Purgatorial fire

[convertmjh]

I found an interesting quote from St. Thomas Aquainas about the purifying agent(s). I would like to share it because it goes againist some of the overly graphic views of purgatory that cause people to doubt the doctrine. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that only one form of torture is used in Purgatory "to cleanse us from the remains of sin…the pain of fire only is ascribed to Purgatory."2 I **
** I

 

[RobedWithLight]

What work of Thomas Aquinas did you quote that from? It would be better to cite the source or better yet provide a link to it so we can discuss it better.

Gerry

 

[convertmjh]

Here is a link

newadvent.org/summa/700102.htm

 

[DominvsVobiscvm]

St. Thomas Aquinas taught that only one form of torture is used in Purgatory

Umm . . . he doesn’t teach this at all.

Aquinas is treating the question of whether or not Purgatorial fire is the same as Hell-fire. He says we just don’t know.

You gave a very selective quotation, and really out of context. It is two fragments from two different imaginary objectors. They are not Saint Thomas’s actual thoughts or words.

And never does he refer to the Purgatorial fire as “torture,” never has any official, or unofficial, Catholic work on this subject. Something is not torturous just because it’s painful.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

convertmjh:

Here is a link

newadvent.org/summa/700102.htm

It may be worth pointing out, that all the Summa after Part 3 question 90 article 4 is “cut and pasted” from his Commentary on the “Sentences”, which is from about 20 years earlier.​

I find it helps to think of the “fire” as the fire of of God’s Love & Holiness - which is something far different from any earthly flame. ##