The Reality of The Purgatory as reflected in The Old and New Testaments

The Reality of The Purgatory

as reflected in The Old and New Testaments

Pray for souls in Purgatory

PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to remind the faithful that Purgatory is not a literary resource, but a reality reflected in the Old and New Testaments.

INTRODUCTION

Before we can face God, our souls must be pure. Therefore what we must endure before His Appearance is literally a period of purgation or - Purgatory.

Purgatory is not a literary resource invented by the mind of man to intimidate the faithful, no matter what alleged evangelizers may have wanted to take advantage of fear. The Purgatory is a reality reflected in the Old and New Testaments. It is a manifestation of God's Justice but also of His Mercy: without the purification that souls acquire through Purgatory, we could never meet God.

DETAILS

The reality of Purgatory is part of the Faith Deposit of the Catholic Faith as clearly expressed through the treasury of Indulgences. (1)

In The New Testament

This reality has clear foundation within the New Testament, i.e.

Matthew 5:25-26:

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

and more clearly expressed:

Luke 12:54-59:

And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

In The New Testament

Within the Old Testament there are several examples/teachings of praying for the dead as well as the encouragement to offer alms for the benefit of the dead. Obviously, the only benefit that could be realized by the dead through such actions would be a shortening of their stay in Purgatory; thus, by clear inference, Judaism (2) has such a place as part of their beliefs.

MORE DETAILS

A Note from miguel de Portugal about Purgatory: Before, I "believed" in Purgatory as most "Catholics believe". A "ho-hum" belief that is more an offense to God than the disbelief of those who do not acknowledge Purgatory because it is not part of their particular faith's creed. Now, I "know" the reality of Purgatory and encourage one and all to seek such salutary conviction from God.

Without using the fancy words of those "book learned" theologians who are more interested in "making a buck" using God than to fathom the depths of His Creation, allow me to tell you about Purgatory:

(a) "Time" in Purgatory is like "Time" for those in the flesh. A "minute", is a minute and a "century" is a century. Purgatory does not fall in the Eternity time frame (3). Only Heaven and Hell fall in such category.

(b) It is a place where the unpaid debts to Divine Justice are paid in the same coinage the debt was contracted. Using terms that fallen humanity understands well: If your debt to Divine Justice is in U.S. Dollars, you must pay for it in U.S. Dollars; if in European Union Euros, it must be paid in Euros; if in Japanese Yens, it must be paid in Japanese Yens; etc.

(c) The expiatory suffering takes the form of: Witnessing the suffering caused upon others as the result of the offenses committed against God by the particular soul in Purgatory.

(d) All of the above takes place with a greatness awareness of the joy that awaits the soul once it enters Heaven. (Understand this additional suffering as follows: When you are hungry, it is easier to bear the hunger so long no one is talking about delicious food or you are not witnessing others feast on a sumptuous meal.) Also, one's awareness of the Goodness of God is so enhanced, that the pain of having offended someone Who loves you so is very hard to endure.

(e) Divine Justice and the "Sentence" handed down by It can only be tempered - that is, reduced - through the Mercy of God (4) moved by the prayers of those who are still in the flesh, and, above all, the prayers and intercessions of His Most Holy Mother (5).

NOTES

(1) The treasury of Indulgences - Hope for the Souls in Purgatory

(2) Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, John the Baptist, etc. were all Jews

(3) The relationship between "Time" and "Eternity"

(4) The Mercy of God - God's Greatest Attribute

(5) Mary, the True Mother of the Son of God

Part 2 - Why the need for Purgatory if Jesus already paid our sins for us?

Does the existence of Purgatory proves that Jesus' sacrifice was not enough? No! See the answer for yourself.

Originally published in 2004 as part of our document "Appearances Are Deceiving"
Published on October 31st, 2020 as a standalone document

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