One of the things I learned during my adult faith formation classes before I converted to Catholicism is that Protestants do not believe in purgatory. Up until I was taking those classes, I didn't know it existed as it does; I considered purgatory and hell to be one and the same. They couldn't be more different!
It is a popular belief (especially with Protestant denominations) that when a person is baptized and commits their lives to Christ, they are bound for Heaven, no pitstops in between. This is both presumptuous and erroneous. We are not promised that we're going straight to Heaven immediately upon death. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. We console each other by saying, after a loved one's death, that they're in Heaven now and that everything is fine. The truth is that, unless they lived a life of incredible holiness, they're probably not there yet. And unless they consciously chose to reject God and His love for them, they're not in hell, either. So where do they go? The answer is purgatory.
Purgatory is a place where the dearly departed WHO ARE ASSURED OF GOING TO HEAVEN go to be purified of any stain of sin that was on their soul when they passed from this earth. If you drop dead the moment you walk out of the Confessional and you've really honestly confessed all the sins you could remember and were absolved of your sins, you can pretty much be assured of going straight to Heaven. But that's pretty much one of the only ways that I can think of.
I believe that purgatory is just another one of God's mercies toward us sinners. He doesn't want us to be separated from Him, but nothing unclean can enter into Heaven (can you even begin to imagine how awesome it will be when we finally get there?!). In His mercy, He allows us to spend some time in purgatory to purge all of our sins, to cleanse us completely so we can enter into Heaven with Him. It is not meant as punishment (although some may view it to be so because they are temporarily separated from God).
Each time I pray the rosary, I begin with offering it up for all the souls in purgatory, especially the souls of my departed family and friends. We have many opportunities to help the souls in purgatory, but few take the time to do it, and even more don't even know that our prayers, rosaries, Masses, Stations of the Cross, etc., help them. When I think about my loved ones who have passed from this world, I know that I don't know where they are, but I cannot think of any reason at all why any of them would be anywhere but in Heaven or headed there. A powerful prayer for those in purgatory is this:
O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee, face to face, in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: "Come, blessed of My Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Another, simpler one goes like this:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
In turn for our prayers, once they are released from purgatory, they will be some of our most powerful intercessors before the throne of God! They will help us because we helped them. There are so many souls in purgatory who remain there for terribly long amounts of time because they have no one to pray for them (or not one who WILL pray for them). No prayer for the souls in purgatory ever gets wasted. God's mercy will never be outdone, either. :) So let us remember this the next time our loved ones leave this life for their eternal one.
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Tuesday, June 04, 2013
Understanding Purgatory (Yes, It Exists!)
One of the things I learned during my adult faith formation classes before I converted to Catholicism is that Protestants do not believe in purgatory. Up until I was taking those classes, I didn't know it existed as it does; I considered purgatory and hell to be one and the same. They couldn't be more different!
It is a popular belief (especially with Protestant denominations) that when a person is baptized and commits their lives to Christ, they are bound for Heaven, no pitstops in between. This is both presumptuous and erroneous. We are not promised that we're going straight to Heaven immediately upon death. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. We console each other by saying, after a loved one's death, that they're in Heaven now and that everything is fine. The truth is that, unless they lived a life of incredible holiness, they're probably not there yet. And unless they consciously chose to reject God and His love for them, they're not in hell, either. So where do they go? The answer is purgatory.
Purgatory is a place where the dearly departed WHO ARE ASSURED OF GOING TO HEAVEN go to be purified of any stain of sin that was on their soul when they passed from this earth. If you drop dead the moment you walk out of the Confessional and you've really honestly confessed all the sins you could remember and were absolved of your sins, you can pretty much be assured of going straight to Heaven. But that's pretty much one of the only ways that I can think of.
I believe that purgatory is just another one of God's mercies toward us sinners. He doesn't want us to be separated from Him, but nothing unclean can enter into Heaven (can you even begin to imagine how awesome it will be when we finally get there?!). In His mercy, He allows us to spend some time in purgatory to purge all of our sins, to cleanse us completely so we can enter into Heaven with Him. It is not meant as punishment (although some may view it to be so because they are temporarily separated from God).
Each time I pray the rosary, I begin with offering it up for all the souls in purgatory, especially the souls of my departed family and friends. We have many opportunities to help the souls in purgatory, but few take the time to do it, and even more don't even know that our prayers, rosaries, Masses, Stations of the Cross, etc., help them. When I think about my loved ones who have passed from this world, I know that I don't know where they are, but I cannot think of any reason at all why any of them would be anywhere but in Heaven or headed there. A powerful prayer for those in purgatory is this:
O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee, face to face, in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: "Come, blessed of My Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Another, simpler one goes like this:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
In turn for our prayers, once they are released from purgatory, they will be some of our most powerful intercessors before the throne of God! They will help us because we helped them. There are so many souls in purgatory who remain there for terribly long amounts of time because they have no one to pray for them (or not one who WILL pray for them). No prayer for the souls in purgatory ever gets wasted. God's mercy will never be outdone, either. :) So let us remember this the next time our loved ones leave this life for their eternal one.
It is a popular belief (especially with Protestant denominations) that when a person is baptized and commits their lives to Christ, they are bound for Heaven, no pitstops in between. This is both presumptuous and erroneous. We are not promised that we're going straight to Heaven immediately upon death. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. We console each other by saying, after a loved one's death, that they're in Heaven now and that everything is fine. The truth is that, unless they lived a life of incredible holiness, they're probably not there yet. And unless they consciously chose to reject God and His love for them, they're not in hell, either. So where do they go? The answer is purgatory.
Purgatory is a place where the dearly departed WHO ARE ASSURED OF GOING TO HEAVEN go to be purified of any stain of sin that was on their soul when they passed from this earth. If you drop dead the moment you walk out of the Confessional and you've really honestly confessed all the sins you could remember and were absolved of your sins, you can pretty much be assured of going straight to Heaven. But that's pretty much one of the only ways that I can think of.
I believe that purgatory is just another one of God's mercies toward us sinners. He doesn't want us to be separated from Him, but nothing unclean can enter into Heaven (can you even begin to imagine how awesome it will be when we finally get there?!). In His mercy, He allows us to spend some time in purgatory to purge all of our sins, to cleanse us completely so we can enter into Heaven with Him. It is not meant as punishment (although some may view it to be so because they are temporarily separated from God).
Each time I pray the rosary, I begin with offering it up for all the souls in purgatory, especially the souls of my departed family and friends. We have many opportunities to help the souls in purgatory, but few take the time to do it, and even more don't even know that our prayers, rosaries, Masses, Stations of the Cross, etc., help them. When I think about my loved ones who have passed from this world, I know that I don't know where they are, but I cannot think of any reason at all why any of them would be anywhere but in Heaven or headed there. A powerful prayer for those in purgatory is this:
O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee, face to face, in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: "Come, blessed of My Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Another, simpler one goes like this:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
In turn for our prayers, once they are released from purgatory, they will be some of our most powerful intercessors before the throne of God! They will help us because we helped them. There are so many souls in purgatory who remain there for terribly long amounts of time because they have no one to pray for them (or not one who WILL pray for them). No prayer for the souls in purgatory ever gets wasted. God's mercy will never be outdone, either. :) So let us remember this the next time our loved ones leave this life for their eternal one.
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