Posted on 11/02/2015 6:56:55 AM PST by Salvation
All Souls’ Day by Jakub Schikaneder, 1888
I have blogged before on Purgatory. Here is a link to one of those blogs: Purgatory – Biblical and Reasonable. I have also written more extensively on its biblical roots here: PDF Document on Purgatory.
On this Feast of All Souls, I want to reflect on Purgatory as the necessary result of a promise. Many people think of Purgatory primarily in terms of punishment, but it is also important to consider it in terms of promise, purity, and perfection. Some of our deceased brethren are having the promises made to them perfected in Purgatory. In the month of November we are especially committed to praying for them and we know by faith that our prayers are of benefit to them.
What is the promise that points to Purgatory? Simply stated, Jesus made the promise in Matthew 5:48: You, therefore, must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. In this promise is an astonishing declaration of our dignity. We are to share in the very nature and perfection of God. This is our dignity: we are called to reflect and possess the very glory and perfection of God.
St. Catherine of Siena was gifted by the Lord to see a heavenly soul in the state of grace. Her account of it is related in her Dialogue, and is summarized in the Sunday School Teacher’s Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism:
The Soul in the State of Grace– Catherine of Siena was permitted by God to see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace. It was so beautiful that she could not look on it; the brightness of that soul dazzled her. Blessed Raymond, her confessor, asked her to describe to him, as far as she was able, the beauty of the soul she had seen. St. Catherine thought of the sweet light of that morning, and of the beautiful colors of the rainbow, but that soul was far more beautiful. She remembered the dazzling beams of the noonday sun, but the light which beamed from that soul was far brighter. She thought of the pure whiteness of the lily and of the fresh snow, but that is only an earthly whiteness. The soul she had seen was bright with the whiteness of Heaven, such as there is not to be found on earth. †My father,†she answered. “I cannot find anything in this world that can give you the smallest idea of what I have seen. Oh, if you could but see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace, you would sacrifice your life a thousand times for its salvation. I asked the angel who was with me what had made that soul so beautiful, and he answered me, “It is the image and likeness of God in that soul, and the Divine Grace which made it so beautiful.†[1].
Yes, this is our dignity and final destiny if we are faithful to God.
So, I ask you, “Are you there yet?†God has made you a promise. But what if that promise has not yet been fulfilled and you were to die today, without the divine perfection you have been promised having been completed? I can only speak for myself and say that if I were to die today, though I am not aware of any mortal sin, I also know that I am not perfect. I am not even close to being humanly perfect, let alone having the perfection of our heavenly Father!
But Jesus made me a promise: You must be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. And the last time I checked, Jesus is a promise keeper! St. Paul says, May God who has begun a good work in you bring it to completion (Phil 1:6). Hence, if I were to die today, Jesus would need to complete a work that He has begun in me. By God’s grace, I have come a mighty long way. But I also have a long way to go. God is very holy and His perfection is beyond imagining.
Yes, there are many things in us that need purging: sin, attachment to sin, clinging to worldly things, and those rough edges to our personality. Likewise most of us carry with us hurts, regrets, sorrows, and disappointments. We cannot take any of this with us to Heaven. If we did, it wouldn’t be Heaven. So the Lord, who is faithful to His promise, will purge all of this from us. The Book of Revelation speaks of Jesus ministering to the dead in that he will wipe every tear from their eyes (Rev 21:4). 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 speaks of us as passing through fire in order that our works be tested so that what is good may be purified and what is worldly may be burned away. And Job said, But he knows the way that I take; and when he has tested me, I will come forth as pure gold (Job 23:10).
Purgatory has to be—gold, pure gold; refined, perfect, pure gold. Purgatory has to be, if God’s promises are to hold.
Catholic theology has always taken seriously God’s promise that we would actually be perfect as the Father is perfect. The righteousness is Jesus’ righteousness, but it actually transforms us and changes us completely in the way that St. Catherine describes. It is a real righteousness, not merely imputed, not merely declared of us by inference. It is not an alien justice, but a personal justice by the grace of God.
