What is purgatory catholic

The common practice in the United States is that the faithful remain standing during the distribution and reception of Holy Communion. What happens next is that people have options. Typical is the guideline provided on its website by the Diocese of Cleveland:. At this point the faithful may sit or kneel.

The faithful should not be required to stand during the purification of the vessels, or until the reposition of the Blessed Sacrament. I believe that parishes should, within reasonable limits, allow for individual choice. In , in response to a query from the U. Perhaps the wisest approach, then, is simply to let congregants choose their posture while they make their individual thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist.

Conference of Catholic Bishops. Proofs The Catholic doctrine of purgatory supposes the fact that some die with smaller faults for which there was no true repentance, and also the fact that the temporal penalty due to sin is at times not wholly paid in this life.

The proofs for the Catholic position, both in Scripture and in Tradition , are bound up also with the practice of praying for the dead. For why pray for the dead , if there be no belief in the power of prayer to afford solace to those who as yet are excluded from the sight of God? So true is this position that prayers for the dead and the existence of a place of purgation are mentioned in conjunction in the oldest passages of the Fathers , who allege reasons for succouring departed souls.

Those who have opposed the doctrine of purgatory have confessed that prayers for the dead would be an unanswerable argument if the modern doctrine of a "particular judgment" had been received in the early ages.

But one has only to read the testimonies hereinafter alleged to feel sure that the Fathers speak, in the same breath, of oblations for the dead and a place of purgation; and one has only to consult the evidence found in the catacombs to feel equally sure that the Christian faith there expressed embraced clearly a belief in judgment immediately after death. Wilpert "Roma Sotteranea," I, thus concludes chapter 21, "Che tale esaudimento", etc.

Some stress too has been laid upon the objection that the ancient Christians had no clear conception of purgatory, and that they thought that the souls departed remained in uncertainty of salvation to the last day ; and consequently they prayed that those who had gone before might in the final judgment escape even the everlasting torments of hell.

The earliest Christian traditions are clear as to the particular judgment , and clearer still concerning a sharp distinction between purgatory and hell. The passages alledged as referring to relief from hell cannot offset the evidence given below Bellarmine , "De Purgatorio," lib. II, cap. Concerning the famous case of Trajan , which vexed the Doctors of the Middle Ages , see Bellarmine , loc. Old Testament The tradition of the Jews is put forth with precision and clearness in 2 Maccabees.

Judas , the commander of the forces of Israel , making a gathering. And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead , that they may be loosed from sins.

At the time of the Maccabees the leaders of the people of God had no hesitation in asserting the efficacy of prayers offered for the dead , in order that those who had departed this life might find pardon for their sins and the hope of eternal resurrection. New Testament There are several passages in the New Testament that point to a process of purification after death. Thus, Jesus Christ declares Matthew : "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man , it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost , it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.

Isidore of Seville Deord. Augustine also argues "that some sinners are not forgiven either in this world or in the next would not be truly said unless there were other [ sinners ] who, though not forgiven in this world, are forgiven in the world to come" City of God XXI.

The same interpretation is given by Gregory the Great Dial. Bede commentary on this text ; St. Bernard Sermo lxvi in Cantic. A further argument is supplied by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians : "For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble: Every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved , yet so as by fire. While this passage presents considerable difficulty, it is regarded by many of the Fathers and theologians as evidence for the existence of an intermediate state in which the dross of lighter transgressions will be burnt away, and the soul thus purified will be saved.

This, according to Bellarmine De Purg. Ambrose commentary on the text, and Sermo xx in Ps. Jerome , Comm. Augustine Enarration on Psalm 37 , St. Gregory Dial. See also St. Thomas , "Contra Gentes,", IV, For a discussion of the exegetical problem, see Atzberger, "Die christliche Eschatologie", p. Tradition This doctrine that many who have died are still in a place of purification and that prayers avail to help the dead is part of the very earliest Christian tradition. Tertullian "De corona militis" mentions prayers for the dead as an Apostolic ordinance, and in "De Monogamia" chapter 10 he advises a widow "to pray for the soul of her husband, begging repose for him and participation in the first resurrection"; he commands her also "to make oblations for him on the anniversary of his demise," and charges her with infidelity if she neglect to succour his soul.

