Stephenie Desano
What is the Purpose of Purgatory?
Some say that purgatory is for perfection, to be able to remove the stain of temporal sins upon a person’s soul. But if this is true, what are indulgences for? And how could prayers of other people alleviate one’s time in purgatory? Perfection is a very personal matter, and can only be attained by the soul itself.
This brings us to the idea of judgment and justice. Possibility arises that the existence of purgatory is to be able to render just punishmnent to souls who committed sins on earth. By this, God’s wrath is alleviated by the sacrifice of other people praying for the soul of the person. His punishment then, is taken by someone else.
If we consider however, how grave the nature of sin really is, and how a transgression of one law also renders a transgression of all the others, we doubt if any person could really be able to pay for one’s sins and reach heaven. And with this in mind, wasn’t it Jesus by the way, who paid for all our sins by being the One Sacrifice required to quench God’s wrath and bring salvation to all who will believe? Isn’t a belief in purgatory therefore saying that the sacrifice of Jesus isn’t enough to free us from punishment of our sins?
And if we could all be purified through purgatory, if we can be punished for all the sins we had, and after our sentence, be rendered justice and come clean and perfect before God, if by purgatory we can already attain salvation, what was the sacrifice of Jesus for? If we believe in this, then our faith may be no different from those who believe in various reincarnations that purify us until we are enlightened enough, until we get it right and all our virtues are made perfect. If we believe in this, our faith is no more a faith of Grace, but of striving on our own, attaining perfection with no need of intervention from God. If we believe in this, we are saying that we can save ourselves.
Following the above argument, we may say therefore that all who believe in Jesus are saved already and shall not perish (they have already risen in spirit in this life). All who believe have already passed from judgment into life. They will not be subject to judgment anymore, they who have sought refuge in Jesus’ Love and Mercy.
But does this mean, all those who have not accepted Jesus in this life will go straight to hell after death? This too, may not be so. It is however deemed that all who have not believed will be subject to judgment.
Some people, they have already made a clear choice while living their lives on earth. They have made a choice to do evil, and to give more importance to pride rather to than to God’s eternal love. These may well go into hell, these whose decisions will not change for all eternity.
Yet let us not forget those who have not made a choice. These ones I believe, are those who inhabit purgatory. Purgatory is an extension of God’s mercy, an opportunity where God further reveals Himself to people so that they may know Him, and so that they can finally make an eternal decision. Will they accept His love? Will they reject the sacrifice of Jesus even then?
For those who still reject Him, therein is the unforgiveable sin, a sin of unbelief that will persist for all eternity. This sin, which Jesus says, will not be forgive in this age (this life), or in the age to come (afterlife).
But for those who finally find it in their hearts to accept Jesus, to accept God, these are they who will be saved still, yet only as through fire, for in purgatory, there are no more merits to earn. Their souls would be saved however, and God will welcome them in His loving arms. Pending this decision however, there is God’s justice, and they stay in that state for as long as they delay their choice.
In the end, there are only two things we can do. Accept Jesus and have Life. Or reject Him forever, and suffer whatever punishmnent the Just Judge sees is due. This punishment is eternal and no one can claim righteousness apart from the Mercy of God, no matter how many good works one has accomplished on earth. Both those in hell and in purgatory suffer this punishment, the only difference is that those in a state of hell have already made their eternal choice, while those in purgatory have yet to make it.
Happy are those who have accepted Jesus and risen in the first resurrection (resurrection of the spirit), for the second death has no power over them.
For those who ask, whether salvation can be lost, this is my reflection: Salvation cannot be lost in this life. If one has really bonded with Jesus, will he be unbonded? Will he be snatched away from his hand? Will Jesus not complete the good work begun in him? And if salvation can be lost in this life, do we also say that salvation can be lost in the next?
As to good works, I believe that every authentic good work comes from true faith. Those who act differently from what they profess may not have truly believed at all.
Further, purgatory is not only existent in the afterlife, but here on earth as well. For those who have not yet availed of Jesus’ boundless love, they still thirst, they do not find true rest of soul. The only difference is this: In this life, the separation of light and darkness has not yet taken place. In this life, God’s justice is still delayed to give us time. In this life, we may not feel the full extent of our emptiness, because we fill our souls with many other things, and with lesser loves, loves that will not last and will perish in the fire of the next life. In the next life, we have nothing to cover up for our emptiness. We bare our naked souls and we feel intensely our thirst for the love of God. In the next life, justice is not delayed anymore and we suffer immediately the consequences of our previous sins.
Must we wait therefore for the next life? Or shall we avail of the living water which Jesus offers us right now right where we are?
I believe that there are two things we work on in purgatory: repentance of our sins, and belief in Jesus.
And why these two things? I believe that these two things are needed in order that we may come to Jesus wholeheartedly and entrust our souls into His mercy. Following are the stages a soul undergoes in its path to God:
1. The soul’s conscience is cleared and one can clearly see its state of impurity. One clearly sees the hurts he has done to others, and how greatly He has offended God. This step is from God’s Grace alone.
2. Once our conscience had been opened, we have two choices. To repent of them and accept our shortcomings, or to deny them and lie to ourselves and to God. Herein enters the greatest sin, which is pride.
3. Even if we repent of our sins, we discover that we cannot really help ourselves and attain salvation. We come to know that it is only Jesus who can help us and save us from our misery. This step also comes from the Grace of God.
4. Once we recognize our helplessness, we surrender to Jesus and avail of His great sacrifice. We hide in His heart and accept that it is only through His wounds that we can find healing and salvation. We surrender, and we BELIEVE in Him fully.
5. If we are still here on earth, that belief is reflected in works of mercy. As we have been forgiven, so do we forgive others. As we have been loved, so do we love others and extend the mercy we have received.
What’s difficult there is that after seeing our sins, we can no longer say sorry to the people we’ve hurt, we can no longer make reparation or any good works.
Here on earth, while there is still time, we have a chance to both REPENT and BELIEVE. We repent by allowing our conscience to clearly mirror to us the state of our souls. Here, the Sacrament of Confession is a blessing we can all avail.
Due to justice however, punishment still remains. Through INDULGENCES of LOVE, we prove that we BELIEVE and take part in the sacrifice of JESUS. We take part in the Blood of the Lamb that justifies us and saves us from the unquenchable fire of Justice.
At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it. – (Jesus, Diary of Sister Faustina)
John 5:24-25
Matthew 18:32-33
O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Matthew 25:34-36
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
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