Floating
around out there in the realm of mythology about Catholic doctrine is one
saying that gets thrown around like loose change in a washing machine. The
saying is repeated over and over again, and those who spread it to unsuspecting
believers have seemingly never taken the opportunity to hear out what Catholics
actually believe. The saying goes like this: “Catholics believe that there is
always Purgatory, if this life isn’t enough to get to heaven; Purgatory is the
belief in a second chance.”
Well,
unfortunately for everyone, the Catholic Church does not teach that there are
“second chances” after death. “Death puts an end to human life as the time open
to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ,” reads
the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(1021). The Church also affirms her Scriptures as inerrant, in which we read “…
it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement …” (Heb.
9:27 NRSVCE). Once we die, we are judged as being in friendship with God or
not, being in his grace or not, abiding in love or not. Those who die outside
of God’s grace are forever separated from him by their own free choice (CCC,
1033). Those who die in God’s grace go on to full communion with God forever
(CCC, 1023-1024).
Common Sense
Catholicity: Purgatory Is Not a Second Chance
What,
then, is “Purgatory” about? Very simply, the Church teaches that for those who
die in God’s grace and who are assured of Heaven, yet are still imperfect will
need some purification before entrance into the eternal kingdom, into the
presence of God (CCC, 1030). This purification is what the Church calls
“Purgatory;” it is a purgation or purification.
Even
without very much thought, we can see why this is needed. We often witness that
even those true believers who live according to God’s law of love may die still
having some small sins in their life. Most of us will die without reaching an
actual holiness that perfectly resembles Christ’s; we won’t be perfectly “like
Christ” just before we die. Yet, we know, too, that we will be perfected. In
that moment, we will stop being the sinners that we are now, and will never
commit a sin again. So, we can safely deduce that there will be some sort of
process in which our souls are cleansed of these faults and by which we are
brought to the actual holiness of Christ, by him and through him.
The
prophet Isaiah recounts a story or, rather, a vision that he had at one
time. At least part of this vision
seems to be a prefiguring of Purgatory itself. We find the story in Isaiah,
chapter 6. In the vision, he is brought before the throne of God. There, he sees angels proclaiming the
holiness of God: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is
full of his glory” (v. 3) Immediately, Isaiah is overcome by his own lack of
holiness in the presence of God: “I am a man of unclean lips,” he says (v. 5).
In response to this imperfection, a purification as through fire takes place:
Then one of the seraphs flew to me,
holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.
The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your
lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out’ (v. 6-7 NRSVCE).
Of
course, there are other reasons to believe in Purgatory, beyond the obvious one
mentioned above. The other major reason that the Church declares Purgatory to
be true is due to the fact that the people of God have always prayed for the
dead. The Jews prior to Christ prayed for the dead. This is evident in 2
Maccabees 12:44, in which prayers were offered for the righteous who had died,
looking forward to the resurrection. The Jews even today still hold the
practice of praying for the dead. The Christian people simply continued the
same practice, as is evident in many early Christian writings. This is why
Hebrews 12:23 speaks of “the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” If there
is no Purgatory, then there is no need for the people of God to pray for the
dead.
Eternal rest grant unto
them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
Amen. +
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