Esse quam videri – Purgatory makes sense because the perfection promised to us is real: esse quam videri (to be rather than to seem). We must actually be purged of the last vestiges of imperfection, worldliness, sin, and sorrow. Having been made perfect by the grace of God, we are able to enter Heaven, of which Scripture says, Nothing impure will ever enter it (Rev 21:27). And again, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the souls of the just made perfect (Heb 12:22-23).
How could it be anything less? Indeed, the souls of the just made perfect. How could it be anything less if Jesus died to accomplish it for us? Purgatory makes sense based on Jesus’ promise and on the power of His blood to accomplish complete and total perfection for us. This is our dignity; this is our destiny. Purgatory is about promises, not mere punishment. There’s an old Gospel hymn that I referenced in yesterday’s blog for the Feast of All Saints that says, “O Lord I’m running, trying to make a hundred. Ninety-nine and a half won’t do!â€
That’s right, ninety-nine and a half won’t do. Nothing less than a hundred is possible because we have Jesus’ promise and the wonderful working power of the precious Blood of the Lamb. For most, if not all of us, Purgatory has to be.
Verba ita sunt intelligenda ut res magis valeat quam pereat.
Magister meus Christus.
Therefore I have no fears.
God bless you and yours.
If you ever get a catholic to see that the Bema Seat happens IN HEAVEN, there is a slim chance that catholic mind has had a glimmer of light into the darkened recessed draped in magicsteeringthem ‘traditions’.
Quix is that you? lmao
If, someday, you awaken to the truths not found in catholiciism, perhaps you will realize that some have been tolerating duplicitous bilge precisely to try and have you born from above before it is too late mired in the institution of catholiciism. If we did not care for your perishing souls, we would not tolerate the bilge and keep trying to awaken you.
No, and I haven’t spoken with Del lately. Thanks for the reminder. I need to call him and see that he is okay.
Oh, lordy. Not that guy ... LOL
I am a Catholic and I do not believe in purgatory. That is a man made extra category that does not exit. I don't care what an earthly person said she saw.
“Matthew 5:48: You, therefore, must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Again, Jesus makes us perfect because he died for us - all we have to do is believe in Him and his blood covers us, making us perfect in the eyes of God. It is a total stretch to use that verse to concoct some place where we are not yet with God after we die.
The Catholic church in years gone by, would pray someone out of purgatory for a fee. Maybe it was a good business practice but it was evil for that to happen. Mortal men make mistakes, and that was one of them.
It seems to me that your interpretation thinks a field of earth can be saved with the foundation of Jesus the Messiah but not a man. It seems to me that your view would cling to a personal interpretation of a small portion of First Corinthians, while ignoring and or denying the same author's words elsewhere.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
“It seems to me that your interpretation thinks a field of earth can be saved with the foundation of Jesus the Messiah but not a man.”
If you do not understand the use of word pictures, then you cannot understand Paul - or Jesus. If you see a man planting a field and think, “That man is planting himself!”, then we have no way to communicate.
“a personal interpretation of a small portion of First Corinthians, while ignoring and or denying the same author’s words elsewhere. “
Nope. But if you want to know what Paul meant by “building” in 1 Cor 3, the best place to look IS 1 Cor 3, where Paul defines it:
“After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God’s servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow...
...You are also God’s building. 10 Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it.”
So - is Paul talking about himself? Or is he writing “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to all who are called to be God’s holy people, who belong to him in union with Christ Jesus, together with all people everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours...”
Very clear. That he uses a different word picture 3 chapters later to make a different point is irrelevant, since he tells us who is the field, and who is the building he is describing in 1 Cor 3 IN 1 Cor 3!
Associating 1 Cor 3 with purgatory makes no sense even if someone believes in Purgatory, but then, someone who believes in Purgatory is rejecting the entire New Testament, which utterly and completely rejects the idea that Christians are “imperfectly purified” and need to pay the penalty of their own sins through suffering and pain.
The Good News is this:
16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.
18 Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son. - John 3
I find it ironic that you introduced scripture from another apostle to make a point after criticizing me for posting scripture from the same apostle, and in one case, the same epistle to make a point. Did I miss your “yes” or “no” response to the question as to whether or not your individual body is the temple of the Holy Spirit or not.
