Trial By Fire

When Catholics mention areas of our faith like praying for the dead, and the mysterious realm of purification we call Purgatory, others may raise their eyebrows in skepticism. There can't be a Purgatory--it would negate the entire point of Jesus coming to die, they might argue. Jesus suffered so we won't have to. He paid the price and wiped us clean.

These are all true statements, but this viewpoint is missing a few key details that are essential to understanding what Purgatory is, and why we believe it exists.

God is perfect in every sense of the word. He is the epitome of holiness, purity, and love--in the Bible, every person who has come face-to-face with Him has gone straight to his or her face in awe. In reality, this is how facing God at the end of our lives will be for all of us; in our fallible human state, in the sight of that beauty, we'll be crippled. We can't handle God in His perfection because we are imperfect.

Jesus was sent to die so we gain the opportunity to join God face-to-face in heaven. Of course, sin hinders us on that journey, and if it's serious enough, it can sever our connection to Him altogether. Jesus may wash away the initial mark of our sins, but the hurt they leave in our lives and the "puncture wounds" made in our soul afterward cannot always be healed completely in life. This is where Purgatory comes in.

Check out this passage from 1 Corinthians: If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.

The foundation Paul mentions here is Jesus, and what we "build" is our life--those deeds and choices that either honor or disobey Him. When we die, we're immediately judged by both our faith in Christ and the things we've done. If all of our works don't stand up to God's standards (and they never can), we need to be purified before we enter Heaven. Voila--Purgatory.

It's important to note here that Purgatory and Hell aren't the same thing. Once you go to Hell, you're there for good, eternally separated from the love of God because you have consciously rejected Him. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." ;) On the other hand, there is joy in Purgatory; while tradition tells us that Purgatory is worse than even the greatest human pain, the dead are encouraged in knowing that in the end, they'll emerge completely new in eternal peace. This may be a crude analogy, but it's a bit like putting bleach on clothes that were stained after coming out of the washing machine.

That's why we pray for all those who have died. We pray that their time of purification might pass quickly, so they can join God as soon as possible.

"May these, and all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."