To deny that Purgatory is necessary and makes sense also would require us to deny that God is merciful, just and remarkably logical. In PART 1(Purgatory is Real and It Matters) I discussed why the doctrine of Purgatory matters for those on this earth who have not died yet. Now it is time to dive into more detail on what Purgatory is and why it’s extremely reasonable.
I am not going to recite all the Biblical support for Purgatory or regurgitate the standard defenses of the doctrine. There are plenty of places you can get that information, including this article that provides a good Biblical summary. I want to focus on the sheer reasonableness and Christian nature of Purgatory. In other words, even if the idea of Purgatory was not found throughout the Old and New Testaments, we would need to conclude it exists anyway, simply as a matter or logic.
What is Purgatory?
To understand this, we need to first explain what Purgatory is and what it is not. Let’s start with what it is not. Purgatory is not a third option or middle ground between Heaven and Hell. It’s not a place where those who are not perfect but not Hitler either end up for eternity as some may think. It’s also not a place where Christians go to “work off their sins” and “work” their way into Heaven after they die. Christ already did that work.
Purgatory is instead a place of purification. It’s a “location” so to speak, within the spiritual realm, where souls destined to be in Heaven are purified of the effects of their sins before being admitted into Heaven with all the saints. In colloquial terms, it’s more of a pit stop on the way to Heaven that provides an opportunity for the effects of one’s sins to be expiated even though such a soul died in friendship with God.
Fr. John Hardon, S.J. explains in his Modern Catholic Dictionary:
“The souls are certainly purified by atoning for the temporal punishments due to sin by their willing acceptance of suffering imposed by God. The sufferings in purgatory are not the same for all, but proportioned to each person’s degree of sinfulness. Moreover, these sufferings can be lessened in duration and intensity through the prayers and good works of the faithful on earth.”
The reference to “temporal” punishments—temporal referring to an event happening “in time” as opposed to the eternal—is the key to understanding the distinction between God’s forgiveness of sin and our need to offer satisfaction due to the effects of our sin. This is especially true because Christians are taught that Christ died on the Cross for our sins to redeem us. And it is true that Christ did indeed die for all of humanity on the Cross.
So, how can it be that if Christ died on the Cross to redeem us from sin that we still must still undergo suffering in order to get into Heaven?
I think the best way to understand this is to remember that when we sin, we do not only breach our relationship with God, but we also cause conflict with and/or harm to others and society. Justice, which by definition is giving to another what is due or owing to them, is not satisfied if restitution is not made for the effects of our sin in addition to repairing the breach with God Himself.
Distinguishing Between Temporal and Eternal Effects of Sin
Think about a young boy whose father instructed him not to hit baseballs into a neighbor’s property. Despite this clear rule, the boy ignores the instruction and hits a baseball through his neighbor’s window. The boy’s act of hitting the baseball through the window caused at least two breaches of the peace: (1) He disobeyed his father’s rule and (2) broke the neighbor’s window. Not only did he offend his father and rupture that relationship to some extent, but he also caused physical damage to the neighbor’s property. The boy somehow must make it right with his father, on one hand, and the neighbor on the other.
When it comes to his father, the only way the boy’s relationship with the father can be repaired is if the boy asks for forgiveness and the father forgives him. This, of course, requires some level of mercy by the father. The father doesn’t “owe” the boy forgiveness, it is simply given freely as a gift. But if the boy’s confession and sorrow for his disobedience is authentic, and forgiveness is given, their relationship will be repaired and healed.
But repairing the relationship with his father doesn’t solve all the boy’s problems due to his one act of disobedience. The boy is ALSO still indebted to his neighbor. Not because of any rupture of a relationship with the neighbor but primarily because he caused damage to the neighbor’s window that still needs to be repaired. The boy must still make it right with his neighbor, regardless of whether the father forgives him for disobeying his instructions.
The boy could work hard, earn money, and pay to replace the window. That’s what should happen. But what happens if the boy dies before he makes it right with his neighbor? If that were to happen, the neighbor would be permanently damaged, and the boy would have died in debt to someone else. The boy dies having amended his relationship with the father but is not justified with respect to what he owes the neighbor.
But what if somehow the father could make it possible for the boy, despite being dead, to make it right with the neighbor. How generous and loving would that father be if he could make that happen. Well—that’s Purgatory.
When we commit a sin, it damages our relationship with God the Father. Since we cannot possibly pay back an infinite debt to an Infinite Being caused by our action, the Father sent His only Son to pay that debt on the Cross because only God Himself could pay such an infinite debt—and that is the redemption (or buying back) Christ purchased for us. Christ’s work on the Cross makes it possible, or opens the door for us, to enter Heaven.
But like the young boy in the story, our sin damaged others, society and God’s order. Even if we are forgiven eternally and die in a state of grace with God, the temporal effects of those debts still need satisfaction. Sometimes we can begin that process in this world with involuntary suffering or doing voluntary acts of penance, but if we die before that is done, Purgatory gives us that opportunity to do proper penance for the effects of those sins before we can enter Heaven.
Why Purgatory is Necessary and Makes Sense
Purgatory is necessary and makes sense when we realize most of us die having spent much of our lives sinning and never really account for the effects of those sin. This is especially true in modern America, where comfort, luxury and medical care is practically handed to us, while we interact daily with one of the most sinful, godless cultures ever to have inhabited the face of the earth.
But the reality is that when we die, even if we die in a state of grace and friendship with God, most of us will not be pure or completely justified. The Apocalypse teaches us that nothing unclean shall enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27). Do we really think that when we die, we were so good, so honorable, and practically sinless to the point that every repercussion of our sins (literally, each and every one of them since the day we came of reason) has been properly accounted for?
And if we have failed to properly rectify the impact of those sins and are not worthy to enter Heaven, what’s the other option? If you listen to Protestants the only other option is Hell. So, we are presented with either being perfect at the time of our death or going straight to Hell. Does that sound either logical or charitable?
And why would we assume God would permit something unclean and impure to enter Heaven? Even though we may be nothing more than a dung pile does He simply ignore that and cover us with snow as Luther contends? Does God lack in justice so much he would permit the damage and harm caused by sin to pollute Heaven without first being rectified?
But you say God is merciful! Indeed, he is! Purgatory is most merciful because as a matter of justice, even if we died in a state of friendship with Him, all of us deserve Hell. But after we sought forgiveness for our offenses against God and died in a state of grace, rather than condemn us to Hell, which we still deserve, God grants us the opportunity to make restitution for the effects of our temporal sins, even down to the smallest of sins.
Conclusion on Purgatory
This is all to say, between this post and PART 1, that Purgatory is one of the important doctrines of the Christian faith because it provides us with a correct understanding of sin, allows for the effects of sin to be corrected, and shows how God’s justice and mercy operate to repair the damage to His kingdom that we caused.
Nothing about Purgatory requires you to reject Christ’s redeeming work on the Cross because that was indeed sufficient to repair the breach with God due to our sin if we choose to cooperate with that grace. Rather, rejecting the doctrine of Purgatory necessarily requires you to either deny that sin impacts the world, deny God’s justice, and/or deny God’s mercy. Denial of any of these would necessarily also require you to deny all of Truth revealed to us over the course of salvation history.
We must, therefore, offer prayers for the repose of the souls in Purgatory in effort to relieve them from their suffering in Purgatory and make an effort to avoid sin in the first place. That means improving our prayer life, fasting and performing penances while at the same time working to restore a Christian Kingdom throughout the culture, which will aid those still living in leading virtuous lives and avoid the occasions of sin.