Purgatory:
A Biblical Perspective
by Nelson Dominic
Lobo
God is the same yesterday,
today and forever. The following is written to explain how God
--- who expelled the rebellious angels from Heaven, as well as
Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden --- will treat those who
are not as perfect and holy as the Heavenly Father. What follows
also attempts to explain (a) the necessity for Purgatory, (b)
why most people will have to suffer for a time there, as well
as (c) why it is false to believe that many Christians will be
rewarded at death with "being absent in the flesh, present
with The Lord" (a well-known Protestant saying which denies
the existence of Purgatory).
As a preamble, I have raised the following questions.
A If a Christian leads others
astray who eventually become condemned to Hell, will this repentant
Christian perpetrator be rewarded with "being absent in the
flesh, present with the Lord?"
B. What is the reason for Jesus'
death when there are countless persons who have never sinned as
in the case of babies that have died in infancy?
C. If Jesus took our sins upon
Himself, why is Hell still a reality, and why did the "other"
thief on the cross not be rewarded with Paradise?
D. Why does the Holy Spirit convict
us of our sins if we are going to go to Heaven anyway?
E. Why does 1 John 5:17 differentiate
non-deadly sin from deadly sin?
F. Why did Paul call for the expulsion
of brothers and members of the Faith community (1Cor.5:1-13) who
were sinners? Will Baptism alone seal against the judgment Day
of the Lord?
G. If Jesus, our Saviour and Judge,
declared that the gate to Heaven is narrow and that few are those
that find it (Matthew 7:14), why do some people believe that many
will be graced at death with "being absent in the flesh,
present with the Lord"?
I will attempt to answer these
questions below by focusing primarily on the words of Jesus in
the Gospels. This is because Jesus is "The Word" and
the incarnate Spokesperson of our Heavenly Father.
"It
would be better for anyone who leads astray one of these little
ones who believe in me, to be drowned by a millstone around his
neck, in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6).
Christ's sacrifice was a perfect one. There is a guarantee of
forgiveness for any and all sins. However, Christ expresses total
displeasure with the above perpetrator. The term "astray"
defines one who is subsequently DAMNED in everlasting Hell. There
is NO way, NO how that the perpetrator will be rewarded with "being
absent in the flesh, present with the Lord." And what if
MORE than one little one is led astray?? Indeed, it would be a
"strange" God who welcomes such a person as a "good
and faithful servant" especially when Jesus declared that
it is "better to enter life maimed or crippled than to cause
scandal!" (Matthew 18:8).
Jesus stated in Matthew 5:17 that he had not come to abolish the
Law but to fulfill it or "full-fill" it. His three (the
number 3 represents the Trinity) years of ministry perfected the
Mosaic "letter
of the law"
(which prohibited murder and adultery) by bringing it to a new
"spirit
of the law"
forbidding even anger and looking at a person with lust (Matthew
chapter 5), while insisting even on the love of enemies. As "we
must be perfect as the Heavenly Father" (Matthew 5:48), Jesus
becomes "the Way" and the example of perfection to us.
For only
perfection can dwell with perfection.
Why did Jesus
sacrifice Himself on the cross?
St. Paul declares in Romans 3:23 that "all men have sinned
and are deprived of the glory of God." Yet, if sin is defined
as the willful disobedience of God's Laws and precepts, there
are countless souls who could NEVER have sinned because their
will to sin had never been developed. Indeed, babies who die in
infancy, aborted babies who have never even seen the light of
day, and persons born mentally deranged are examples of such sinless
souls. Mary, too, was sinless as declared by the angel. "The
Lord is with you." (Lk 1:28) It is because sin causes separation
from God. And Rom 5:14 states that there were "those who
had not sinned by breaking a precept as did Adam." As a whole,
however, St. Paul declared all men sinners because "through
Adam's disobedience [or original sin] all became sinners"
(Romans 5:19). Certainly, Jesus the last and spiritual Adam (1
Cor. 15:45), came to atone for the sin of the first and natural
Adam (Romans 5:19) whose sin was laid on the rest of mankind.
Apparently, it is only the sacrifice of the Perfect Son of God
that our sins against the Perfect Father in Heaven can be properly
atoned. Moreover, Jesus' death has made Divine reconciliation
readily available to all. It has also opened the gate to Heaven
which was closed after Adam's transgression.
Does this
mean that human reconciliation is irrelevant?
Isaiah 53:5 states: "By his stripes we were healed."
