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Purgatory is a gift to us. |
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Purgatory is a manifestation of the mercy, power, and generosity of God. A world without purgatory would mean at least one of the following is true when compared to the reality that is, that it is a true doctrine which is also taught in the Bible : Problems without purgatory, either : God is less merciful. And very very few people get to heaven, probably less than one in a thousand regardless of to which Church you go. Of course, only God could know since only God can judge. God is less powerful. God accomplishes less in the sinner who has repented and turned to Jesus so that he might through faith be saved. Since, God would have accomplished less in this view God would be less magnificent. God is giving less to the sinner. Or the final, and also unbiblical position There is chaos in heaven and truth be told heaven sort of stinks.
Explaining why the true teaching of Purgatory as found in the Bible and taught in the Catholic Church is true and beautiful
Most people die in an
unperfected state. So, for most us we need to be purified of our venial
sins (see below ) And, if we believe in the latter, that we take our sins with us to heaven then we would be making heaven stink. All sin to some degree is a rejection of God it is a rejection of His perfect will for us, and so the sinner in heaven, holding onto his sins is to some degree is creating a rebellion and chaos in heaven. Leprosy, cancer, and infection all attack the body. Similarly, sin attacks the soul only it is even worse. God came not only to forgive but also to heal, and not only to heal the body but to also heal the soul. (Mark 2)
To heal our soul means not only to receive God’s forgiveness, but also to have ourselves be set free from all attachment to sin, to have every thought and every desire to be completely and perfectly reconciled to His perfect will no matter what the cost it would be to obey, and no matter what temptation might come into our mind. Imagine you were at a party of your best friend and you arrived early. Imagine you misunderstood something he or she said which, if true would cause you extreme embarrassment so in haste you angrily took their dessert and threw it onto the floor making a big mess and bringing embarrassment to your friend who was still receiving guests. And then you find out what your friend really said which was an extreme compliment to you that really made you look great to everyone. What would your natural impulse be ? You would want to be forgiven for your sin, but you would also want to clean up your mess you made. You would want to atone for the mess by cleaning it up. All those in purgatory are saved. They have already received God forgiveness and the free gift of salvation. Purgatory allows us to atone for our sins and make right the disorder we have brought into the world through our sins. Everyone in purgatory, even though they suffer wants to be there to be made ready for heaven. They know only in this way by going through purgatory can they be made ready for heaven.
Imagine working
outside cleaning out a sewer system filled with the worst and stinkiest
excrement you can imagine which in the process gets all over you and you
become very filthy and very stinky. Before sitting down to eat at a
fancy wedding banquet, See 2 Samuel below how even though David had received God’s forgiveness, David still had a need to atone for his sin. God offers us the free gift of salvation, but He offers us more than that. Just as a good shower will clean your body, the gift of purgatory enables us to cleanse our soul of any attachment we might have to venial sin, that is sin that is not deadly as written about in 1 Jn 5:16-17 (see below.) But God gives us something else in purgatory, the chance to make atonement for sins which are already forgiven, but still left a mess in the world.
God offers the sinner purgatory because he or she missed the opportunities to purify his soul on earth so that he might gain healing for his soul and to be cleansed of all stink and filth and the opportunity to fulfill the desire that every good person has to make things right again, to make atonement for his sins. God manifests his power, mercy and his generosity in giving us the gift of purgatory so that God will again manifest His glory and perform another good deed for the sinner who needs it. We should be grateful for the doctrine of purgatory. Rev 21:27 ... nothing unclean shall enter heaven.
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Stand with the Heroes of the Faith |
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© T'oros Roslin Gospels at The
Walters Art Museum
Jesus feeds us spiritually by giving Himself in the Eucharist. And He also feeds us by the truth of His Gospel, the Good News, the hope and the way to heaven. |
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