33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ask Father:
This week’s question: Why is the Roman Catholic denomination the only Christian denomination that believes in Purgatory?
Here’s a perfect November question, so as we’re almost halfway into November, let me say “Thanks for asking!” and let’s get to it.
Before getting into the meat of your question, I should point out that this is a bit of a trick question (a baloney question) much like asking someone, “What is the correct ignition timing on a 1955 Bellaire Chevrolet with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four barrel carburetor?” As everybody knows, the 327 didn’t come out until 1962; and, as we all ought to know, the Catholic Church is not a Christian denomination. A denomination is a part that is fractured (broken off) from the whole and then given another name. That’s why all the tens and hundreds of thousands of Protestant churches are denominations. The Catholic Church is the common denominator of them all. It’s the original from which the others have been broken off.
Having clarified that, we can now begin to see why the Catholic Church along with the other Apostolic Churches (Orthodox) believe in Purgatory while the various Christian denominations overwhelmingly don’t. Purgatory is that state of final purification by which those who die in a state of grace (as friends of God through Jesus Christ) are made ready by God’s mercy to see Him face to face. Even Moses could not see God’s face without being destroyed. That’s because he (as holy as he was) was not completely perfectly free of sin – so seeing God’s infinite Light, Beauty, Truth, and Love would annihilate him (as it would you or me). Think of being suddenly placed in the middle of the sun … (POOF!). God’s radiance is infinitely more intense than that of the puny sun. So, only by being made perfect will we be able to exist in his presence. That’s why God gives us Purgatory as an intermediate state between this world and the next.
For the first 1500 years of Christianity, all Christians believed in purgatory. You can read the sermons and teachings of the early Church Fathers and of the Doctors of the Church to see this. Christians have always had the practice of praying for the dead so that those in Purgatory may be purified of their remaining attachments to sin and come finally into their Heavenly homeland. Even in the Old Testament (Maccabees), this pious practice was praised by the Holy Spirit. However, during the time of Martin Luther 1500 years later, some abuses and misunderstandings had developed in certain places. Some wealthy folks began to imagine that – rather than praying for their loved ones – they could buy their way through Purgatory and into Heaven. Luther and others saw this error, and rather than change the bathwater (by correcting the error), decided to throw out the baby (by denying the doctrine of Purgatory).
That’s why those that followed Luther and the other Protestant church founders threw out certain books of the Bible, deny the doctrine of Purgatory, and severed their ties with the saints. Wow, great question, and too short an answer, but I hope that helps a little. Let’s continue to pray for the living and the dead and help one another reach our true Homeland!
If you have further thoughts or questions on this, please share them on our “Three Parish Catholic Family” Facebook page. And keep those questions coming! May God bless you this winter and always!