Clearly, perfect healing on all levels has not occurred yet. Therefore
our personal sins like our bodily health are still our responsibility
and we are still accountable for reconciling with one another.
If God forgave our sins with all impunity (e.g., those who cheat
on their spouses and did untold harm to children), He would cease
to be fair and just to the victims. He would be playing favoritism,
giving the message that it was all right to be a DEVIL. Yet Hell,
not Heaven, was made for the devils.
Jesus declared that the God of the Beatitudes rewards and favours
those who are disadvantaged. These are usually the victims and
those who are sinned against. It is certainly not this God who
will reward sinners and perpetrators with "being absent in
the flesh, present with the Lord."
Jesus also confirmed in the Parable of the Corrupt Judge (Luke
18:1-8) that people go to extraordinary lengths to seek human
justice. And that God WILL render Divine Justice.
"My
Heavenly Father will NOT forgive you unless you forgive your brother
from your heart." (Matthew 18:35).
This brings me to the topic of PURGATORY and why human reconciliation
is a prerequisite to entering heaven.
- "Holy and Blameless in
His sight" (Ephesians 1:4)
- "Go first to be reconciled
with your brother, and then come and offer your gift at the altar:
(Matthew 5:23-24)
- "Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us" (The Lord's
Prayer)
- "But how narrow is the
gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there
are those who find it" (Matthew 7:14).
- 1 John 5:17 states "All
wrong-doing is sin, but not all sin is deadly." Sin causes
separation from God. Deadly sin causes the eternal separation
of Hell whereas non-deadly sin causes the temporary separation
of Purgatory. It seems that Jesus had indicated Purgatory as a
"prison where you will not be released until you pay the
last penny" (Matthew 5:25-26 and Matthew 18:21-35). Further,
Jesus spoke of punishment in Luke 12:45-48 and warned of "swift
justice" in Luke 18:2-8. Only Purgatory has the marks of
true "TO
THE LAST PENNY" justice
and release. In Hell there is true justice, but alas no release.
On earth there is release but no true justice.
Sin is an offense against God and man, and, to be wiped clean,
reconciliation MUST be made with God and man. This is summed up
in the Great Commandment - LOVE
THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL AND MIND AND STRENGTH
AND ALSO YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF.
While Divine reconciliation is readily available as a result of
Jesus' death on the cross, human reconciliation is often difficult
or impossible. We carry the burden of un-reconciled sin when offended
persons move on or away or when we envy or despise strangers,
to give just two examples.
Both thieves on the cross served human justice by forfeiting their
lives. The "other" thief, however, did not reconcile
with God and therefore was not promised Paradise by the Lord.
Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son reveals God's boundless mercy.
However, Heaven ceases to be so with the presence of the parable's
contentious "older brother", or with those whom we daily
offend in thought, word or deed - or in turn have been offended
by - and have not reconciled with. Human justice needs to be served,
either here on earth like the Good Thief on the cross, or in Purgatory,
which many declare to be next to HELL itself. And Heaven will
also cease to be so with an "unforgiving" Father, as
declared by Jesus in Matthew 18:34-35, unless we fully forgive
each other.
Why is there
the need for human justice?
If I, after murdering your child and escaping human justice, were
allowed immediately into Heaven after begging God for mercy, you
would hold my merciful God to be your unjust God. God who created
the merciless and eternal hell certainly holds us accountable
for each of our sins, even if it be an idle word. If Jesus' death
had brought about "the new dispensation," it would be
unfair to those who had died previously. Yet no charge can be
brought against God. God certainly did not declare an amnesty
and dispense with Hell. God is the SAME, yesterday, today and
forever. And if he kicked out the rebellious angels from Heaven
and the first parents from the Garden of Eden because of sin,
then it is certain that He will unfailingly punish sinners (Revelations
21:8 and 21:27).
A family that is swindled out of house and possessions, or a young
girl's life devastated by rape, are just two examples of sin that
will cry out for utmost punishment, certainly not "God's
embrace." King David's murder of Uriah and adultery with
his wife Bathsheba received Divine forgiveness, but "the
sword shall never depart from your house and your wives will be
given to your neighbour" (2 Samuel 12:9-13). Punishment "in
the same coin" will be meted out on earth or later in purgatory
by our God who is the SAME forever and who demands accountability
for even so much as an idle word. And that is why the Holy Spirit
convicts us of sin.
