Do people really go to Hell for masturbation and using birth control?

[YinYangMom]

God speaks to every believer through the Holy Spirit. The Catholic church does not have a monopoly on God.

No one in the Cahtolic Church has ever claimed the She has a monopoly on God.

And while, yes, the Holy Spirit speaks to each believer (and non-believer for that matter) enabling God to reach every soul in existence, Satan is also able to manipulate the thoughts of individuals into believing his message is one from God.

Since there is but ONE Truth, how do you explain God telling you something different than what He tells me or Jane down the street?

You believe God has revealed to you that there is no one church necessary to be one with Him.

But scripture, the Word made Flesh in Jesus Christ, clearly shows God establishing **a **church to last until the end of times. A church He has promised the gates of hell will not prevail against.

Either God is telling you the truth or He’s telling the Catholic Church the truth. He cannot contradict Himself. That’s impossible.

So what assurance do you have that what He has said to you is The truth and not what He has said to the Catholic church through scripture?

If scripture clearly says masturbation is a sin but God tells you otherwise do you not see the contradiction in teaching? Can you not see that one of those has to be wrong? The **only **reason anyone knows what scripture says is because the Catholic Church preserved the writings of the early Fathers and infallibly declared the writings to be Truth.

If you believe in Scripture, you must believe the Catholic Church has the infallibility to declare it True. If you believe the Catholic Church has such authority then it makes no sense to then claim one does not need the Church to guide them to Christ.

 

[Riley259]

I’ve seen lots of threads here about people worried about masturbation and their immortal souls. I never see any ones asking the same about birth control, although I find it hard to believe that every single person at this site uses NFP, since the statistics are pretty dismil on adherence to that Catholic teaching by Catholics.

I just find it hard to believe that God would send someone to Hell for these sins. Yes, I think they are sins but I’ll tell you right here that my wife and I used birthcontrol for years after the birth of our son. Then my wife got interrested in NFP. It’s a healthier way to live, it’s good for your marriage, and it’s what the Church says to do.

As far as masturbation, why I’d say that probably most young men and a good number of young women do it, and alot of adults do too. I’m not saying it’s not a sin, but I find it hard to believe that you’re going to Hell under any circumstances for doing it.

Do you think people really go to Hell for these things?

It comes down to willful consent. If you knew that these things were gravely sinful and you still engaged in them and you didn’t feel contrite and confess them to a priest, then yes objectively you would be condemned if you died in that same state…but, only God knows what’s in a person’s heart and only He knows the degree of knowledge and consent, etc. so whether or not a person goes to hell only God knows for sure.

 

[YinYangMom]

If God “founded” the Catholic church, why does the church teach so many things that Jesus and the apostles did not (such as the teachings against masturbation and birth control)? Rather than drawing people to Christ, the Catholic church imposes itself and its manmade rules as obstacles between man and God.

Hmmm…Jesus taught about life. He taught about respect. He taught about obeying the commandments of God. He taught about dying to oneself.

The apostles taught about chastity and celibacy. They taught about rising above the temptations of the flesh to help keep people focused on heaven.

Interestingly enough, masturbation, sodomy, homosexuality, free sex, contraception and abortion are all mentioned in the Old Testament. Through the teaching of the ten commandments (which Jesus in the New Testament calls us to obey) and the prophets, God frequently admonished the Chosen People for giving into the wild lifestyles of the secular world around them (we Christians are pretty much in the same boat). Continually the Chosen People - even the leaders - would fall into temptation and break the commandments by going outside the law as set forth by God Himself. Read closely and much of those falls were due to lust, desire and sexual impulses - but mostly pride, greed and arrogance. Still, each time God punished the People for forgetting and ignoring His laws.

I don’t know how anyone believing in scripture can claim these moral issues we deal with today were never addressed by God… and that men in the church impose their own will on the masses. The Apostles and the Church consistently defend and remind the People of God’s laws as revealed to man througout all of Scripture - **not **just the New Testament…for the New fullfills the Old and the two cannot be separated.

Every teaching of the Church is backed up by Scripture or Tradition…and in writing. So if you really think it’s just a group of men coming up with these oppressive rules, check the footnotes very carefully next time you come across one of the teachings of the Church - then actually make the effort to find those referenced documents. You’ll see the position defended by the Church is one which was established either through the Old Testament, Jesus, the Apostles, or the Early Fathers of the Church. It’s awfully hard to argue with those who walked with Christ.

