under_his_wing:
Hi
Can you clear this for me - Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross for us…so why temporal punishment, penance … thank you
What Jesus’ death on the Cross accomplished was to redeem the human race so, as a whole, they can be reconciled to God, something humans on their own could never have done. As a result, we can individually place our faith in him and through baptism and obedience be “born again” into a new life where we can approach God as a merciful judge. It does NOT let us off scot-free from ALL the consequences of our personal sins.
The way to think of the temporal “punishments” is, not as punishment in the sense of eternal punishment, but as direct consequences of the sins we commit. The example commonly used is of the boy who breaks the neighbor’s window with a rock. He goes to her house and apologizes to her, and she forgives him (she doesn’t call the police and have him prosecuted as a vandal). The fact that she forgives him, however, does not satisfy justice–what else must be done? There is still the matter of the broken window–the damage is done and must be made right. If the boy is truly repentant, even if he is not to be punished, he will fix the window to undo the damage, because it is the right thing to do. The damage must be undone by him because he is truly repentant and taking responsibility for his actions.
Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice on the Cross notwithstanding, we will all occasionally commit personal sins. Whenever we sin, those sins have immediate consequences. Something was damaged – someone’s property, reputation, feelings, rights, etc. And that includes God, for those sins which are commited directly against him (like blasphemy). If we do not completely make reparation in this life, justice demands that we complete that in the next life – and that is what Purgatory is. Purgatory is actually a proof of God’s mercy since by all rights, he should deny us entry to heaven if we are not truly repentant (still attached to our sins), even though he has forgiven our sins. As it says in Revelation 21:27, nothing unclean shall enter heaven. In Hebrews 12:14 it says we should strive for the holiness without which no one shall see God.
For more info, see this Catholic Answers tract:
catholic.com/library/Purgatory.asp
