Reader "JoAnnKatherin," writing on our Questions About Catholicism form, asks a question that I hear almost every day:
Does the Catholic Church still believe in Purgatory? My friend said that her church bulletin printed that there is no Purgatory. Is this true?
Of all of the teachings of Catholicism, Purgatory is probably the one most often attacked (sometimes unintentionally) by Catholics themselves. But to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of Purgatory's death have been greatly exaggerated.
To see this, we simply need to turn to paragraphs 1030-1032 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There, in a few short lines, the doctrine of Purgatory is spelled out:
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.
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.
There is more, and I urge readers to check out those paragraphs, but the short answer is yes: Since Purgatory is in the Catechism, the Catholic Church still teaches it, and Catholics are bound to believe in it.
So why do so many people think that belief in Purgatory is no longer a doctrine of the Church? Part of the confusion arises, I believe, because some Catholics conflate Purgatory and Limbo, a supposed place of natural bliss where the souls of children who die without having received Baptism go (because they are unable to enter Heaven). Limbo is a theological speculation; Purgatory is not.
A bigger problem, I think, is that many Catholics simply do not understand the need for Purgatory. If you're going to end up in Heaven anyway, why is it necessary to spend time in this intermediate state?
One of the lines from the previous quotation—"to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven"—points us in the right direction, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers even more. In the section on indulgences, there are two paragraphs (1472-1473) on "The punishments of sin":
[I]t is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. . . .
The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains.
Through penitential practices, prayer, works of charity, and the patient endurance of suffering, we can work through the temporal punishment for our sins. If any temporal punishment has been left unsatisfied at the end of our life, however, we must endure that punishment in Purgatory before entering Heaven.
Rather than a strange doctrine, or one which seems punitive, Purgatory should be comforting to us. Unless we are perfect, we cannot enter Heaven, but God has given us the opportunity to atone in the next life for those things which we failed to atone for in this one. Knowing our own weakness, we should thank God for His mercy.
More on Purgatory and Indulgences:
- On the Last Things and Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven - Lesson Thirty-Seventh (from the Baltimore Catechism No. 2)
- Reader Question: What Happened to Purgatory?
- Reader Question: Is There a Scriptural Basis for Purgatory?
- Reader Question: Was Christ's Death Enough?
- Reader Question: Why Do Catholics Believe in Purgatory?
- Reader Question: Prayer for the Dead
- On Indulgences - Lesson Twenty-First (from the Baltimore Catechism No. 2)
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I am Catholic. Aside from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, where did the church get this belief from?
The short answer, I would think, is that it comes to us from Sacred Scripture (i.e., The Bible); and Sacred Tradition (i.e., what the disciples handed down to us through spoken word). But for more details, here are some book titles that I hope will help to answer Mr. Palmieri’s question :
PURGATORY QUIZZES, by Frs. Rumble and Carty
STORIES ABOUT PURGATORY (And What They Reveal), by An Ursiline of Sligo
HUNGRY SOULS, by Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg
THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF PURGATORY, by John Salza
PURGATORY EXPLAINED, by Fr. F. X. Schouppe S.J.
HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY, by Fr Paul O’Sullivan O.P.
I have been Catholic all my life & tended to believe in what the Church taught, like Purgatory, because it was THE CHURCH. Now I want the Scriptural basis for these teachings.I feel it strange & unsettling that in your answers to both JoAnn & Joseph did not include Scripture references, but ONLY Catechism & books by Catholic Priests! Where does JESUS tell us that His death only atoned for SOME of our sins, but not all? Did He not tell the repentant thief that”TODAY you will be with me in Paradise?” He didn’t mention anything about spending time in purgatory or any other temporary state of being. So, tell us why the Catholic Church teaches that Jesus’ death wasn’t enough & that we have to suffer, either here on earth or in purgatory.
The Doctrine of Purgatory from the Scriptures is found in the Books of Macabees. Also, the children of Fatima were shown the Purgatory. And in 1936 Jesus Himself showed Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska the Purgatory itself. And she visited the souls there in the company of her Guardian Angel. Your questioning to be given “where is it written in the Bible”leads me to suspect you are actually not a Catholic but a Protestant. That is always been their ferocious attack on any Catholic Teaching
For Nancy
Let us never forget the apparations of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. The Blessed Virgin Mary took the three children to Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. So if the Blessed Virgin Mary believes and shows Purgatory then we as Catholics should have no problem whatsoever in believing in Purgatory. Remember we can only enter heaven if our souls are pure and without stain.
