A doctrine of the Catholic Church, of which I am and believe in with all my heart and mind, is to pray for deceased souls on a daily basis so I do and I ask you to do as well. It’s extremely important we do and a command. See CCC (Catechism of The Catholic Church) sections 1030 and 1031 – 1030 All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
The basis of this belief was formalized during the councils of Florence and Trent but are also scriptural as noted in 2 Maccabees 12:46, 1 Peter 3:19, 1 Peter 4:6, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:23, 1 Corinthians 3:13, 1 Corinthians 3:15, 1 Corinthinas 15:52 to name a few or handful and click on this link for a full display of scripture quotes related to purgatory – https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/purgatory-in-the-bible/#:~:text=Purgatory%20in%20the%20Bible%201%201%20Peter%203%3A19,10%201%20Corinthians%2015%3A52.%20…%20More%20items…%20 – and I personally also like to reference Colossians 1:24 as there is nothing lacking in Christ’s suffering and offering of Himself so why does Paul mention this? Because just as a pro athlete must particiapte in his or her own training to become who he or she needs to become to be a pro athlete we must participate in the suffering of Christ in our own bodies to become one with Christ in total purity to experience the beatific vision we so desire; in other words we must cooperate with Grace, and, if we deny our suffering, we deny Christ’s atoning work and if we shrink or try to avoid nor admit our own suffering then we nullify Christ’s atoning work in us and for us.
John Chapter 17 gives us Christ’s prayer to The Father and that is to be one, The Father, The Son and you and me in the Father and the Son.
Scripture also tells us the Lord does not want one soul to perish – 2 Peter 3:9, and why would He since He created us in His image, however, we have been given free will and again it’s our participation to choose HIM instead of rejecting HIM as He never rejects us.
To learn more on Purgatory read Saint Catherine of Genoa – https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/catherine-of-genoa-517
May we always remember that “the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord” – Proverbs 9:10, and this fear is from love and reverence.
AMEN!
All Bible passages can be read or taken from the USCCB (The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) online or The New American Bible: Catholic Study edition.
Charles DeFeo: Catholic Blogger and Useless Servant of Christ 