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From the Associate&
Purgatory
Is there a place called Purgatory? Where is evidence for it in scripture? What do people experience there? To some of us, it seems like it may be a fearful place to go. Here is a very brief synopsis of the Catholic Church's teaching on Purgatory.
"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" (Catechism #1030). This tells us that: (1) Purgatory does exist, as it has been a constant teaching of the Catholic Church; (2) one must be perfect in charity, and without any stain of sin, to enter into heaven; (3) the suffering of Purgatory is for cleansing and healing from the effects of sin, and is not like the suffering of the damned in hell; (4) those in purgatory experience an incredible joy, because (A) they are "assured" of eternal life in heaven, (B) God is so near to them, and (C) the communion of saints intercedes on their behalf. Sometimes when we think about purgatory, we only think of the suffering, and we get fearful, but we must not forget about the incredible joy.
Like many doctrines of the Church, we will not find an exhaustive teaching on Purgatory in the Scriptures, but we do find evidence for it, especially in certain metaphors.
-- 2 Meccabees 12:43-46 "& For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead& Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin."
-- Matthew 5:25ff. "Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."
-- Matthew 12:32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."
-- 1 Corinthians 3:15 "If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire."
-- Revelations 5:3,13 "And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it."
We have in Maccabees, actual prayers and atonement for the dead, that they could be freed from the effects of sin. In Matthew we hear about those who are not "forgiven in the age to come," which only points towards the fact that some are. In Corinthians, Paul says Jesus Christ is the foundation for all our building, but for the one who has not built well upon this foundation, his/her house will burn down, and he may still escape, but only "through
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