There are a few references to purgatory in the Gospels. Jesus says in Matthew 18.34-35 “The Lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will my heavenly Father do with you, unless you forgive sincerely your brothers and sisters from the heart.”
We have to ask ourselves this very important question: And what will the heavenly Father do to us if we do not forgive sincerely our brothers and sister? What is he going to do to us if we do not forgive sincerely? Because Jesus says that the heavenly Father will do the same thing to us as He spoke about in the parable Matt 18:23-35.
Therefore, if we forgive but not sincerely, then the heavenly Father will punish us not permanently but temporarily. This is called in the Catholic Church, “Temporary punishment,” or, “Purgatory” which comes from the word, “Purging or cleansing” or the Latin word is, “Pur-ga-re” because the spirit or soul has to undergo a cleansing process for its hypocrasy, sin. Purgatory should not be confused with eternal punishment, e.g. “eternal fires of hell.”
So, there’s a purgatory where a spirit is saved but has to undergo a purging or a cleansing process. Think of it like this: “Imagine that I have a stain on my shirt, then I have to throw the T-Shirt in the wash machine.” So, too, it is with the soul. It has to undergo a cleaning, a cleansing of its attitude and sin.
While the soul that has been completely evil and disobedient, and has refused God’s mercy and Love, will undergo an eternal seperation from the Holy Spirit, God. Such seperation can be seen in Luke 16:19-31. where the rich man had been eternally seperated from God, because he refused to listen to the Moses’ law and the prophets. Not only did he refuse to listen to Moses’ law and the prophets, but he and his 5 brothers lived uncharitably and selfishly, thinking only about themselves.
In connection with purgatory, Jesus says in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
This is so true, because in the Catholic Church there are many who have done greater works. For instance, Saint Padre Pio, the saint who slept only for 3 hours and ate very little, and, likewise, was known to receive assualts and attacks from the devil. The devil was known to appear to the Saint in all sorts of forms, trying to lure him to sins of impurity and disobedience. He would appear to him in beastly apparitions, or as his spiritual director, or as one of his close friends, or as his guardian angel. Also Saint Padre Pio was known to speak with his guardian Angel who would guide him to speak many other languages, to prophesy, to bilocate (Bilocate means he could be at 2 places at once.) he had the gift of healing, he raised a little boy who had accidently drowned in a bath tub. He was known to speak other languages which he had never studied or learnt. He would speak perfectly and fluently in French to French pilgrams. It is said that the Saint spoke German to German pilgrims, but he never even studied German. He had the gift of prophecy, he healed a lot of people from incurable illnesses, such as cancer, paralysis, and even blindness.
Saint Padre Pio is considered one of the greatest miracle workers in the Catholic Church, but not the least, because there are many other saints who certainly have done miracles no less than Saint Padre Pio. Saints such as Saint Gerard Majella, or Saint Francis of Assissi, or Saint Francis of Paola, or Saint Mary of Agreda, or Blessed Margaret of Castello, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, and even the former deceased Pope - Blessed Pope John Paul 2, was known to cure people from incurable illnesses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There’s a book about his miracles called, "Miracles Of John John Paul II) by Pawel Zuchniewicz. Exellent book!
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I just don’t quite see how it all adds up. Thanks for your reply!