To address Nancy, though I am constrained by time and typewriter ribbon, consult 2 Mach. 12:46. “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins. If those dead spoken of in 2 Mach. are in hell, no amount of praying will loose them. If they are in heaven, they are already loosed from their sins, as nothing stained enters heaven. Hence, there must be a third condition, a temporary condition where the souls of repentant sinners are cleansed or “loosed” from their sins. Confer also with Heb. 12:23. “And to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect.” This indicates that the spirits of the just were made perfect AFTER death. Again, through that cleansing, or being loosed from their sins. You say that Christ told the repentant thief that “Today, you shall be with me in paradise.” Yet Christ descended to the place of the dead for three days Himself after Hisw own death. Nancy, don’t put God in a box. The God who created all things also created time, and probably various other dimensions that we have no idea of. Remember the abbott whose sister was gravely ill. She asked him to say masses for her soul, for her soul to be released from Purgatory. He assured her that he would. several weeks later, as he was preparing for bed one evening, word reached him that she had died. He said that when he got up the next morning, he would say a mass for her soul, and it would be the first of many such masses. A few hours later, he was awakened by a vision of his sister, who asked why he had not said masses for her. He told her he had just found out about her death, and in the morning he would start his masses for her. She informed him that she had been in Purgatory for five years. But you are right, Nancy. After all, we Catholics know that the Bible is the “Pillar and foundation of truth.” Oh wait! The Bible nowhere says that. It does, however, say that it is the Church, which is the “Pillar and foundation of truth.” 1 Tim 3:15. Don’t try to pitt the Church and the Bible against each other. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. And it is the Church which gave us the Bible, including the books of the Machabees, which mr. protestant conviently threw out.
What URL means?
I do not think I want my name publish.
RE: Purgatory. You bet your life, purgatory exist.
I dare sharing a personal experience. I am going to make it short.
Few years ago (a Catholic) I had known some years before made my life miserable.
On New Year night at twelve o’clock, he woke me up. In a faster than lightning moment I saw the three month period that he made my life miserable.
He asked me to forgive me. I told him:”I yes, I do forgive you”.
I made two phone calls and had three masses said for him.
Later I checked. He had been dead for 34 years. I did not know he was dead.
You want another one?
Check the San Francisco Library.
A priest appeared to the pastor of the parish he had been.
” I will not be free from Purgatory until all the mass that were paid for me are said/celebrated”. “Go to such a archive in your library, you will find in a book with the money for the masses clipped on the pages”.
The incident happened in the 1930s. A book was written on the mid-50s.
Good luck
Purgatory, you are better believe it.
The sufferings are the save as hell. The Consolation, you will see God.
I am George
Thanks Georges for this attempt to help Nancy and so many out there.I think the real question is not about do we believe in purgatory or not,it’s do we fear God enough?We are living in a generation that has lost all fear about God and takes everything for granted and seems to know and understand God better than ever.We are wrong and stubborn in our positions.God is not a play game and we missinterpret His mercy by even thinking that we are ready enough to enter the Holy place of heaven anytime.Death in many circumstances comes when we expect it the least and we are always surprised.in 90% of the cases:(accidents,earthquakes,illnesses,natural disasters, wars,…)we are not prepared and we die without confessing.God is Holy one million times and there is no way we can approach Him with a slightest spot of sin and in His Big Mercy, He is allowing us to be purified before we can meet Him or enter His kingdom (because we have received Him and believed in Him).It does not require verses from the bible to understand this.This world is so corrupt that evil is tarnishing our souls every time and every day.Destroying this belief as our brothers are trying to do , is a sign of pride and the fruit of pride is hell.What we know about God is just partial and don’t forget that our small intelligence cannot contain all the mysteries about God.Not everything is written in the bible,yet it is a powerful guideline for our faith.If you understand God’s Mercy then you won’t have any doubt about purgatory. These Big truths are only revealed to the poor and humble souls of the Almighty.Not anybody can understand this.It’s therefore a false debate for all those who pass their time reading and memorising verses from the bible like the way we try to prove everything in mathematics in order to refute this truth and for those who are battling to defend it.It’s a simple grace of God.
