Ask a Priest Anything...about Confession!

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Fauken said:
Because it’s to purge you of your attachment to sin, which isn’t pleasant.
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but you purged your attachment to sin. You repented. You are living a Godly christian life. Every move you make, every thought you have, ever word you utter is done through the Holy Spirit. You live by God’s will never you’re own. You repented your sin, fasted, did charity, gave all you hold dear away. Separated yourself from ever earthly thing, desire, temptation while you live… and yet you will end up in purgatory upon your death?
Fauken said:
This is not true. Pain is not necessarily punishment. Is the sting of pain you get from a vaccine punishment?
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That is a different type of pain, not the same as paying the price for something you already paid for… going to purgatory is like going to prison twice and for someone who’s been in prison would consider that painful.
Fauken said:
No it doesn’t. Everyone in purgatory knows they’re going to heaven. The souls in purgatory are not separated from God, they’re on their way to Him.
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If a person in purgatory has the ability to know they are there for the sins they committed on earth, wouldn’t a person also be aware of the penance the paid for that sin… then start thinking I knew I was never good enough to enter heaven, now I know I’m not cause I’m in purgatory… you don’t think that’s painful or feel you are separated from God?

can we wait for father @edward_george1 to answer please? thank you. 🙂
 
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if Purgatory isn’t a punishment, isn’t a separation from God, if its not an atonement (is that the right word?) for your sins, if people there are still going to heaven… then why is it so important for us to pray for people there… it sounds like its just a temporary place you need to enter first before you can enter heaven… like being baptized one more before to become one with God. So being there should be a good thing, it means you are heading in the right direction, and not just dropped in to the pits of enteral flames.
 
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annad347 said:
which is why I asked my question.
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I don’t mean to be harsh, but you have now had about 6 people on 2 different threads try very hard to explain Purgatory to you.

It seems that you still have questions despite several very good explanations. I think at this point you need to speak to a priest.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I think at this point you need to speak to a priest.
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Isnt that what I’m doing?

Title of thread: Ask a priest-anything about confession.

And I understood what you said about purgatoey on the other thread… You just arent and understanding my question or my confusion… which is why I’m on the thread where a priest answers questions about confessions. I think this qualifies.

Besides everyone said the same thing but didnt answer the second part of my qestion… that’s why I posted it here. I dont mind waiting for father @edward_george1 to amswer.
 
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I posted what I did so that Father would understand you have already received a half-dozen good explanations and still don’t seem to accept any of them.

I’ll leave the rest of it up to him.
 
annad347 said:
Can you explain that… if we are forgiven for our sins, repent our sin, live by God’s will through the Holy Spirit… why would we spend time in purgatory upon death for a temporal punishment?
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In very simple terms, purgatory is a transition period. To use St Paul’s words, “now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; [in heaven] we shall [God] see face to face.” This of course requires adjustment since we are flawed, still suffering from the lingering effects of sin. So, purgatory is basically like a light coming on when your in a dark room; your eyes need to adjust and that is often a bit painful. There is also a longing to be with God - a heartache if you will - which is, in a sense, painful but only because we know what awaits us.
 
InThePew said:
This of course requires adjustment since we are flawed, still suffering from the lingering effects of sin.
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What if you had no lingering effects of sin when you die, if you paid for it while alive wouldn’t you avoid purgatory?
 
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It is possible that some people avoid purgatory because God determines that they do not have lingering effects of sin when they die, or because he determines that they “served their purgatory on earth” in some way, or simply because God in his mercy takes the person straight to heaven.

However, Catholics generally do not presume that someone went straight to heaven, as we have no way of knowing for sure. Catholics will therefore presume the person went to Purgatory and pray for their soul. If indeed they are not in Purgatory (either because they went straight to Heaven, or in the worst case they had some mortal sin that we were not aware of and they went to Hell) then God will use our prayers to help another soul in Purgatory.

At least one Doctor of the Church has taught on how we can avoid purgatory, and there is an entire book called “How to Avoid Purgatory” that was quite popular. I believe it’s out of print now, but EWTN has it posted online for free.
 
