I agree, that's how it should be! I have to admit, for myself, it's taking me a lifetime, and I'm a bit over the proverbial "hill!" : )
As a Catholic, I'm taught to do things in my life for the greater honor and glory of God, and the good of souls, as opposed to doing so for my own temporal gain. Intention has a lot to do with things!
Personally, I love God; I also fear losing the prospect of going to Heaven, the idea of going to hell, and, I admit, His temporal punishments here on earth- not just for me, but for my brothers and sisters in humanity.
We try to get to the point where we avoid sin simply because it is offensive to God when we go against Him, by disobedience, or hurting another. Fasting, prayer, alms, chastity according to our state in life, are some of the ways to achieve this, as are many acts of self-denial, offered with love to God.
I can't stand in judgement of another's soul, although that is pretty tough to avoid sometimes. I believe that only God Himself can truly see that. I can judge an action as right or wrong, however; and few Catholics, I think would look to condone what was done in the sale of indulgences.
At the time of the Reformation, as today, what is known as the Apocrypha was still part of the Bible the Catholic Church uses. In it, the Second Book of Maccabees states: "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." The story behind that statement explains that much more eloquently than I. The passage, and the events surrounding it, are part of the basis for the Catholic belief in Purgatory.
I believe the things we do in this life have a ripple effect, like stones thrown in a pond. While our sins are forgiven, the effects of our sins remain. Gossip, for instance, can be forgiven, but its effects can cause lasting pain and disgrace for its subject, even for their family. To a Catholic, facing the perfection of God, without these consequences being remitted, would be more than we could bear; thus the soul accepts the purgation of the consequences wrought by their sins, in Purgatory.
We pray for their souls to have the consequences of their forgiven sins mitigated by the Mercy of God. We offer prayers, sacrifices in our daily lives, Masses, all for the good of their souls: we also believe that this kind of charity is pleasing to God!
I also believe that this kind of charity, especially for those gone before, is not only good for the Suffering Souls, but for mine, too: selfish as it may sound, I pray for God's Mercy upon me, in life, and when my time comes to see Him face-to-face!
Thank you for your answer! If I could again impose on you, why did the Reformers choose to remove the Apocrypha from their Canon upon breaking with the Catholic Church? Again, not a rhetorical, but genuine question!
God bless you, and thanks again!
Because they contain blatant errors according to history and contradictions to the rest of scripture.
I also believe that this kind of charity, especially for those gone before
Ought to read:
I also believe that this kind of charity, especially for those gone before, most especially for those who may have hurt me in my life
Sorry 'bout that, and thanks for your patience!
But which does not teach purgatory, and contradicts Rome by teaching offerings for those who died due to moral sin have hope. In addition, as this book, among others, was disputable for RCs, Rome went about to make it indisputable by issuing the first infallible definition of the canon.
If I could again impose on you, why did the Reformers choose to remove the Apocrypha from their Canon upon breaking with the Catholic Church? Again, not a rhetorical, but genuine question!
See here if you will.
While our sins are forgiven, the effects of our sins remain. Gossip, for instance, can be forgiven, but its effects can cause lasting pain and disgrace for its subject, even for their family. To a Catholic, facing the perfection of God, without these consequences being remitted, would be more than we could bear; thus the soul accepts the purgation of the consequences wrought by their sins, in Purgatory.
This proceeds from the false premise that one is justified on the basis of his interior holiness, and thus at at baptism one is made good enough to enter Heaven due to "infused charity," versus God justifying the UnGodly by faith being counted as righteousness, as Scripture teaches.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:5)
, And since the RC (EOs reject Rome's purgatory) does not maintain or usually attain again to that perfection in this life, then under this salvation system then he must spend an indeterminate time suffering "purifying torments" in "purgatory."
However, while true justifying faith must be the kind that effects practical holiness, "things that accompany salvation," (Heb. 6:9), and thus God chastens believers unto repentance lest they be condemned with the rest of the world," (1Cor. 11:32) - yet this is not to enable them to merit Heaven because they attained perfection holiness to enter it, but to bring them to walk in true faith, by which their hearts were purified, even before baptism. (Acts 11:7-9)
God also chastens penitent holy souls to make them more holy - and which can include suffering the effects of our past sins - yet all believers are already accepted in the Beloved and seated with Christ, (Eph. 1:6; 2:6) and in Scripture all sanctifying work is done in this world with its trials and temptations, in which there is an sinful alternative to suffering.
Moreover, all the verses which clearly speak of a N.T. believer's postmortem condition (Luke 23:43; Acts 7:59; 1Cor. 15:52; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 1 Th 4:17; 1Jn. 3:2) show it is with the Lord, in whose presence there is fulness of joy (Ps. 16:11).
Furthermore, the only manifest postmortem suffering for believers is that of suffering the loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ, and the grievous shame of the Lord's disapproval, all due to the quality of the material he built the church with. But which does not occur until the Lord's return, and the elect are saved despite the loss of rewards, not because of them.
See here on 1Cor. 3
And i have debated the texts used in attempting to extrapolate support for purgatory, and they are either referring to the lost, or believers in this life, or 1cor. 3:8ff