I don’t think that purgatory is a punishment, but rather is a preparation for the individual soul to grow closer and closer to the Presence of God. The reason I don’t think purgatory is punishment is that if this were true, what does it mean that Christ took on the sins of the world, and the evil of the world? I also don’t believe that God is punitive – I believe, with Julian of Norwich, that “there is no wrath in God”.
I believe that it depends on the state of the individual soul upon passing from this earth – in other words, there are many who do not care for the things of the Spirit, and live their lives without focusing at all on God. If these individuals pass from this earth and are suddenly in the Presence of God, they would not be able to bear it, because they have not prepared themselves during their lives on earth to be in His Presence. So I believe that these souls choose to dwell in one of the “many mansions” or levels of the afterlife until they are able to be in the Divine Presence. I also believe that there is much help from the Holy Mother and from the angels, so that if the soul that is temporarily removed from the complete Presence of God wants to be closer to Him, he is not abandoned.
I have been a Catholic since birth, and have come to view some of these Catholic doctrines differently than how I was taught (as a child in the years prior to Vatican II.)
Janet
Jesus also says somewhere in the Gospel ” and you won’t get out till you pay every last penny”
The belief in purgatory makes total sense. Just think of it this way, say you have 2 people. One person has devoted her entire life to helping others, improving herself, and making this world a better place. Another person has devoted her life to serving herself at the cost of others, placing her needs and wants above everything else, etc. It makes sense that these two people are going to be in different spiritual planes when they die. While person 2 has never committed a serious crime, she didn’t much in the way of helping humanity and responding to Christ’s call to serve others. Since she didn’t change while alive, it makes sense that there is a “place” where she can work on herself if she is to follow Christ into eternity.
Simply put, Jesus never taught the teaching of Purgatory nor is it in the Bible. Its a false teaching
I was raised Catholic and even was accepted into the seminary but at the urging of my Father did not attend.I have since become born again into the light and have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I look back at all the wrong teachings of the catholic church and realize that no where in the Bible is mention made of purgatory nor was there a detailed description of where Jesus went after his death on the cross before his glorious ascension into heaven. I have asked Christain pastors with seminary training degrees and none of them can point to a single verse in the Bible that references a number of catholic doctrines ,its just that catholic doctrine ( not true or false) but it clearly states in if the bible that if it is not God breathed that it is not true..I think that Catholics should stop being so lazy and expecting the priest or pastor to be the authority and look to Gods word and for their, own salvation . Read the Bible, even the catholic one cover to cover in one year and you will see that the truth shall set you free and do not expect everlasing life by following all church doctrine .John 3:3 Be born again Its your choice.
you say you have been ‘Born Again into the Light’, that’s good but has that’ Light’ made you blind now??? if everything had to be in the bible, do you really think it’ll all fit into that many pages only???and let me ask you which Bible is not Catholic???
Hey ! People wake up! Its not about a religion its about having a relationship with JESUS CHRIST our Savior, not the Pope or the Priests and all the doctrinal teachings or the Catholic faith that take you all away from reading the GOD breathed word of GOD , the BIBLE . THE TRUTH will set you FREE ! Not all this jibberish that the early church made up to scare the illiterate of the time into blind faith .It is simple read John 3:3 Be born again renew all things in Christ and read the BIBLE and you will realize how many catholic doctrinesd o not exsist in the Bible not even the catholic bible. Get Real
When Jesus was on earth he decended down to preach to all those who were in prison from the time of Noah. How long was it from the time of Noah to the time of Jesus?
A long time … in prison a place of long-suffering
How do you know if a person who has died is in Purgatory, so that you can pray for him or her? Do Last Rites affect this?
Do most of us go there?
Thanks,
What if we spend all of our time praying for people who are in hell? Are our prayers wasted? How do we know who to pray for? Should I pray for Adolph Hitler? John Wayne Gacy?
I first have to say that I LOVE this site. I had a born again christian tell me that ” There is no such place as Purgatory. That there is not one reference of Purgatory in the bible ” which left me wondering, for 20 years. I know now that it is indeed a true place. I looked up ” Purgatory in the dictionary and it says …. intermediate state after death for purification. Then I read somewhere that Purgatory was a place to fear & was rather harsh at the “purification process wasn’t exactly pleasant.Actually it scared me & made me feel bad for those I loved that might be there. Your article reassured me & put me at ease. Thank you.