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annad347 said:
If a person in purgatory has the ability to know they are there for the sins they committed on earth, wouldn’t a person also be aware of the penance the paid for that sin… then start thinking I knew I was never good enough to enter heaven, now I know I’m not cause I’m in purgatory… you don’t think that’s painful or feel you are separated from God?
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Frankly, if I die and find myself in Purgatory I will be happy because it means I am saved and simply going through a purification process before entering Heaven.
That is not a punishment.
 
I have made inadequate confessions out of being way too humiliated to say everything, though probably most people confess the same things I cannot choke out. As a woman, I am very uncomfortable to speak, for example, of lustful thoughts, to a man. Part of my conservative Catholic upbringing was to not speak of such things. I go in with best intentions and can’t say it. Advice?
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I posted what I did so that Father would understand you have already received a half-dozen good explanations and still don’t seem to accept any of them.
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hope you now realize, it wasn’t that I didn’t accept your explanation of purgatory it just wasn’t complete.
Tis_Bearself said:
It is possible that some people avoid purgatory because God determines that they do not have lingering effects of sin when they die, or because he determines that they “served their purgatory on earth” in some way, or simply because God in his mercy takes the person straight to heaven.
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I said I was wrong when I said purgatory was for people who die out of God’s grace… but you never explained this part of your explanation… nor did any of the other 6 people (was it 6) explain.

Everyone just made it seem like no matter what penance you served for your sins on while you are alive, you’d still go to purgatory… no matter how holy you live your life, no matter how much you prayed, repented your sins, fasted, did charity, live by doing God’s will… you’d still go to purgatory. That was the confusing part.

Then people were trying to explain, its not a punishment, but just a transition… not a separation from God but a waiting room… a sterilization room… a germ sucking vacuum you must enter before going into heaven. That didn’t sound so bad… but then we are taught to pray for our family who are in purgatory. That by not doing so they might be stuck there… confusing. Why would they be stuck there if its just a transition? No need to answer that I understand now thank you.

We pray for those in purgatory in case… they are repenting for sins they didn’t repent while they were alive.

so it wasn’t that I didn’t accept your answer… I just had more questions.

Anyway… thank you for your help.
InThePew said:
Sure, but at the same time, only God knows the state of a person’s soul.
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Okay…

Thank you again. 🙂
 
As has been explained to me, at our time of death we face judgment and some may squeeze through the gates to heaven which depends on whether we are in a state of grace at the time of death. Those of us sent to purgatory will face judgment again at the end time, whenever that might be, and go to heaven at that time.

It is not a matter of punishment but of readiness for the rewards of heaven. Much like if we hold a child back a grade, it is because he is not ready to advance. He may suffer disappointment and embarrassment, but if he is not ready for fourth grade, he must remain in third. The disappointment and embarrassing are just natural emotions that come of the situation but it is not punishment.

Part of being held back may be due to his own actions…lack of diligence, being disruptive, truancy, slovenliness…he may need time to learn to do better and correct course. Or perhaps he has learning challenges which are not his fault or choice. Either way, he needs more time so cannot advance.

In any event, it seems more productive for all of us to focus on getting to and remaining in a state of grace rather than obsessing over consequences if we do not.
 
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How often do you suggest people should go to confession?
Also, on another topic, I always hear priests are very busy. How do you have time to spend on catholic forum?
 
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Kindnessmatters said:
Those of us sent to purgatory will face judgment again at the end time, whenever that might be, and go to heaven at that time.
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I hope you’re not saying that every soul in Purgatory is going to stay there till “the end time”, as that is not Church teaching.
The Church teaches that some people might be in Purgatory for a very short time, and some might be there for longer, and some might be there till the end of the world. It’s up to God to determine when each soul is ready to leave Purgatory and go to heaven.
 
I appreciate that you spend your free time here helping us. I was just wondering, how much free time do you have a day? My friend asked another priest what does he do on his free time, and he replied, “What’s free time?”
 
It was a joke, I’m sure, one I use myself sometimes.

This is what I do with my free time. I also read, research, write, listen to music, watch ballgames, spend time with friends. Free time is healthy.
 
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