 

[jmcrae]

If God “founded” the Catholic church, why does the church teach so many things that Jesus and the apostles did not (such as the teachings against masturbation and birth control)?

For millenia, people understood that these things were completely against nature and contrary to God’s will. Even Protestants were able to cite Biblical evidence against these things. But at some point, they decided they wanted to be “modern,” instead, so they changed their teachings on these things.

The Catholic Church is the only one that didn’t change its teachings in response to modernity.

Rather than drawing people to Christ, the Catholic church imposes itself and its manmade rules as obstacles between man and God.

The Catholic Church preserves Christian civilization. It keeps what Jesus actually gave us, and doesn’t speculate about what He would most certainly change about His teachings, if only He were modern, and hep with the times.

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

Hmmm…Jesus taught about life. He taught about respect. He taught about obeying the commandments of God. He taught about dying to oneself.

The apostles taught about chastity and celibacy. They taught about rising above the temptations of the flesh to help keep people focused on heaven.

Interestingly enough, masturbation, sodomy, homosexuality, free sex, contraception and abortion are all mentioned in the Old Testament. Through the teaching of the ten commandments (which Jesus in the New Testament calls us to obey) and the prophets, God frequently admonished the Chosen People for giving into the wild lifestyles of the secular world around them (we Christians are pretty much in the same boat). Continually the Chosen People - even the leaders - would fall into temptation and break the commandments by going outside the law as set forth by God Himself. Read closely and much of those falls were due to lust, desire and sexual impulses - but mostly pride, greed and arrogance. Still, each time God punished the People for forgetting and ignoring His laws.

I don’t know how anyone believing in scripture can claim these moral issues we deal with today were never addressed by God… and that men in the church impose their own will on the masses. The Apostles and the Church consistently defend and remind the People of God’s laws as revealed to man througout all of Scripture - **not **just the New Testament…for the New fullfills the Old and the two cannot be separated.

So, I assume that you observe ALL of the Old Testament laws? Read Deuteronomy. Do you adhere to all of these Old Testment laws? (Clean and unclean food; uncleanness because of nocturnal emission, etc.) How did the Catholic church choose which Old Testament laws must still be followed? Did the Holy Spirit tell the Pope? I don’t think so…

 

[jmcrae]

So, I assume that you observe ALL of the Old Testament laws? Read Deuteronomy. Do you adhere to all of these Old Testment laws? (Clean and unclean food; uncleanness because of nocturnal emission, etc.) How did the Catholic church choose which Old Testament laws must still be followed? Did the Holy Spirit tell the Pope? I don’t think so…

It’s all in the Book of Acts - and as it turns out, YES, God did tell our first Pope (St. Peter), in a vision experienced in a dream. (Acts 10:9-48)

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

It’s all in the Book of Acts - and as it turns out, YES, God did tell our first Pope (St. Peter), in a vision experienced in a dream. (Acts 10:9-48)

So, then we do not have to obey all of the laws in the Old Testament. Acts only mentions clean and unclean foods. By the way, the Holy Spirit did not speak only to Peter; he also spoke to Paul and the other writers of the bible.

 

[YinYangMom]

So, I assume that you observe ALL of the Old Testament laws? Read Deuteronomy. Do you adhere to all of these Old Testment laws? (Clean and unclean food; uncleanness because of nocturnal emission, etc.) How did the Catholic church choose which Old Testament laws must still be followed? Did the Holy Spirit tell the Pope? I don’t think so…

The New Covenant fulfills the Old Covenant.
It completes it. It does not abolish it.

The laws of the Old Covenant were there for those People in order to guide them into the time when God would come Himself as Jesus Christ to finish the lessons.

Which, of course He did. Evidence: Jesus compacted the 10 commandments into 2 - Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love one another as yourself.

Did His New Commandment mean the Old 10 no longer mattered? No. By focusing on those 2, you’ll find they prevent you from breaking any of the origiinal 10. He simply made it easier for us to remain focused.

Jesus also many times referred to Old Testament scriptures and instructed those around Him to continue obeying those rules - even while He was walking among them.

