Christ's Presence in Purgatory

[CeciliaS]

Can anyone tell me, please…

If we here on Earth have Jesus’ continuous Presence in the Eucharist, and those in Heaven obviously have Him face-to-face, what do those in Purgatory have? What form does Christ’s continuous Presence take, for them?

Thanks,

CeciliaS

 

[GLam8833]

It is said that we burn OURSELVES up so that
we can be more like Christ in purgatory, “we shall
be LIKE Him, b/c we shall SEE Him as He is”
1 Jn. 3:2, we WANT to be like Him so we
purify ourselves, just as He is pure 1 Jn. 3:3
So we see Christ in purgatory and therefore
we purge ourselves of our impurities to be like
Him and join Him in heaven.

 

[Neofight]

Can anyone tell me, please…

If we here on Earth have Jesus’ continuous Presence in the Eucharist, and those in Heaven obviously have Him face-to-face, what do those in Purgatory have? What form does Christ’s continuous Presence take, for them?

Thanks,

CeciliaS

Those in Purgatory have the agony of being in exile without Christ, until the final judgment when they will join the other saints in heaven in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost forever.

Peace and all good!

 

[Marcus_T]

Those in Purgatory have the agony of being in exile without Christ, until the final judgment when they will join the other saints in heaven…

That can’t be true, because why do we pray for the souls in purgatory? We pray for them so they will be released from purgatory and enter heaven once they have been purified. If your statement is true then why pray for the souls there if they will be released at the final judgement anyway? Also, one of the promises of the Blessed Mother is those who are enrolled in the Brown Scapular Society and follow the requirements, she promises she will personally deliver them from purgatory to heaven on the first Saturday after their death. Not everyone stays in purgatory until the final judgement at the end of time. At least that is my understanding.

Mark

 

[Neofight]

That can’t be true, because why do we pray for the souls in purgatory? We pray for them so they will be released from purgatory and enter heaven once they have been purified. If your statement is true then why pray for the souls there if they will be released at the final judgement anyway? Also, one of the promises of the Blessed Mother is those who are enrolled in the Brown Scapular Society and follow the requirements, she promises she will personally deliver them from purgatory to heaven on the first Saturday after their death. Not everyone stays in purgatory until the final judgement at the end of time. At least that is my understanding.

Mark

Mark,

You are correct that not all souls in purgatory remain there until the final judgment. Nobody knows how long individual souls will be exiled, but the Church teaches that all souls there at the time of the final judgment will be released and will go to heaven, and it is the Church’s teaching that every soul that goes to purgatory will end up in heaven.

Why pray for those souls if the will go to heaven anyway? To ask for intercession on their behalf to hasten their release…it’s like saying why do we pray for those terminally ill, but they are going to die anyway.

I recommend you check out Church teachings in the Catechism of the Catholic Church…it will answer all your questions.

 

[Kenny_Kamel]

I assess that we pray for souls in purgatory because the sooner they are released the sooner they are able to intercede on behalf of those living in the world. Yes some may not be released no matter how much we pray for them but we should be confident that our prayers will be heard and made use of in whatever way Our Lord deems best.

Also there is a belief that the souls that you aid in gaining their release will come to your defense during your final judgment by Christ. If nothing else praying for the souls in purgatory is an excellent practice in charitable prayer.

 

[midori]

I assess that we pray for souls in purgatory because the sooner they are released the sooner they are able to intercede on behalf of those living in the world.

According to St. John Vianney:

“If one knew what we may obtain from God by the intercession of the Poor Souls, they would not be so much abandoned. Let us pray a great deal for them, they will pray for us.”

The Souls in Purgatory cannot pray for themselves, but they can still pray for others who request their prayers.

@Cecilia, according to St. Catherine of Genoa, the greatest pain of purgatory is separation from God. But this separation is finite. Remember that the Soul has seen God in person for their particular judgment, and desires to be with God forever… but they cannot yet enter heaven.

"Since the souls in purgatory are freed from the guilt of sin, there is no barrier between them and God save only the pains they suffer, which delay the satisfaction of their desire. And when they see how serious is even the slightest hindrance, which the necessity of justice causes to check them, a vehement flame kindles within them, which is like that of hell. They feel no guilt however, and it is guilt which is the cause of the malignant will of the condemned in hell, to whom God does not communicate his goodness, and thus they remain in despair and with a will forever opposed to the good will of God.