What is the
role of The Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit CONVICTS us of our sins because if we don't repent
or reconcile, then we will become CONVICTS in the prison of Purgatory,
or worse, in the eternal fires of Hell.
There are those who state that The Holy Spirit is a Comforter.
This is certainly so. But The Holy Spirit is like a spouse. When
we grieve the Holy Spirit, we will face the consequences of an
upset spouse. In Matthew 12:32, Jesus declared "whoever says
anything against The Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven." Jesus
continued that such sins could never be forgiven either in this
age or the age to come, thus implying that there are OTHER sins
(not against The Holy Spirit) that could be forgiven in the age
to come. By way of elimination - those in Heaven do not require
forgiveness and those in Hell are beyond forgiveness - this can
only mean Purgatory.
The role of the Holy Spirit is to dwell in us and lead us to the
Father by the way of Jesus, i.e, the way of perfection of the
perfect Son to the perfect Father.
If Purgatory
is a place, where is it located?
There are those who declare that Hell and Purgatory are not "geographical"
locations but states of existence. God is everywhere, they declare,
and the condition of souls reflect the brightness of God's light.
"Hellish" souls are blackened mirrors and reflect no
light. The souls of those in the state of Purgatory, on the other
hand, are not blackened but are dull depending on the degree of
imperfection. And "Heavenly" souls are brilliantly polished,
radiating and reflecting God's glory.
My disagreement with this statement is that God has endowed us
with free will and if, in the perversity of our hearts, we banish
God from our souls and lives, then God will remove Himself from
the "space" we occupy. HELL
is ultimately the ABSENCE
of God. Purgatory is the temporary absence of God which is necessary
for our purification but ultimately for "the holy longing
to be with The Beloved." It is true that our lives are spent
doing our own will and with little thought for the God with whom
we were destined to be forever. Engaged couples spend a lot of
time with each other before marriage. Yet very few people spend
more than a few minutes every week thinking of and being present
for the God of eternity. Purgatory is ultimately the state of
waiting and being "FIRED
UP"
with the holy longing to be with that God. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
confirms that fire will test the building that each Christian
has built on the foundation of Christ. "If any man's work
is burned up, he will suffer loss [of God in Purgatory], though
he himself will be saved [eventually in Heaven), but only as one
fleeing through fire
[in Purgatory]."
(1 Cor 3:15)
The terms "God is everywhere" and "Free Will"
can often be mutually exclusive. I believe that God was everywhere
only before the Fall of the Angels. Sin is a rebellion against
God and this resulted in the sinful angels being kicked out of
Heaven, and Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. This also resulted
in God being excluded from the lives of the devils and their participation
in His worship forever because they were spirits and could foresee
the consequences of their actions, and secondly by men, for a
time, until they repented because they were made of flesh.
In His plan of creation, God did foresee that there would be rebellious
angels and men who would be cut off from Him. Love
took that chance.
Hell was born of this. Purgatory was an offshoot of sin though
a temporary separation. Jesus, "the Word" and the Spokesperson
of our Heavenly Father, defined Purgatory in Matthew 5:25-26 as
"prison where you will not be released until you have paid
the last penny." Jesus repeats this again in Matthew 18:22-35.
He also talks about the different degrees of punishment in Luke
12:46-48.
In the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus stated in Luke
16:26 that there was fixed a great abyss between the rich man
in torment and Lazarus in the bosom of Father Abraham.
Purgatory and Hell are therefore "geographical" locations
distinct from and separated from Heaven. Some people firmly believe
that Purgatory is located next to Hell itself.
Will Baptism
alone suffice to save?
Paul called the Church (1 Cor.5:1-5) to expel the man living in
sin with his father's wife. Here was a baptised Christian whose
sin called for "ex-communication."
Obviously, the "Theory of Dispensation" did NOT apply
because Paul passed sentence and "handed" him over to
Satan "for the destruction of his flesh" so that he
'MAY'
be saved on The Day of The Lord. Very clearly, Baptism, of itself,
does NOT seal against judgment Day. We all know of those who,
having been baptised, have never again stepped into a church,
read the Bible, or prayed to God. Many people were baptised when
they were babies, and to believe that the "accident"
of Baptism by itself will save them is ignorant of the ways of
God. That Satan is given power for the destruction of the sinner's
flesh recalls Jesus' warning in Matthew 18:34 of those who will
be handed over to "jailers" for a period of time because
they did not forgive their brothers from their hearts.