Show me anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus taught His disciples to go out and tell the new followers to toss out everything they had believed before - to disrregard all the teachings previously revealed by earlier prophets.

Do we still follow the letter of all the laws of the Old Testament? No. If you want to know why - look to the writings of the Apostles and the Early Fathers of the Church. They explain why one old rule after another no longer applied - starting with the requirement of circumcision and more importantly, the rule which stated salvation was for the Jews only. Those were biggies the apostles had to seriously reflect upon…and it was the Holy Spirit who guided them to the new understanding. It wasn’t Jesus’ words…those teachings were over-ruled after He ascended into Heaven. And yet, when the apostles declared the new rule they explained how it is through Jesus fulfilling the covenant that it was able to be.

So you tell me, if Jesus did not establish a Church through which all mankind until the end of time could come to know the Will of the Father, then what was really going on when the apostles opened the doors of Christianity to the Gentiles and did not require them to be circumcised? Do you honestly believe all the other disciples would follow the human will of one or two apostles on a matter as critical as that unless they believed and knew deep in their souls that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through those men? Do you believe the apostles were acting as men, conspiring to come up with new rules to declare in the name of Jesus (who was no longer around to call them liars)? That’s what would have had to have happened if what you say is true - that there has never been one true church founded by Christ and that God speaking to each person individually is sufficient to come to know His Will on all moral matters.

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

The New Covenant fulfills the Old Covenant.
It completes it. It does not abolish it.

The laws of the Old Covenant were there for those People in order to guide them into the time when God would come Himself as Jesus Christ to finish the lessons.

Which, of course He did. Evidence: Jesus compacted the 10 commandments into 2 - Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love one another as yourself.

Did His New Commandment mean the Old 10 no longer mattered? No. By focusing on those 2, you’ll find they prevent you from breaking any of the origiinal 10. He simply made it easier for us to remain focused.

Jesus also many times referred to Old Testament scriptures and instructed those around Him to continue obeying those rules - even while He was walking among them.

Show me anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus taught His disciples to go out and tell the new followers to toss out everything they had believed before - to disrregard all the teachings previously revealed by earlier prophets.

Do we still follow the letter of all the laws of the Old Testament? No. If you want to know why - look to the writings of the Apostles and the Early Fathers of the Church. They explain why one old rule after another no longer applied - starting with the requirement of circumcision and more importantly, the rule which stated salvation was for the Jews only. Those were biggies the apostles had to seriously reflect upon…and it was the Holy Spirit who guided them to the new understanding. It wasn’t Jesus’ words…those teachings were over-ruled after He ascended into Heaven.

So you tell me, if Jesus did not establish a Church through which all mankind until the end of time could come to know the Will of the Father, then what was really going on when the apostles opened the doors of Christianity to the Gentiles and did not require them to be circumcised? Do you honestly believe all the other disciples would follow the human will of one or two apostles on a matter as critical as that unless they believed and knew deep in their souls that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through those men?

Bottom Line: Birth control and masturbation do not violate the ten commandments.

 

[YinYangMom]

By the way, the Holy Spirit did not speak only to Peter; he also spoke to Paul and the other writers of the bible.

Yet when He spoke to them and directed them to do the things they did - teach the things they did - it was after Jesus ascended into heaven. I ask again, why should anyone have believed Peter or Paul or any of the others, especially on matters which seemed to contradict the Old Laws if those men had no authority to change such laws?

If you claim they had the authority to do so from the Holy Spirit, why didn’t the heretics have the same authority when they claimed the Holy Spirit revealed what they were teaching?

Do you realize that if your claim is true then the Bible we have is incomplete and in error since there were many others groups at the time of the compilation of the Bible claiming certain writings were inspired words of God and should have been included?

How does one claim the Church was one at one point in time, that only the apostles had the protection of the Holy Spirit, but after the last one died the authority handed to them ceased to exist and yet regard the Bible as compiled long after the last apostle died as Truth and the complete Word of God?

 

[YinYangMom]

Bottom Line: Birth control and masturbation do not violate the ten commandments.

Bottom line:
Masturbation violates the commandment against adultery.
Artificial birth control violates the commandment against killing.

