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

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.

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.

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.

(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).