Will I Go to Purgatory?
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Today is November 2, the Feast of All Souls – the day we remember to help for those who are in purgatory
If the Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of Purgatory, then why is the word Purgatory not in the Bible
The Bible speaks of three places after death:
A. Heaven which the Bible calls Heaven
B. Hell, which Jesus calls Gehenna or the unquenchable fire reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.
C. A third place named is Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek. Later the Bible was translated from Hebrew and Greek. Purgatory is the Latin word for Sheol and Hades. Thus Purgatory is in the Bible.
Lots of people do not believe in Purgatory.
The Book of Revelation 21:27 says nothing unholy will enter heaven. That means the vices of Pride, Envy, Anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust, Gossip, grudges, Impatience, and so on cannot be in heaven. Well, what are we going to do because these will still be in us when we die? Does that mean we will be excluded from heaven and we will go to hell?
Thank God for Purgatory where we are purified by the cleansing fire of God’s love.
Purgatory 1030
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.
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St John of the Cross writes: At the evening of life, we shall be judged by our love.
If we love God and neighbor above all things then, at the end of our life that is what we will receive, union with God which is heaven and the communion of saints, friendship with others.
If, on the other hand, when we die, our loves are out of order, meaning we love lesser things more than God and neighbor, well, then these disordered loves will need to be purified.
Let’s review a hierarchy of loves
1. Superficial natural goods:
a. Protein and carbs,
b. The beauty of the human body,
c. To be appreciated by others
2. Profound natural goods:
a. Physical goods, nutrition, sleep, exercise, safety, security…
b. psychological,
c. friendship,
d. knowledge,
e. achievement,
f. beauty
3. Divine Good – Union with God, sharing in His Life
We need all of these, but we must keep them in order.
Love the lesser things less and Love the greater things more for virtue is rightly ordered love.
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Purgatory is not a prison and it’s not a place of punishment. Purgatory is where we encounter the Fire of God’s great love for us. His desire for us inflames our desire for him. And as we come nearer to Him, we desire Him more and more and we let go, we get rid of our disordered attachments more and more. These are Burned away in the fire of God’s love and the fire of our desire for God
Faustina was taken to Purgatory and allowed to speak to the souls there who said their greatest torment was longing for God (Diary 20). Their desire for God was the purifying fire – purging away every disordered love that stood between them and God.
Diary 1185-86 This evening, one of the deceased sisters came and asked me for one day of fasting and to offer all my [spiritual] exercises on that day for her. I answered that I would. From early morning on the following day, I offered everything for her intention. During Holy Mass, I had a brief experience of her torment. I experienced such intense hunger for God that I seemed to be dying of the desire to become united with Him. This lasted only a short time, but I understood what the longing of the souls in purgatory was like.
Here is the key: we travel to God by our desire. So if we want to possess God in this life and immediately after death, with no layover in purgatory.
Then the most important thing is ask God to give you a greater desire for Him.
We increase our desire for anything by thinking about it. If you want to increase your desire for God, then spend more time thinking about Him and Heaven as the infinite and perfect fulfillment of all good desires.
After that, fast. If we glut ourselves sick with physical things we’ll have no appetite left for spiritual things.
We travel to God by our desire. What do you desire most?
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We must Help the souls in Purgatory
The Church is the family of God united by the Holy Spirit. In this family God our Father enables His children to help one another by their prayer, work, joy, suffering and almsgiving. God accepts these gifts from his children and uses them to bring grace to our brothers and sisters in need, whether on earth or in Purgatory. In this way we can help the poor souls in Purgatory to reach heaven.
In her Diary, St. Faustyna relates many instances of helping souls in Purgatory:
When Sister Dominic died at about one o’clock in the night, she came to me and gave me to know that she was dead. I prayed fervently for her. In the morning, the sisters told me that she was no longer alive, and I replied that I knew, because she had visited me. The sister infirmarian [Sister Chrysostom] asked me to help dress her. And then when I was alone with her, the Lord gave me to know that she was still suffering in PURGATORY. I redoubled my prayers for her. However, despite the zeal with which I always pray for our deceased sisters, I got mixed up as regards the days, and instead of offering three days of prayer, as the rule directs us to do, by mistake I offered only two days. On the fourth day, she gave me to know that I still owed her prayers, and that she was in need of them. I immediately (28) formed the intention of offering the whole day for her, and not just that day but much more, as love of neighbor dictated to me. (Diary, 1382)
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What should we do to help those in Purgatory
1. Offer the Infinite and Perfect prayer and sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass for souls in Purgatory
2. Accept with trust and offer with love your own suffering
3. Pray the Rosary for the poor souls in Purgatory
4. Pray the Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy Chaplet