souls in purgatory

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joanmo42

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My life here will soon be coming to an end.(only God knows when, of course)
I am grateful for all the blessings God has given me, even the knowledge of a terminal illness.

My question concerns my time in purgatory.
I have 4 adult children who give me grief and concerns about their life styles, so I was wondering if a soul in purgatory still has the human emotions that one has on earth.

I know I will be able to pray for my children, but will I ‘feel’ the sadness and sorrow that I sometimes feel for them now?

I am just curious as I have not thought about this before.

I would appreciate any theological references, not just opinions.
 
We don’t know. The Church’s teaching is that there is a purgatory, not that we know how it works. All we know is that, for some of the people bound to Heaven, a final cleansing of their sins will be needed. Purgatory might be an instantaneous event, sort of like having a bad tooth pulled; or it might be a lengthy process, sort of like re-learning to use muscles that have been confined by a cast.

It won’t necessarily be painful, but we think that it might be because of Paul’s comment that some “will be saved, but as through fire” – implying that there will be pain.

So, sorry; but I don’t think anyone on earth knows the answer to your question.
 
This is an interesting topic. I didn’t know someone in purgatory could pray for the living. 🤷 I don’t know much about purgatory. I don’t know if you are going to “care” about your children.(and I’m not trying to sound mean). I think a soul in purgatory only has enough energy for themselves and looking towards heaven to soothe them.

If you don’t already do so, start a devotion to the brown scapular. It is never too late for it. I have heard that one who dies and goes to purgatory stays until the first saturday after their death and then they are released. I think once a soul is in heaven, they can do more for their loved ones, ie pray for them.

:manvspc:
 
joanmo42 said:
My life here will soon be coming to an end.(only God knows when, of course)
I am grateful for all the blessings God has given me, even the knowledge of a terminal illness.

My question concerns my time in purgatory.
I have 4 adult children who give me grief and concerns about their life styles, so I was wondering if a soul in purgatory still has the human emotions that one has on earth.

I know I will be able to pray for my children, but will I ‘feel’ the sadness and sorrow that I sometimes feel for them now?

I am just curious as I have not thought about this before.

I would appreciate any theological references, not just opinions.
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I can’t give you theological references, exactly, but I can recommend the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux. (I tend to do that) She is one of the Doctors of the Church and worthy of belief. She maintained that the souls in purgatory are volunteers. She stated that when we present ourselves before God, we know, with utter clarity, the state of our souls. We are offered mercy and forgiveness for everything, along with unimaginable love.

But, if we accept those things, yet feel ourselves not really worthy to admit ourselves to the presence of God, we opt for purgatory, where, like on an intense retreat, we dig out the last remnants of the selfishness we did not manage to overcome in our lives.

I can’t say, or don’t remember, how St. Therese described the state of mind of souls in purgatory otherwise, but she characterizes them as much more fully human than they were here. And that makes sense to me. If God loves us enough to forgive our offenses against Him, he would enhance us rather than diminish us. St. Therese, after all, declared that she would spend her eternity bringing graces to souls on earth. And there is no doubt in my mind that she does just exactly that. None whatever.

So, would you be less able, somehow, to have the compassion St. Therese has? Maybe not in degree because, after all, she is one of the most revered saints of the Church. But she certainly accomplished much more after her death than she did during her life, and all out of love for God and for people. I have no reason to believe she feels no emotion about people; no pity, no sadness. But she is connected to infinite joy too. How, exactly that mix works, I don’t know. But I can sort of imagine it, in the same sort of way I could imagine having a glorified body after the general resurrection and perhaps being able to go without harm into the center of the sun, feeling the thousands of degrees of heat just as they really are, but without it being painful, exactly.
 
Oh, and Joanmo42, you will know me too then. Pray for me then, as I will pray for you now.
 
joanmo42 said:
Thank you, Ridgerunner, I am grateful for every whisper of prayer on my behalf.
(btw–where is Aux Arc?)
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“Aux Arcs” is French for “where the bows are”, or “at the place of the bows”. When the French missionaries came up the Mississippi, they asked the Indians what they called a hilly, forested area to the west of the river. In their language, the Indians said “where the bows are”, a name the Indians had given that region because of a wonderful wood found there, out of which extremely fine bows were made that the INdians traded far and wide. Adopting that name, the French called it “Aux Arcs”. Longbow fans utilize that wood to this day.