Further down in 1 Cor.5:9-13, Paul called on the community to
disassociate with immoral persons and to "expel the wicked
'brothers' from your midst." This is because their lot would
be "the fiery pool of burning sulphur, the second death"
as stated by John in Revelation 21:8. There they are called "cowards
and traitors to the faith" in contrast to those "who
win the victory" - Rev 21:7.
Sadly, there are those who misconstrue 1 Cor. 5:3 - "though
absent in the body I am present in spirit" - to mean that
immediately after death (absent in the flesh) they will be ushered
into Heaven (present with God). Truly, Paul was speaking of his
HUMAN spirit and using the common terminology of very close friends
who, despite being geographically apart, are emotionally present
with one another. St. Paul uses the same terms again in Colossians
2:5 confirming this later viewpoint.
More sadly, they believe that Faith and Baptism are all that are
required to gain entry into Heaven. Jesus, they warrant, has taken
our sin-debt upon Himself by His death on the cross. After a person
sins, they declare, all that is required is to ask the Father
for forgiveness and then carry on without guilt and without looking
back. Justification, for them, means "just as if I had never
sinned." They conveniently forget that sin is an offence
against another and that reparation and reconciliation are mandatory
as declared by Jesus in Matthew 5:23-24 "if you bring your
gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything
against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled
with your brother, and then come offer your gift."
This erroneous belief on justification can only lead them to become
lax about sin and develop the mentality that "it is O.K.
to be a devil sometimes." Yet Jesus very definitely declared
that we had to be as perfect and holy as our Heavenly Father and
DETAILED
THE WAY TO PERFECTION IN MATTHEW CHAPTERS 5, 6 AND 7.
1 John 1:8 warns of being deceived "if we say we are free
of the guilt of sin."
Yet will we say to a Christian brother who has sinned against
us by wrecking our car or our house: "Ask the Heavenly Father's
forgiveness and then carry on just as if nothing happened. It
is O.K. because Jesus has taken your sin-debt upon Himself by
His death on the cross, and you therefore owe me nothing?"
Or will we behave like everyone else and haul the perpetrator
before the courts seeking justice?
There are those who state that Jesus, having ascended into Heaven,
makes intercession for us at God's right hand. Purgatory is only
a theory, they declare. So let us discuss this by way of an example.
SCENARIO:
Suppose you are the owner of a vast estate, but I, with the connivance
of the authorities, dispossess you. As a result, I become a rich
man and you become a beggar like Lazarus in Jesus' parable. And
you become bitter and hold a deep-seated resentment against me.
Later we both die.
At Judgment, Jesus' intercession for me results in MY reward of
being "absent in the flesh, present with the Lord".
It is certain that Scripture cannot lose its force. And that Jesus
is one in spirit with the Father. At YOUR Judgment, because you
had not forgiven me from your heart for my trespass against you,
you are sent for punishment by the Father, as declared in Matthew
18:35 - "My Heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the
same way (in anger hand you over to the jailers) unless each of
you forgives his brother from his heart."
Do you believe that a fair and just God will allow YOU a double
whammy - injustice on earth and punishment in the next - for a
crime in which you were a victim? And that I will go scot-free,
without even a slap on the wrist!!
Yet there are those who believe that our Merciful God can forgive
any and all sins, without penalty or punishment....except for
those committed against their own persons. "If you rob a
bank, or decimate a town, yes God can and will forgive you. But
if you so much as touch a hair of my head, harm my child, or rob
me, then there is no way that God can be so unjust" they
declare.
Yet Scripture clearly states that God is just, has no favourities,
is the same God yesterday at the Fall of the angels and the Fall
of man, as He is today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and that He
will forgive our trespasses only as we forgive others their trespasses.
Paul states
in 1 Cor.15:33-34 "Stop sinning. Some of you are quite ignorant
of God; I say it to your shame." Therefore, Jesus' intercession
may save us from being damned in Hell with Satan the Accuser,
but not from the Divine Justice of Purgatory!
As Jesus declared, the road to Heaven is rough, the gate narrow
and few that find it. If the JUDGE declares this, then what other
authority can we refer to in order to dispute and overturn this?
This is precisely because "you must be perfect as your Heavenly
Father" where so very few arrive at Death. Most people therefore
are first confined to the prison of Purgatory in order to pay
their debts of lack of love shown to their fellow humans through
their thoughts, words and deeds, or lack of praise and worship
to the God of Love, before being allowed through the NARROW gates
of Heaven.