This settled custom of the Church is clear from St. Cyprian , who P. IV, col. His answer is: "the believer through discipline divests himself of his passions and passes to the mansion which is better than the former one, passes to the greatest torment, taking with him the characteristic of repentance for the faults he may have committed after baptism. He is tortured then still more, not yet attaining what he sees others have acquired.

The greatest torments are assigned to the believer, for God's righteousness is good , and His goodness righteous, and though these punishments cease in the course of the expiation and purification of each one, "yet" etc. IX, col.

In Origen the doctrine of purgatory is very clear. If a man departs this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and prepares the soul for the kingdom of God , where nothing defiled may enter. Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God ; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones?

Neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works. The Apostolic practice of praying for the dead which passed into the liturgy of the Church , is as clear in the fourth century as it is in the twentieth.

Cyril of Jerusalem Mystagogical Catechesis V. Gregory of Nyssa P. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter, and the propensity to evil. I, col. Nor can we pass over the use of the diptychs where the names of the dead were inscribed; and this remembrance by name in the Sacred Mysteries -- a practice that was from the Apostles was considered by Chrysostom as the best way of relieving the dead Homily 41 on First Corinthians , no.

The teaching of the Fathers , and the formularies used in the Liturgy of the Church , found expression in the early Christian monuments, particularly those contained in the catacombs. On the tombs of the faithful were inscribed words of hope , words of petition for peace and for rest; and as the anniversaries came round the faithful gathered at the graves of the departed to make intercession for those who had gone before.

At the bottom this is nothing else than the faith expressed by the Council of Trent Sess. XXV, "De Purgatorio" , and to this faith the inscriptions in the catacombs are surely witnesses.

In the fourth century in the West , Ambrose insists in his commentary on St. Paul 1 Corinthians 3 on the existence of purgatory, and in his masterly funeral oration De obitu Theodosii , thus prays for the soul of the departed emperor : "Give, O Lord , rest to Thy servant Theodosius , that rest Thou hast prepared for Thy saints. I loved him, therefore will I follow him to the land of the living ; I will not leave him till by my prayers and lamentations he shall be admitted unto the holy mount of the Lord , to which his deserts call him" P.

Augustine is clearer even than his master. He describes two conditions of men ; "some there are who have departed this life, not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness " etc.

Therefore, this holy council commands the bishops to be diligently on guard that the true doctrine about purgatory, the doctrine handed down from the holy Fathers and the sacred councils, be preached everywhere, and that Christians be instructed in it, believe it, and adhere to it.

But let the more difficult and subtle controversies, which neither edify nor generally cause any increase of piety, be omitted from the ordinary sermons to the poorly instructed. Likewise, they should not permit anything that is uncertain or anything that appears to be false to be treated in popular or learned publications. And should forbid as scandalous and injurious to the faithful whatever is characterized by a kind of curiosity and superstition, or is prompted by motives of dishonorable gain DB Most recently, the Second Vatican Council in its Constitution on the Church renewed the teaching of previous councils on eschatology, including the doctrine of purgatory.

At the same time, in conformity with our own pastoral interests, we urge all concerned, if any abuses, excesses or defects have crept in here or there, to do what is in their power to remove or correct them, and to restore all things to a fuller praise of Christ and of God" Chapter VII, no.

Meaning Of The Doctrine Although not defined doctrine, it is certain that the essential pain in purgatory is the pain of loss, because the souls are temporarily deprived of the beatific vision. Their suffering is intense on two counts: 1 the more something is desired, the more painful its absence, and the faithful departed intensely desire to possess God now that they are freed from temporal cares and no longer held down by the spiritual inertia of the body; 2 they clearly see that their deprivation was personally blameworthy and might have been avoided if only they had prayed and done enough penance during life.

However, there is no comparison between this suffering and the pains of hell. The suffering of purgatory is temporary and therefore includes the hope of one day seeing the face of God; it is borne with patience since the souls realize that purification is necessary and they do not wish to have it otherwise; and it is accepted generously, out of love for God and with perfect submission to His will. Moreover, purgatory includes the pain of sense. Some theologians say that not every soul is punished with this further pain, on the premise that it may be God's will to chastise certain people only with the pain of loss.

Theologically, there is less clarity about the nature of this pain of sense. Writers in the Latin tradition are quite unanimous that the fire of purgatory is real and not metaphorical. Nevertheless, at the union council of Florence, the Greeks were not required to abandon the opposite opinion, that the fire of purgatory is not a physical reality.