The laws of God are the same now as they were then.
The various means by which these laws can be broken have developed generation after generation with the changes in forms of government, mixed cultures, science and technology. Every ‘new’ twist must still be measured against the original laws of God.

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

Yet when He spoke to them and directed them to do the things they did - teach the things they did - it was after Jesus ascended into heaven. I ask again, why should anyone have believed Peter or Paul or any of the others, especially on matters which seemed to contradict the Old Laws if those men had no authority to change such laws?

If you claim they had the authority to do so from the Holy Spirit, why didn’t the heretics have the same authority when they claimed the Holy Spirit revealed what they were teaching?

Do you realize that if your claim is true then the Bible we have is incomplete and in error since there were many others groups at the time of the compilation of the Bible claiming certain writings were inspired words of God and should have been included?

Do you realize that if what YOU claim is true, the Bible is incomplete? You seem to believe that the bible is not sufficient, so we need additional rules from the Catholic church. The Catholic church is the one who has added an endless number of man made rules. In addition, to teachings about masturbation and birth control, the Catholic church had added/changed teachings on purgatory, indulgences, limbo, annullments, meat on Friday, teachings on Mary…the list is neverending. According to the Catholic church, truth is forever evolving…I keep wondering what they will come up with next. Mary as co-redeemer? Oh, wait! Didn’t they already do that one?

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

Bottom line:
Masturbation violates the commandment against adultery.
Artificial birth control violates the commandment against killing.

The laws of God are the same now as they were then.
The various means by which these laws can be broken have developed generation after generation with the changes in forms of government, mixed cultures, science and technology. Every ‘new’ twist must still be measured against the original laws of God.

Definition for adultery: voluntary sexual intercourse by a married man with a woman not his wife, or by a married woman with a man not her husband.

Masturbation is not intercourse, and not with another man or another woman. How does this violate the commandment against adultery?

Birth control: If a woman uses a diaphragm, the sperm never reaches the egg. How is this killing?

 

[YinYangMom]

Do you realize that if what YOU claim is true, the Bible is incomplete? You seem to believe that the bible is not sufficient, so we need additional rules from the Catholic church. The Catholic church is the one who has** added** an endless number of man made rules. In addition, to teachings about masturbation and birth control, the Catholic church had added/changed teachings on purgatory, indulgences, limbo, annullments, meat on Friday, teachings on Mary…the list is neverending. According to the Catholic church, truth is forever evolving…I keep wondering what they will come up with next. Mary as co-redeemer? Oh, wait! Didn’t they already do that one?

Well even the Bible says the writings are not complete. John specifically notes that not everything Christ taught was written since to have done so would have taken innumerable volumes. So, it’s not me ‘claiming’ it…argue with John.

The Church doesn’t add anything…she clarifies and usually because an original teaching of Christ’s has constantly been challenged to the point that the sheep begin to scatter. She’s the one authorized by Christ to deal with all these newfangled temptations to help mankind view them in the proper perspective - the one handed down by God Himself.

As for truth evolving…that’s not what the Catholic church believes. Truth is. **All **Truth God chose to reveal to mankind was revealed to the apostles at Pentecost, revelation ending with the death of the last apostle. There will be no new revelation, he clearly states.

What the protection of the Holy Spirit provides is deeper understanding of those same Truths revealed and preserved by the apostles through the Early Church Fathers. What the Holy Spirit inspired them (and future magesterium leaders) to write upon reflecting on the teachings of Christ and the apostles (both in Word **and **Tradition) was/is a clearer understanding of how those teachings should be applied to the new twists and turns presenting themselves to the faithful.

Search the forums and you will find scriptural references supporting the teachings of the church on all those items you listed: purgatory, indulgences, limbo, annullments, meat on Friday, teachings on Mary. The fact remains that the Spirit continues to guide and protect the magesterium of the Church Christ founded.

Now, in your responses to me, you have yet to declare whether or not you believe **a **Church was established by Christ. All other points of discussion about men adding/changing rules rests upon whether or not you recognize **any **men having been given the authority to speak on behalf of Christ after His ascension, especially since there were no apostles present at the Council which declared which writings would constitute the Bible. So what’s your position?