When English speakers came into that country, they kept the name, but anglicized the spelling to “Ozarks”, which is the name the area has today. “Aux Arcs” spoken by a French speaker, sounds exactly like “Ozarks”, the “Aux” being pronounced “Ohz”.

Long story short, I live in the southern Missouri Ozarks.
 
joanmo42 said:
My life here will soon be coming to an end.(only God knows when, of course)
I am grateful for all the blessings God has given me, even the knowledge of a terminal illness.

My question concerns my time in purgatory.
I have 4 adult children who give me grief and concerns about their life styles, so I was wondering if a soul in purgatory still has the human emotions that one has on earth.

I know I will be able to pray for my children, but will I ‘feel’ the sadness and sorrow that I sometimes feel for them now?

I am just curious as I have not thought about this before.

I would appreciate any theological references, not just opinions.
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I, too, would love to hear an explanation. I once asked a priest how someone could possibly be happy in heaven if they know their child/children are burning in hell. He couldn’t answer.
 
I believe that the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a story about a man in purgatory.

If he were in hell, he would be completely self involved, yet in the story he is recognizes Abraham as his father (a sign of respect) and has concern for his brothers who are still alive. In fact, he prays for them (send Lazarus).

So I would believe that those in Purgatory can pray for those of us still on Earth though they might not know what is happening here (that knowledge would have to be infused by God)
 
RosaryFan said:
I, too, would love to hear an explanation. I once asked a priest how someone could possibly be happy in heaven if they know their child/children are burning in hell. He couldn’t answer.
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Do you enjoy thanksgiving dinner?

We all well know suffering and starving is going on elsewhere. But that does not stop us from enjoyment of family, friends, and a good meal.
 
Ridgerunner said:
"When English speakers came into that country, they kept the name, but anglicized the spelling to “Ozarks”, which is the name the area has today. “Aux Arcs” spoken by a French speaker, sounds exactly like “Ozarks”, the “Aux” being pronounced “Ohz”.
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I never heard that.
 
vz71 said:
Do you enjoy thanksgiving dinner?

We all well know suffering and starving is going on elsewhere. But that does not stop us from enjoyment of family, friends, and a good meal.
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Although that is a good point, I don’t know how I would feel about enjoying my Thanksgiving dinner if I knew my own son or daughter was dying of starvation. After spending a lifetime trying to keep them on the right path, and praying for the salvation of their souls, it just seems like an impossibility to be able to enjoy anything while your child is suffering eternal damnation. I know anything is possible with God and I don’t doubt that there is always joy in heaven. I just don’t understand how there could be in that situation.
 
((it just seems like an impossibility to be able to enjoy anything while your child is suffering eternal damnation.))

I believe that once we get to Heaven, we no longer have ‘family’ members. As it says in scripture…we will be like the angels and have no husbands/wives. Thus I believe we are still family in purgatory but we become a solitary soul in Heaven.
 
RosaryFan said:
Although that is a good point, I don’t know how I would feel about enjoying my Thanksgiving dinner if I knew my own son or daughter was dying of starvation. After spending a lifetime trying to keep them on the right path, and praying for the salvation of their souls, it just seems like an impossibility to be able to enjoy anything while your child is suffering eternal damnation. I know anything is possible with God and I don’t doubt that there is always joy in heaven. I just don’t understand how there could be in that situation.
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I have the same concerns. Perhaps then, that this is a test for us to trust God. In the end, he will make all things right, and we need to believe that. How that can happen, I have no idea.
 
joanmo42 said:
((it just seems like an impossibility to be able to enjoy anything while your child is suffering eternal damnation.))

I believe that once we get to Heaven, we no longer have ‘family’ members. As it says in scripture…we will be like the angels and have no husbands/wives. Thus I believe we are still family in purgatory but we become a solitary soul in Heaven.
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I recall one of the true stories about St. Therese. She believed very much in the power of prayer. She used to “adopt” people for whom to pray. She “adopted” one particularly awful condemned murderer and stormed heaven with prayer that he would convert before his execution; something he showed no sign of doing. Yet, right before his execution, he did just that.

Do not discount the likelihood that your prayers on behalf of your children will be heard. Perhaps that’s your “job” in heaven or perhaps purgatory. There is no “time” there, as we know it to be. In 100 years, you may still be able to pray effectively for the present.
 
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