We do not know for certain how intense are the pains in purgatory. Thomas Aquinas held that the least pain in purgatory was greater than the worst in this life. Bonaventure said the worst suffering after death was greater than the worst on earth, but the same could not be said regarding the least purgatorial suffering. Theologians commonly hold, with St. Robert Bellarmine, that in some way the pains of purgatory are greater than those on earth. At least objectively the loss of the beatific vision after death, is worse than its non-possession now.

But on the subjective side, it is an open question. Probably the pains in purgatory are gradually diminished, so that in the latter stages we could not compare sufferings on earth with the state of a soul approaching the vision of God.

Parallel with their sufferings, the souls also experience intense spiritual joy. Among the mystics, St. Catherine of Genoa wrote, "It seems to me there is no joy comparable to that of the pure souls in purgatory, except the joy of heavenly beatitude. They are absolutely sure of their salvation. They have faith, hope and great charity. They know themselves to be in divine friendship, confirmed in grace and no longer able to offend God. Although the souls in purgation perform supernatural acts, they cannot merit because they are no longer in the state of wayfarers, nor can they increase in supernatural charity.

By the same token, they cannot make satisfaction, which is the free acceptance of suffering as compensation for injury, accepted by God on account of the dignity of the one satisfying.

The sufferings in purgatory are imposed on the departed, without leaving them the option of "free acceptance" such as they had in mortal life. They can only make "satispassion" for their sins, by patiently suffering the demand of God's justice. The souls in purgatory can pray, and, since impetration is the fruit of prayer, they can also impetrate.

The reason is that impetration does not depend on strict justice as in merit, but on divine mercy. Moreover, the impetratory power of their prayers depends on their sanctity. It is therefore highly probable that the poor souls can impetrate a relaxation of their own certainly of other souls' sufferings.

But they do not do this directly; only indirectly in obtaining from God the favor that the Church might pray for them and that prayers offered by the faithful might be applied to them. However, it is not probable but certain that they can pray and impetrate on behalf of those living on earth. They are united with the Church Militant by charity in the Communion of Saints.

At least two councils approved the custom of invoking the faithful departed. According to the Council of Vienne, they "assist us by their suffrages.

Bellarmine wrote at length on the efficacy of invoking the souls in purgatory. The Church has formally approved the practice, as in the decree of Pope Leo XIII granting an indulgence for any prayer in which the intercession of the faithful departed is petitioned Acta Sanctae Sedis, , p.

A Problem A major problem arises regarding the forgiveness of venial sins in a person who is dying in the state of grace. When and how are they remitted? Is the forgiveness before death? If so, by what right? What has the person done to deserve forgiveness, since it is not likely God would remove the guilt of sins that were not repented of. Or is it after death? But then how can this take place, since ex hypothesi the person can no longer merit or truly satisfy, but can only suffer to remove the reatus poenae.

According to one theory Alexander of Hales , venial sins are always removed in this life through the grace of final perseverance, even without an act of contrition. Remission takes place "in the very dissolution of body and soul," when concupiscence is also extinguished. Few theologians look on this opinion favorably, both because there is nothing in the sources to suggest that final perseverance remits guilt, and because everything indicates the need for some human counterpart in the remission of sin.

Others claim e. Bonaventure that forgiveness occurs in purgatory itself by a kind of "accidental merit" which allows for the removal of guilt and not only satispassion in virtue of Divine Justice. If anything, this theory is less probable than the foregoing because it presumes there is a possibility of merit after death. Blessed Dun Scotus and the Franciscan school say the deletion takes place either in purgatory or at the time of death.

If in purgatory, it is on the assumption that the expiating venial sins is nothing more than remitting the penalty they deserve; if at the time of death, it could be right at the moment the soul leaves the body or an instant after. In any case, Scotists postulate that remission occurs because of merits previously gained during life on earth. This position is not much favored because it seems to identify habitual sin with its penalty and claim that venial sins are remissible without subjective penance.

The most common explanation is that venial sins are remitted at the moment of death, through the fervor of a person's love of God and sorrow for his sins. For although a soul on leaving the body can no longer merit or make real satisfaction, it can retract its sinful past.

Thus, it leaves its affection for sin and, without increasing in sanctifying grace or removing any penalty as happens in true merit , it can have deleted the reatus culpae.