What is Purgatory Like?

[Silvereel]

I understand the doctrine of Purgatory, that it is a place of purification and cleansing… yet, what is Purgatory like? Some things I’ve read seem to portray it as a terrible, temporary hell, and others describe the torments of being metaphorical. Does the Church have an official stance on this, or is it a matter of opinion?

 

[Spirithound]

I understand the doctrine of Purgatory, that it is a place of purification and cleansing… yet, what is Purgatory like? Some things I’ve read seem to portray it as a terrible, temporary hell, and others describe the torments of being metaphorical. Does the Church have an official stance on this, or is it a matter of opinion?

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire.

Simply, the Church says nothing about the nature of the final purification, only that it exists.

I kinda like Dante’s model…need to contemplate the theological ramifications though…

 

[NHInsider]

I understand the doctrine of Purgatory, that it is a place of purification and cleansing… yet, what is Purgatory like? Some things I’ve read seem to portray it as a terrible, temporary hell, and others describe the torments of being metaphorical. Does the Church have an official stance on this, or is it a matter of opinion?

The “fire” imagery is Biblical - 1 Cor. 3:15, for example, where the image is of a building made of mixture of materials, which are “tested” by fire, with the “straw” and dross burning away while the gold and gems are made brighter.

But - since this is a spiritual purgation, not a bodily one, the question of “how” we experience it is what causes speculation. As with Heaven and Hell, we use physical language of space and time to describe spiritual realities that exist outside of both, because we have no other language to use.

The important and sometimes overlooked truth is that purgatory is a “place/time” of suffering but not of despair - in fact it is joyful suffering because it is preparing the soul to enter the Presence of God! (One way of thinking of this is that, since God is Perfectly pure and no impurity can exist in His Presence, Purgatory is in fact the act of entering His Presence, whose Holiness burns away our impurities as we approach. But because we are saved by His grace, we survive that fire and achieve the goal! )

 

[NHInsider]

Simply, the Church says nothing about the nature of the final purification, only that it exists.

I kinda like Dante’s model…need to contemplate the theological ramifications though…

One of my favorite “non-fire” images of purgatory comes from the Wizard of Oz movie. After our heroes have been told that the Wizard will see them, they get taken off to be cleaned-up. This includes being restuffed for the Scarecrow and burnished for the Tin Man - not particularly “comfortable” experiences. But everyone is joyful because they know that this momentary discomfort is precisely to prepare them for what they’ve been hoping for.

It’s obviously not theological, but it’s a neat parallel.