The term "Justification"
actually means "positioning
or alignment"
as in 'right justified' and 'left justified'. Faith and belief
in Christ puts us on the Right Track where the Holy Spirit can
take over and mould us into sons and daughters of God so that
our lives and works will reflect the glory of God. Justification
is just the beginning of the spiritual journey of "Faith
that works"
(James 2:14-26). It will make us "trees that bear much fruit"
and "wise virgins" and "the happy servants that
keep watch for the master's return."
And Paul urged, in Philippians 2:12, to "WORK with anxious
concern to achieve your salvation" because salvation was
not a "given" and PERFECTION was the work to be undertaken.
1 Peter 4:18 confirms that even "the just man is saved with
difficulty."
Ultimately, it is the CROSS,
that odd-shaped KEY
that opens Heaven for us. The long vertical beam represents our
relationship with God and the short, horizontal beam symbolizes
our relationship with our neighbour. Truly,
there can NEVER be an Easter Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven,
without the cross of Good Friday.
We will now
examine human existence and why God permits "purgatory -
on - earth."
There are three stages in human existence - youth, adulthood and
old age. Youth is a time of discovery but also a time of wrong
choices and immoral behaviour. Adulthood is a time of settling
down, making moral choices and behaving maturely. Old age is when
the body starts breaking down and falling apart. It is the time
that "Purgatory-on-earth" earnestly manifests itself
with the onset of aches, pains and the abandonment of friends
and relatives. It is sad to see that many seniors at this late
point in their lives do not realize their spiritual destiny. They
waste their time in frivolous pursuits and become childish instead
of spiritually mature and squander their spiritual heritage when
they could store treasure in Heaven by prayers and good works,
etc.
We now understand "why
bad things happen to good people."
Suffering is a form of purification of our sins. We usually become
careful after we overeat or over drink and feel sick. Similarly,
we begin to avoid those sins and occasions of sin that impact
us negatively. However, there are illnesses, problems with family,
friends, co-workers or neighbours, and reversals of fortune, over
which we have no control. The best way of looking at these is
to accept the "cross" that God in His wisdom has allowed.
The story of Job is exemplary and teaches that greater blessings
can come after our trials and tribulations. Yet many of these
blessings may not be enjoyed on earth but will contribute to greater
merit in Heaven if accepted with resignation to the Divine Will.
St. Paul states in Hebrew 12:6 "For whom the Lord loves,
He disciplines; He scourges every child He receives." And
where does the Lord receive His children if not in His abode in
Heaven? It is certain, therefore, that suffering and scourging
are marks of God's favour and are necessary either in the here
and now or later in Purgatory.
Crucifixion is one of the cruelest of death sentences. However,
in the context of Purgatory, the Good Thief got off very lightly
because the duration and intensity of crucifixion pales with that
of Purgatory - which is a place where "IN ANGER the master
handed him over to the jailers until he paid back all he owed"
(Matthew 18:34). So suffering on earth is a gift from God because
there is merit attached to it and because the alternative is suffering
in Purgatory, which is not only more intense but also has no merit
attached.
The following are further points to
be noticed:
1. Earthly joys and sorrows are
limited compared to those of the next world.
2. The Father's reward is given
to those who do prayers and good works privately without public
display - Matthew chapter 6.
3. In Mark 13:19, Jesus stated
that the "last days" would be an unprecedented time
of human distress, a veritable "purgatory-on-earth",
when the "Rapture" or the bodily ascension of some will
occur (Matthew 24:40-41). ONLY in those days will some Christians
be rewarded with "being absent in the flesh, present with
The Lord" and their corruptible bodies will be changed to
incorruptible ones (cf. 1Cor 15:50-53).
4. Perfection illustrated.
Humans can be compared to glasses of water. The more water the
glass holds, the less air there is in it and vice-versa. Water
represents our fundamental evil human nature that is usually visible;
and the air represents our spiritual and mostly invisible nature.
Perfection consists in overcoming our base selves so that there
is an abundance of "air" and a minimum amount of "water"
in our lives. Then we can say with St. Paul that "the life
I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me" - (Galatians
2:20). For only spirit can dwell with spirit, and perfection with
perfection in Heavenly harmony.
