Indulgences and Purgatory

[Dstep]

Hello, Sorry if this is in the wrong forum

I do believe in purgatory and indulgences but one thing I don’t understand is this: if purgatory is the purification of one’s soul, why would you want to recieve an indulgence and get out early? I know that purgatory is supposed to be a painful process through fire but if you get out early wouldn’t that mean that your soul wouldn’t be completely purified or do indulgences just make your purification go by quicker. Thanks

 

[Trinitas8]

Indeed an indulgence is something granted to shorten purgatory. It is something on earth that constitutes some type of sacrifice (money, travelling, time, pain, etc.). It is like purgatory on earth. The greater the indulgence, the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward. If I am wrong, someone tell me, but that’s my understanding.

 

[z_0101]

God is not limited in what can be done - remember what happend to the Prophet Isaiah:

Douay-Rheims Bible Isaiah Chapter 6:
(1) IN the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple.
(2) Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew.
(3) And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory.
(4) And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
(5) And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts.
(6) And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar.
(7)**And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed. **

Would you like to take the long journey or possibly the shortcut; however, keep in mind that normally an indulgence is only effective if the person is of the proper disposition.

Besides, who’s to say that the indulgence let’s your soul off the hook without any suffering? It could be very much as the coal to Isaiah’s lips, can’t imagine that didn’t smart just a tad! uch:

As you say, “future Catholic,” I would advise you to bring this up in your RCIA class… this topic consumed a whole two hour class (and part of a second) in one group for which I was a team-member. It was one of the best classes we had that year (it was a fun group, a lot of very serious questions from people seeking to convert).

 

[R_C]

Hello, Sorry if this is in the wrong forum

I do believe in purgatory and indulgences but one thing I don’t understand is this: if purgatory is the purification of one’s soul, why would you want to recieve an indulgence and get out early? I know that purgatory is supposed to be a painful process through fire but if you get out early wouldn’t that mean that your soul wouldn’t be completely purified or do indulgences just make your purification go by quicker. Thanks

It is said that the pains of purgatory are no less painful that the pains of hell - except for the knowledge of eternal separation from God, of course. Many saints (beginning with saint Paul) exhort us, directly or indirectly, to fulfill our purgatory or purification on earth. A purified soul is no less “purified” once it is allowed to see the face of God.

 

[bzkoss236]

Regardless of the “length of time” spent going through purgatory, at the end of the process, you are clean. Some people may “take longer” to purify, and others not. Indulgences are a way to help purify us in this life so we don’t have to be purified as much after this life.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I think it is a way of expressing solidarity with the suffering of those of our fellow church-members in Purgatory, which lightens their burden and is an act of charity for us.

 

[Ion]

This is how I understood it: our sins have an temporal effect by hurting other people; if those people do not forgive you then you might be punished depending on what you did or did not to repair the damage toward that person, and also other good works made by you or on behalf of you by other persons.
Protestant view on indulgences is wrong because if you do not really repent and turn against those sins then you will not be forgiven by God and you will go in Hell forever.