Descriptions of Purgatory

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ServantofChristos

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Hello, I’m a new Catholic, and I was wondering what Purgatory is like. I asked my Catholic aunt about this and she said it was “an endless space of ash.” I’ve seen most depictions of Purgatory as a fiery place, but I’ve seen a few artworks depicting it somewhat like my aunt said.
Also is purgatory a place of punishment or a place of purification? Or both?
Thanks and God Bless.
 
It’s a place of purification 🙂 as for a description look up St. Faustina’s vision of purgatory! Reading her entire Diary would be a great idea if you haven’t yet!
 
No one knows what purgatory is like.

The Church only knows that after death, for the elect, the process of Purgation does not need stop.

We know nothing else.
 
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ServantofChristos said:
Hello, I’m a new Catholic, and I was wondering what Purgatory is like. I asked my Catholic aunt about this and she said it was “an endless space of ash.” I’ve seen most depictions of Purgatory as a fiery place, but I’ve seen a few artworks depicting it somewhat like my aunt said.
Also is purgatory a place of punishment or a place of purification? Or both?
Thanks and God Bless.
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At death, the physical body is lost, and there is the experience the immediate judgment. The purgatorial state occurs then, disembodied. A glorified body is received at the general resurrection for those that are just.
 
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ServantofChristos said:
Hello, I’m a new Catholic, and I was wondering what Purgatory is like. I asked my Catholic aunt about this and she said it was “an endless space of ash.” I’ve seen most depictions of Purgatory as a fiery place, but I’ve seen a few artworks depicting it somewhat like my aunt said.

Also is purgatory a place of punishment or a place of purification? Or both?

Thanks and God Bless.
Click to expand...
CCC 1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
 
Peter Kreeft advises that Purgatory should not be viewed as a place. But rather as a part of Heaven. A purification shower making us clean and holy enough to enter the main part of Heaven.
 
There’s a book out called “ Purgatory “ . It scared me. I haven’t been scared by a book since “Amveytville Horror “…that I read in the late 1970s. Believers often pray for the souls in purgatory. I’ve noticed that, these last few years. I believe it. And I DONT want to go there - for ANY amount of time. https://goo.gl/images/pD7AWr
 
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Various saints and beati have said they had visions of purgatory or revelations about it and that it involved different levels, some involving fire or other discomforts, and that it became less uncomfortable as the soul became more pure.

But these are private revelations, and Catholics are not obligated to believe in them. I have also seen a nihil obstat and imprimatur on a book about Purgatory by some other person claiming to have had a private revelation that said it wasn’t uncomfortable at all and was just a place where God lovingly guided you to learn the things you still needed to know.

So, bottom line is, we do not know what goes on in Purgatory and anything we come up with is just speculation.

I tend to think it must be at least somewhat uncomfortable, or else the Church would not put so much emphasis on us praying for the “Poor Souls in Purgatory” to get out.
 
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April29 said:
It’s a place of purification 🙂 as for a description look up St. Faustina’s vision of purgatory! Reading her entire Diary would be a great idea if you haven’t yet!
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Remember, though, you aren’t obligated to believe her reported revelations. There exists a school of thought that she was suffering from a whole lotta mental illness.
 
Of course no one is obliged to believe private revelation of any kind, but you see being that Her writings have church approval and that she was evaluated by a physician during her lifetime and cleared for mental illness, I believe it’s pretty safe to read. Even if one chooses not to believe, it can do for great meditation. Personally, I believe her visions and message are authentic, and being that the church even added the feast day of The Divine Mercy during Easter, upholds the Diary, and encourages the image and chaplet, and canonized her, I believe She takes her seriously too.
 
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It should be nited that the physical evaluations were conducted by church sanctioned physicians at a time when not a whole lot was known about mental illness.
 
Like I said, there are people that believe all saints had mental illness, especially the mystics and stigmatists. Reading her Diary, one can see that she was not insane, and to be honest, the fact that a woman who only went to 3rd grade could go so deeply into theology and not go against church teaching, is in itself a miracle. I say, if something is approved by Holy Mother Church, let those who want to believe believe. I’m not saying anything against you okay? 🙂 You clearly have a zeal for truth. However, many require all kinds of proof to believe,for me, Mother Church’s approval is enough proof.
 
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Approved writings by a canonized person should not be cast aside as the ravings of the mentally ill. It is fine to not believe them, as they are not part of the deposit of faith, but it would be foolish to denigrate them. The person is a saint for a reason. I also have not seen anything particularly amiss in St. Faustina’s writings.
 
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Believing Purgatory is outside time and space, I read the Saints and mystics as using human senses and constructs to show us the purification process. Either way (actual steps or metaphor) you can see God’s love for us burning through.
 
Someone said to me - that the rich man
The one who snubbed Lazarus - was actually in purgatory…
Because, the love in the rich man’s heart…
…wanting to warn his brothers still living…

This person told me that those in hell…
have absolutely no love for anyone…
but are like the demons who reside there !
 
Just remember that it is a spiritual place so thus the purification is spiritual. Fire or ash or anything else physical would not be a reality. The true “suffering” would be absence of the beatific vision.
 
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