If you really think about what you’re claiming, this whole thread is pointless…we shouldn’t even be discussing ‘sin’, ‘hell’ or ‘ten commandments’ because we’d have no reason to believe a word of the bible since Jesus didn’t write it and even the apostles didn’t (authors associated with certain apostles did the writing), let alone the fact that a group of mere men determined which writings would even go into the book. How did you come to know about ‘sin’ let alone ‘hell’? Maybe there were more than 10 commandments or less… maybe Jesus di speak about masturbation and contraception? How do you know? Did God reveal these things to you personally?

 

[Priscilla_Ann]

Well even the Bible says it is not complete. John specifically notes that not everything Christ taught was written since to have done so would have taken innumerable volumes. So, it’s not me ‘claiming’ it…argue with John.

The Church doesn’t add anything…she clarifies and usually because an original teaching of Christ’s has constantly been challenged to the point that the sheep begin to scatter. She’s the one authorized by Christ to deal with all these newfangled temptations to help mankind view them in the proper perspective - the one handed down by God Himself.

As for truth evolving…that’s not what the Catholic church believes. Truth is. **All **Truth God chose to reveal to mankind was revealed to the apostles at Pentecost, revelation ending with the death of the last apostle. There will be no new revelation, he clearly states.

What the protection of the Holy Spirit provides is deeper understanding of those same Truths revealed and preserved by the apostles through the Early Church Fathers. What the Holy Spirit inspired them (and future magesterium leaders) to write upon reflecting on the teachings of Christ and the apostles (both in Word **and **Tradition) was/is a clearer understanding of how those teachings should be applied to the new twists and turns presenting themselves to the faithful.

Search the forums and you will find scriptural references supporting the teachings of the church on all those items you listed: purgatory, indulgences, limbo, annullments, meat on Friday, teachings on Mary. The fact remains that the Spirit continues to guide and protect the magesterium of the Church Christ founded.

Now, in your responses to me, you have yet to declare whether or not you believe **a **Church was established by Christ. All other points of discussion about men adding/changing rules rests upon whether or not you recognize **any **men having been given the authority to speak on behalf of Christ after His ascension, especially since there were no apostles present at the Council which declared which writings would constitute the Bible. So what’s your position?

The church Jesus established consists of all those who accept Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for our sins. Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

No, I am not a member of the Catholic church.

 

[YinYangMom]

Definition for adultery: voluntary sexual intercourse by a married man with a woman not his wife, or by a married woman with a man not her husband.

Masturbation is not intercourse, and not with another man or another woman. How does this violate the commandment against adultery?

Birth control: If a woman uses a diaphragm, the sperm never reaches the egg. How is this killing?

Hmm…those definitions were not the ones in place during the time of Moses or Christ. They came much later in man’s history, not by religious authors (inspired), but by mere men.

The Church upholds the definition/understanding of masturbation as it was in the beginning. Again, I ask you to search the forums for threads addressing how/why masturbation is included as a violation of adultery.

As for birth control, please stop taking out the ‘artificial’ which precedes the term. As for diaphrams, you must know it is not to be used alone, but in conjuction with a spermicidal jelly and/cream. The purpose of the spermicidal is to ‘kill’ any sperm which might produce life. I’m not up on things, but I wouldn’t be surprised if technology now includes in the jelly/creme an abortifacient agent. Still, to learn more about how artificial birth control is shown to be in violation of one or more of the ten commandments, search the forums. I may be wrong about which commandment it violates but I am certain it violates at least one of them.

 

[YinYangMom]

The church Jesus established consists of all those who accept Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for our sins. Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

If that’s the case then on what basis do you reject the claims of the those at the time of the Council dealing with the Bible that their inspired texts should have been included?

They accepted Jesus Christ.
They accepted the sacrifice He made for our sins.
They accepted Him as their savior and redeemer.
They also believed the Spirit revealed to them Jesus was not man, but spirit…
and some believed the Spirit revealed to them Jesus was not fully God…
and some…well, I could go on…

The point being…if the Church Christ founded consisted of all people, who, then, would be the definitive voice of Christ when disputes arose (as happened at that council and is happening here on the forums today)?

Your position just doesn’t make logical sense in light of biblical history. Paul definitely introduced a new teaching to all the people who accepted Jesus (your definition of The Church)…a teaching Jesus did not reveal Himself. Now how is it that teaching prevailed and was adopted by all the people (the church) **if **all the people did not receive that message directly from the Spirit as your theory would suggest would have had to have happened.