5. Catholics are accused of being
severe and too concerned with the rigours of Divine justice and
human penances, instead of basking in the sunshine of God's Love
and Mercy. The cross is the proof of God's unconditional love
and forgiveness, which we are often reminded of. Yet God is the
Father of all people and has to be fair to all because Justice
and Mercy are His attributes. He is the same God who hates sin
so much that He dismissed the rebellious angels from Heaven and
Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. So far-reaching is the effect
of sin that the present-day conflict between the Jews and Arabs
can be traced to Abraham's adultery with Haggar thousands of years
ago. In Genesis we learn that God created everything "GOOD."
Yet to reach Heaven, we must become "PERFECT." This
requires rigourous "pruning" as stated by Jesus in John
15:2 and "scourging" as stated by Paul in Hebrews 12:6.
6. What can we learn from the
life of Christ?
The Gospels reveal who Jesus was and the things He said and did.
And that He fasted for 40 days and nights and that constant prayer
and Temple worship were the pillars of His life. Besides, He raised
the dead, cured the sick, fed the hungry, expelled demons and
preached the good news. He was the God-made-man who declared that
"if you wish to be My disciple, take up your CROSS and follow
Me." Thus His message to us was and is to make the cross
the summit of our lives primarily through prayer, fasting, temple
worship, good works and proclamation of the Gospel.
7. Jesus declared in John 14:26
that "The Holy Spirit whom The Father will send in My name,
will instruct you in EVERYTHING." On Pentecost, The Holy
Spirit launched the Church 2,000 years ago and guided it as "the
pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
Since then the Church has guarded "the rich deposit of faith"
(2 Timothy 1:14) and has held "fast to the traditions received
either by word (oral) or by letter (written/epistle)" - 2
Thessalonians 2:15. The Church therefore teaches the Catholic
Faith according to the Scripture and her sacred tradition. Scripture
itself confirms the veracity of this position in John 16:12-13,
John 21:25, 2 John 13, and 3 John 13-14. It also confirms that,
while all the apostles were commissioned by Jesus to go out and
preach, there is nothing in the Bible containing epistles and
letters from Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James son of
Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas son of James or Matthias who
replaced Judas Iscariot. Surely, these men who were filled with
the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, had some important things to say.
And St. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that "we walk by
Faith, not by sight." Therefore, though the word "Purgatory"
is not stated in The Bible, its existence is confirmed by various
Biblical references. Hades in the New Testament or Sheol in the
Old Testament which is the holding place or jail, is its closest
approximation and is different from the word JEHANNA which refers
to hell. Moreover, we know that words can be written and spoken,
and Catholic tradition is a broad-base inclusive of both. The
"doubting Thomas" who declared that his belief was solely
based on sight and touch would be left far behind in Catholicism.
Ultimately, Catholicism goes beyond the "Letter" to
reach the "Spirit" of Faith and Belief.
8. According to Scripture, the
younger brother was restored to his place in the household, enjoying
the gaze of his father. However, if we carry the parable of the
Prodigal Son to its logical conclusion, we would find that every
time when the younger brother would cross the path of his older
brother, he might be harshly reminded that he had no inheritance
and that once their father passed away, he would be better off
at the place where he was before he returned home. This could
never happen in Heaven. Therefore, Purgatory is certainly the
"Great Purifier" wherein we are emptied of our trespasses
and our unforgiveness so that we can then proceed to Heaven purified
and perfected.
9. Jesus declared in Jn 8:34-35
that Heavenly sonship and inheritance are bestowed only on those
free of sin.
10. If the September 11, 2001
terrorist act in New York city was perpetrated by Christians,
would GRACE, cheap or otherwise, save them? In other words, can
anybody act in an unchristian way and lay claim to the promise
of salvation?
11. Those who believe that they
can be devils and go straight to heaven are obviously taken in.…
by the devil.
CONCLUSION
Finally, Jesus has a message of Salvation to all professing Christians
in Matthew 7:21 "Not all who cry out 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the Kingdom Of God but only the one who DOES the will of My Heavenly
Father." This certainly consists in deeds of Love: "For
I was hungry...enter into My Father's Kingdom."(Matthew 25:31-46).
When we give alms, we obtain a merit and the recipient receives
a benefit. Matthew chapter 6 confirms that all our good works,
fasting and prayers will merit a reward from our Heavenly Father.
And we can offer up these merits to our heavenly Father for the
benefit of both the living and those in Purgatory!
The Eucharistic celebration of the Mass confers the highest merit
and benefit. Our Masses, prayer, sufferings and good works can
go a long way in reducing and even canceling our Purgatorial debt,
for Love
and Charity cover a multitude of sins.