So we've established that every man is a building. So therefore when the building burns so that only quality material remains, that is the loss for every man.
the work is the ministry
Not exclusively. The Epistle says "every man's work". While bricks cannot be their own builder, man can and is. Do you really think that Paul describes two category of people, ministers and laity, and only the ministers go to purgatory where their works burn? And they burn on a living lay person who is the building they built? This is a laughable proposition.
He is continuing to discuss the divisions in the church
Whatever St. Paul is discussing, the analogy of every man being a building is reinforced here. But I now see you admitted, finally, that the analogy is indeed used by Paul, so the point is moot.
nothing in chapter 3 addresses individual morality
Like you noted, in subsequent chapters specific moral issues are discussed, so it is illogical to separate the overall picture of purification given in Chapter 3 from the admonitions to be pure given subsequently.
Those who have no imperfections burdening them do not suffer loss.
“So we’ve established that every man is a building.”
No. We’ve established the builder is not the building - which is painfully obvious to anyone who reads English. Builders are NOT buildings!
The “You” is the church at Corinth, or the Universal Church - see 1 Cor 1.
“So therefore when the building burns so that only quality material remains, that is the loss for every man.”
Nope. The BUILDING “burns”, and the building is the Church, so the only “loss” is of false works in the church - the tares, so to speak.
The Builder only loses what he never had - a reward for lasting work. But if his work is not lasting, then it is not rewarded.
“The Epistle says “every man’s work”.”
There is an element of stupidity here. The Epistle says:
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.”
“Each man” refers to the subject: “God’s fellow workers” who are working in a field or on a building - take your choice of word pictures.
If I write, “We worked in the field all day. It was hot. Every man sweated.”, that does NOT mean every man in the world sweated from work. “Every” refers back to “We worked in the field”.
But this is elementary reading, something taught in elementary school if not before. A child can read 1 Cor 3 and understand it. It is not complex. But someone who puts a catechism above the word of God MAY need to twist things beyond recognition in order to make the word of God fit the preconceived theology. That is what Catholics must do to make 1 Cor 3 support Purgatory - one must stop reading 1 Cor 3 plainly, and try to distort it beyond recognition.
And frankly, I’m tired of discussing it with you. The language is plain. It is simple. If anyone reads it, they know what it means. If someone reads the Catholic Catechism first, and wants to pretend the Bible supports it, then they must read 1 Cor 3 in a way no one reads a document.
And according to your previous post skip right on past and go directly to heaven. So where in that I Cor. 3 passage do these special people get singled out to escape the judgment seat of Christ? Where is their gold, silver and precious stones refined and their rewards given? Obviously, that passage is NOT a prooftext for the doctrine of Purgatory.
” If someone reads the Catholic Catechism first, and wants to pretend the Bible supports it...”
The source of much of the problem. One is inspired, the other a commentary.
Loss of what exactly? What are they going to lose in purgatory?
Help me here.
What of you is supposed to go to purgatory? Your old body? The one that the Holy Ghost indwells? The temple of God? God’s going to wake up your old body and send Himself to Hell? Or is He going to contradict His word and leave you first? Or is He going there with you?
Or is it supposed to be only your soul going for the ride? Is a soul, being non-physical, capable of feeling a physical fire? Of course not, so how’s that going to pay for anything?
Or is it to be your eternal body? He’s going to give you your eternal body and then burn the crap out of it? Tcch. There goes a whole lot of promises about Heaven.
Exactly which YOU is supposed to go there?
Please keep in mind that the Bema Seat is IN HEAVEN, that none will be in Heaven except those in Christ, even the Patriarchs such as Abraham. And think, if you will, how does one have entrance into Heaven. It is not by way of the purgatory being proposed as the purging process to perfect for entry! ONLY by The Blood of Christ are any made perfect, even those still alive and struggling against the sin nature inherited from Adam. Look again at the scene on the Day of Pentecost and in the House of the Centurion, Cornelius. The regeneration happened even bfore Peter finished his sermon! God put His Holy Spirit in believers, not purgatists.
Enquiring minds want to know.
Loss of what exactly? What are they going to lose in purgatory? Help me here.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
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