If the church is the bride of Christ and every person who accepts Christ is the bride (that alone seems to be evidence it is not the case since marriage is between one bridegroom and one bride, thus the bride could not be plural…but for the sake of the argument), how is it every person doesn’t receive the same message from their ‘groom’ (going back to the different groups of faithful which believed different things about Jesus’ divinity/humanity and such)? That one groom would reveal variations of Truth to different people in and of itself suggests Jesus, as groom, is unfaithful, and that, we know is impossible.

The church you speak of is considered the ‘mystical’ church, which does exist as you state, within each of us as believers in Christ. However, Jesus also established a ‘physical’ Church when he handed the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter and told him that it would be upon him that He would build His Church and that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18-19)

How does the ‘mystical’ church exist without the evangelization of the people of the ‘physical’ church? Without the apostles, without the bishops they appointed to succeed them, without the priests who were appointed by their bishops you and I would never have heard about Jesus. The mystical church would have died off with the apostles and not have reached the Americas as we know it. The Authority Jesus gave to Peter accounts for something. It was not given in a vaccuum. It definitely was not given to every believer or else Paul (who had hands laid upon him by the apostles after his conversion) would not have stood alone at first with his teaching about the Gentiles. If ever there was a time for the ‘people of Christ - his church’ to unite against one person who spoke a different Truth - that would have been it. But it didn’t play out that way. How do you explain that?

 

[setter]

Bottom Line: Birth control and masturbation do not violate the ten commandments.

Christian *common sense *Bottom Line: *Artificial *birth control and masturbation (whether solitary, mutual or married) are everyone’s free meal ticket to unlimited sexual pleasure and sexual intercourse on demand.

Hmmmm …this should cause any serious Christian to take pause …and to consider how this reconciles with the Gospel message and call to virtue and growth in holiness.

 

[Paul_Folbrecht]

Hello All,

Just joined here and this is my 1st post. I’ve just read the whole thread.

For starters, on the issue one a single mortal sin causing damnation - there is evidence in the Church that God does, in fact, allow one more chance for repentance after death. There is a story about Padre (St.) Pio telling a concerned woman whose husband had committed suicide that he had repented “on the way down” and was undergoing purification (Purgatory).

AndyF - your theology is not Catholic. I’m really not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but what you are proposing has almost nothing in common with Catholic teaching. That’s another way of saying it’s not true. As someone pointed out, you are confusing the Church’s Authority in areas of practice - such as priestly celibicy and the rules of Mass attendance - with faith and moral, which are most certainly asbsolute and CANNOT BE CHANGED by the Church. When Christ told Peter “What you bind on Earth…”, it came with the implicit restriction that Peter or his successors could not redefine Truth. I’m sure not if you’re really interested in being a good Catholic, or not, but if you are, you need to read and understand the true teachings of the Church.

PriscillaAnn - Well, we know you’re not Catholic. The few things you’ve had to say here are, well, very silly. So Christ did not personally prohibit masturbation? First of all, you have absolutely no idea if that is true or not!! The Gospels tell us themselves that they do NOT contain everything (or nearly everything) that Christ said & did. This is one good reason why sola scriptura is nonsensical at heart, but, in any case, even if one does not accept Apostolic Authority, it should be obvious to all that specific moral questions need to be examined with conscience in the light of all of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If your sense of discernment isnt’ advanced enough to let you know that masturbation is against God’s will - if you are able to pleasure yourself and feel absolutely no regret or confusion that should be examined afterwards - then you are in need of our prayers.

Blessings to all.

 

[fix]

Hello All,

Just joined here and this is my 1st post. I’ve just read the whole thread.

For starters, on the issue one a single mortal sin causing damnation - there is evidence in the Church that God does, in fact, allow one more chance for repentance after death. There is a story about Padre (St.) Pio telling a concerned woman whose husband had committed suicide that he had repented “on the way down” and was undergoing purification (Purgatory).

We need to keep private stories by saints in perspective. First, we must hear them correctly and then we must test them against Church teaching. Our will is set at death. There is no repenting post death. Now, I think it is possible an instant before we die for God to give us a last chance to say yes to Him, but that is not after death.