Why is there a Purgatory?

[IGotQuestions]

What is its purpose?
What bible verses prove its existence?
Why do you go there?

Thanks!

 

[Joe_5859]

The main Catholic Answers site has lots of info on purgatory. Here is one tract:

catholic.com/tracts/purgatory

Often, the easiest way to find the scriptural support for various Catholic teachings is in the footnotes of the Catechism. The Catechism discusses purgatory in CCC 1030–1032.

The Scripture citations in this section of the CCC are to 1 Corinthians 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:7—both of which talk about a purification through fire. There is also a reference to 2 Maccabees 12:46 where prayer for the dead is mentioned (and why pray for the dead if they are either in hell where no prayer can help them or in heaven where no prayer is needed). Of course, that verse is less compelling to Protestants who do not accept 2 Maccabees as canonical.

For me, purgatory makes a good amount of logical sense. God calls us to be perfect as He is perfect. No trace of sin and imperfection can stand before the face of God in heaven. How many of us are that pure and holy when we die—even among those who strive to follow Christ? Not many. So if we are not yet perfect, yet still not completely alienated from God, it makes sense for there to be a place for this final purification.

In the end, there will be only heaven and hell. Purgatory is only a temporary place of purification for those who will ultimately end up in heaven.

 

[RyanBlack]

The purpose of Purgatory is to purge us from attachments to sinful desires and perfect us so that we are prepared to enter into perfect communion with God.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ste Therese of Lisieux, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church, maintained that everybody in Purgatory has volunteered for it. If, at our judgment, we see our sins as they really are, we would cast ourselves into hell out of despair of ever being worthy to face God. Because Purgatory is there, we opt for it instead unless we simply choose to hate God for showing us the reality of what we have done, and choose hell. God doesn’t “send” us to either one.

Purgatory’s purpose is to give us an opportunity to cleanse ourselves of those aspects of ourselves that made us choose sin over God; pride, selfishness, avarice.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Ste Therese of Lisieux, who is regarded as a Doctor of the Church, maintained that everybody in Purgatory has volunteered for it. If, at our judgment, we see our sins as they really are, we would cast ourselves into hell out of despair of ever being worthy to face God. Because Purgatory is there, we opt for it instead unless we simply choose to hate God for showing us the reality of what we have done, and choose hell. God doesn’t “send” us to either one.

Purgatory’s purpose is to give us an opportunity to cleanse ourselves of those aspects of ourselves that made us choose sin over God; pride, selfishness, avarice.

As for where it is in the Bible, nowhere; at least not in name. But then, the Trinity isn’t there in name either, nor is the Eucharist, or even the Bible itself; yet all of these things are, to some extent, accepted by all almost all Christian denominations.

The Catechism does give a good breakdown of which Biblical passages were used in the formation of the doctrine though, just as it does for the Trinity and the Eucharist.

 

[Modern_Revert]

Because nothing unclean can enter Heaven.

 

[GEddie]

To purge-off our sinful attachments.

Death doesn’t do anything for us, just stops our aliveness. When we come out of death, we will be the same persons we are now. And our attachments to sin are part of our personhood, because they reside in our soul.

Sinful attachments will hinder our reception of life everlasting and so must be purged off.

ICXC NIKA.

 

[phil19034]

What is its purpose?
What bible verses prove its existence?
Why do you go there?

Thanks!

First: why do people go to Purgatory?

catholic.com/tracts/purgatory

Purgatory is the state where the Holy Spirit purifies people who are saved but who still need to repent of their particular sins. Christ remits eternal guilt at justification, but completes personal sanctification, if necessary, in purgatory.

1 John 5:16-17 NKJV and the RSV version of this.

No one can enter Heaven with sin. St. John is saying here that some sin kills us (sends us to hell), while other sin wounds us. So if some sin only wounds us, and we can be saved with sin on our hands. But since we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven with sin, we must be cleansed of our sins through the fire of God’s Love.

1 Cor 3:15 - “he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
Lk 12:59; 1 Pet 1:7; Mt 5:25-26 – examples of temporal punishment
Heb 12:6-11 - God’s painful discipline
Mt 12:32 - no forgiveness…nor in the age to come.
Rev 21:27 - nothing unclean shall enter heaven
Heb 12:23 - souls in heaven “having been made perfect.”
Col 1:24 - “extra” suffering

Plus, there is the Book of Maccabees. Why would Jews pray for the dead if purgatory didn’t exist? If it’s just Heaven or Hell, then praying for the dead would be useless.

