Who is the Church Suffering?

Purgatory Explained

In the year 1274 at the Second Council of Lyon the Catholic church defined its teaching on the doctrine of Purgatory. Since then, this doctrine has been a point of contingency across all of Christendom, and one of the most commonly misunderstood dogmas among non-Catholic Christians. While the concept of purgatory can be confusing, it actually makes a lot of sense when it is taught correctly. Allow me to start by clarifying that purgatory is not a “place”, but rather a state of the soul. Due to our finite human minds, we often refer to Purgatory as a place, like we do with Heaven and Hell, however, this can lead to a lot of misinterpretation.

The word purgatory comes from the Latin word “purgatoriam”, which means “to purge” or “to purify”. When the Catholic Church talks about purgatory, it is referring to an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. This state cleanses the soul prior to entering into Heaven. Since the afterlife is outside of space and time, there is no “time” attributed to purgatory, however, we often talk about purgatory as if time is involved. Another common misconception is that purgatory is a place where souls wait to be judged by God. This is completely inaccurate. If a soul experiences purgatory, that soul IS going to heaven; it just needs to be cleansed of any imperfections (remaining sins) first. 

  The Catholic Church feels the need to define such a state because if heaven is the state in which a person is in absolute perfect communion with God, then that person must be in a perfect state of grace (meaning without the stain or blemish of sin) in order to embrace God in such a way. We know there is no evil in heaven because God is purely good. If we understand heaven as a perfect relationship with God, it is rather easy to understand why the church believes a person’s soul needs to be washed of sin by God’s grace before being one with Him. 

This purging of sin can be found several times in the Bible. Take for instance Isaiah:

Isaiah’s Vision

 1In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3And one called out to another and said,

            “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,

            The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5Then I said,

            “Woe is me, for I am ruined!

            Because I am a man of unclean lips,

            And I live among a people of unclean lips;

            For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

      6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” 

Isaiah 6: 1-7 (NAS)

         In this scripture, Isaiah is recalling a vision he has of heaven. He describes what he sees and then says, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah understands that he is unclean in the eyes of God, and therefore is not worthy to be in His presence. However, the seraph takes a burning coal from the altar (the sacrifice of Christ AKA the mercy of God), and purges him of sin so that he would be clean before the LORD. 

Purgatory is also referenced in the New Testament:

 22“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26“Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

Matthew 5: 22-26 (NAS)

In this passage, Jesus is explaining that no one can enter into heaven if they have grievance (sin) with their brother. Make a friend of your brother quickly before coming to the judge. In other words, Jesus is warning us to settle up with our sins before we die, and go before God (the judge). This is also why disembodied spirits (ghosts) are believed to be bound to the physical realm; they have un-severed spiritual bonds here in the corporeal reality that must be addressed before they can find eternal rest. However, that is a topic for a later discussion. What’s important to recognize here in regards to purgatory, is that Jesus says you’ll be imprisoned until you have paid the very last cent (cent = sin or spiritual bond). If Jesus was referring to hell, there would be no hope for the “imprisoned”. Therefore, this can only be referring a temporary “punishment”, which the Catholic Church understands it be purgatory. 

I hope these scriptures can help clarify some of the confusion surrounding purgatory. While the word “purgatory” may not appear in scripture, this does not mean purgatory is not referred to biblically. Remember, the word “Trinity” is not mentioned in scripture either, however, all Christians believe in the theological mystery of the Trinity. 

Here are some addition scripture passages that reference the reality of purgatory. 

Zechariah 13:9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:12 “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.”

You should also check out the what the Catholic Catechism has to say about Purgatory.