workers of the Holy Spirit in our world. You mention dialogue. The teachings of Purgatory and of eastern Karma line up superbly well with each other, and have much common ground. Souls in Purgatory can no longer help themselves—but they can help those not yet in Purgatory.

Perhaps this addresses their need to participate more deeply in the Body of Christ, if they did not learn this sufficiently in the earlier phase of their life.

The focus that the Spirit teaches is on the community. God is the perfect physician. Purgatory is about healing and empowering us in many ways. Most popular. But what about the Holy Spirit? Are racial justice movements straying from Catholic tradition — or are Catholic leaders out of touch?

Survey: Priests in the U. School President. Hidden Mercy. Home Health , Spiritual Resources. Vatican Observatory Foundation seeks Development Director. Retreat Houses. See all Classifieds. The latest from america. The Church does such people an immense kindness by now and then calling their attention to the traditional Last Things--which include Heaven and Hell along with Purgatory.

Catherine of Genoa , a saint famous for her self-sacrificing services to the sick and poor as well as for her mystical experiences, put it this way in her treatise on Purgatory:.

At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Your monthly donation will help our team continue reporting the truth, with fairness, integrity, and fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church.

Therefore, the time they spend in purgatory, whether short or long, is a time marked not only by suffering, but also by joy. That makes it a joyful pain. The souls in purgatory may be bound for glory, but the process of purgation still can be long and painful. The soul is helpless. The Masses we have offered for the souls in purgatory are the best thing we can do for our beloved dead. We stand on the shoulders of giants, the foremost giant being Christ. Our sufferings and sacrifices can be parlayed into actual assistance for the holy souls because of his suffering and sacrifice.

The Church teaches that purgatory operates outside of space and time as we on earth experience it. In the New Testament, St. He also seemingly prays for the soul of Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy That uninterrupted witness includes the writings of Church Fathers and Doctors from the first century onward.

It also includes records of Catholics commemorating the anniversaries of departed loved ones with Masses and prayers, the inclusion of burying the dead among the spiritual works of mercy, and centuries of Christians who left money in their wills for Masses to be said for their souls. To start with, just as sitting in a classroom during January is easier than sitting in a classroom during July, doing the suffering and sacrificing it takes to grow in holiness is easier on earth than it is in purgatory.

It has a physical dimension to it. Which is to say, with our bodies we can do good works that break us of attachments to sin and self. We can take a meal to the new mom across the street, buy a coffee for the homeless guy downtown, fast from chocolate for all of Lent, and go on pilgrimages to holy places. Without a body, all those corporal works of mercy — all those ways of loving and serving others, as well as atoning for sin — are impossible.