 

[phil19034]

another way to look at it is that Purgatory is an act of Mercy, not punishment. Very few of us (if any of us) are worthy of Heaven. Purgatory provides a way for sinners, who have died in God’s Grace, to enter Heaven.

God Bless

 

[Marie5890]

another way to look at it is that Purgatory is an act of Mercy, not punishment. Very few of us (if any of us) are worthy of Heaven. Purgatory provides a way for sinners, who have died in God’s Grace, to enter Heaven.

God Bless

^^^^^This.

I think of a loved one who recently passed who reconciled themselves to God towards the very end of their lives. But because of the way they had lived their lives, I know that they would not yet be comfortable in God’s overwhelming love.

With that knowledge, I came to the understanding of just how incredibly MERCIFUL a time of purgation is. A time to make amends so one can one day be in God’s presence and be comfortable in such overwhelming love.

At his death, Im sure my loved one if he had be be in God’s presence long term, would feel overwhelming shame at himself. That is not what God wants us to experience in His presence

 

[PJM]

What is its purpose?
What bible verses prove its existence?
Why do you go there?

Thanks!

[1]What is its purpose?
[2]What bible verses prove its existence?
[3]Why do you go there?
Thanks!

[1]What is its purpose?

Because God is perfect: So too must a Soul be if it desires to enter into heaven.

Matt.5: 48 “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”

James 1: 4 “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”

When a body dies; the Soul lives on. And their exist three possible conditions for that soul.

1. It could die with unconfessed / unforgiven Mortal sins and condemn itself to eternal Hell
2. It could [the least likely] die in a state of perfection and ascend directly into heaven
3. It could die in a condition between the two; AND that explains Why God in Divine
   Fairness and Justice created Purgatory. A place of torment BUT in-route to heaven once that soul has been MADE perfect through Purgatory.

[2]What bible verses prove its existence?

The idea that everything HAS to be in the bible is neither biblical, nor logical.
The Bible is a Catholic Book. It was Catholics who culled the Jewish Torah and guided by the Holy Spirit choose the books original 46 books to be included in the bible [which Luther took upon himself to reduce to 39 book. And it is Catholics who authored the entire New Testament inspired again by that same Holy Spirit.

The bible was fully authored around the beginning of the second Century. This historical reality then means that Christ One True Church; today’s Catholic Church; which begin historically immediately following Christ Ascension [30-36 A D] was without out a complete bible for more than 60 years. Years of significant growth despite not having the bible. Even when the bibles books were fully culled and written; there was another prolonged period where because of severe persecution; a high level of illiteracy; and a scarcity and high cost of writing materials that impeded the wide use of “the bible.” Certainly select books would have been used by the various and wide-spread Catholic Churches of that time.

BUT not the entire bible which would not take its current form and use until even late into the 4th. Century. Smaller; incomplete bibles existed regionally in the late 2nd Century & onward; while debate carried on until the end of the 4th. Century.
So as John tells us in the final two verses of both Chapters 20 & 21 Cf. NOT everything was intended to be in the bible.

While the term “Purgatory” is not found in the bible; so too are the terms Catholic; Protestant; Eucharist; and “bible”; as well as many other more recent; often theological terms. Yet each of these are in fact contained in the bible. These passages refer to Purgatory:

Lev.22: 21 “And when any one offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it.

Rev. 21: 27 “But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Mt. 5: 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

Matt.5: 48 “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Heb. 2: 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.

1 Cor. 3: 13-14 “each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done if the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, [Purgatory] though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

2nd. Cor. 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God

Eph. 1: 4-8 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us”

[3] What is its purpose?

1 Cor. 3:15 “If any man’ s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire”

God desires that all men be saved.

1 Tim 2:4 “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth”

To understand Purgatory one needs to 1st understand God’s Nature: He must be fair and Just & sins nature. All sin has a public consequence. Sin is never a totally private affair. All sin accrues a God-directly imposed punishment [the Temporal punishment all sin acquires]; which too must be totally repaid before a soul is fit for heaven. [Space restrictions limit my reply]

Mt 24: 13 “But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved”

God Created purgatory so that a GREAT many more souls; souls death w/o mortal sins] that otherwise could not in Divine Justice be permitted into heaven; now being perfected after death; would be:thumbsup:

God Bless you and thanks for asking
Patrick.