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The Joyful Pains of Purgatory
The Final Purification
What can you expect to learn on this page?
The answers to questions such as:
Why are we here?
What is purgatory & how does it fit into the bigger picture?
What is the Communion of Saints?
What are indulgences?
Do our works have merit?
How can we avoid Purgatory?
How can we help the Holy Souls?
Can the Holy Souls pray for us?
To start with, suppose a friend or a coworker comes to you and says:
“The Catholic Church has this massive doctrine of purgatory, invented in the middle ages. The Church used to even sell indulgences to shorten your time in purgatory by a fixed number of days. This doctrine is based on books that don't belong in the Bible. There is no place or region in the afterlife for the saved except heaven. There is no pain in the afterlife, and the minute we die we go to heaven, as Paul says, 'To be absent from the body is to be present with Christ,' praying for people in purgatory makes no sense. Worst of all, it infringes on the sufficiency of Christ's work. It is completely unbiblical."
What would you say? Press the button below for answers to these objections.
Why Are We Here?
In a nutshell - to become conformed to the image of Christ. The Christian’s goal in life is to be a perfect image of Jesus, as Jesus is the perfect image of the Father. Mother Angelica explains this in the following article:
Jesus, Our Model
by MOTHER ANGELICA
Jesus showed us how to act and react under every circumstance. He loved us so much that He wanted to experience all the pain, joy, suffering, weakness, and the consequences of our fallen nature. Though He was without sin, He took upon Himself our frailties and by so doing raised us up to a higher level. Because He experienced everything we are (sin excepted), He desired that we experience everything He is.
He merited for each of us a Divine Participation in His very Nature. Through the Power of His Spirit, who pours grace into our souls, we are now sons of God and heirs to the Kingdom.
As heirs, we must resemble the Father whose children we are. As sons, we must resemble the Son whose brothers we are. As Participators, we must resemble the Spirit whose Power makes us the Beloved of Infinite Love.
His love made Him want to be like us and our love must make us want to be like Him.
Our individual personalities must be enhanced by those parallel qualities in Jesus. If we are kind by nature, then that kindness must take on Divine Kindness by Grace, which goes beyond our natural capabilities.
Those qualities of soul that do not resemble Jesus must be changed and transformed into Him. We shall all resemble Him in different ways and this variety will glorify the Father and be an unending source of joy for all eternity.
The Christian’s goal in life is to be a perfect image of Jesus, as Jesus is the perfect image of the Father. The beloved features of the Master are ever imprinted upon the Christian’s mind. The words of the Master burn in his heart as they did in the hearts of the disciples going to Emmaus. The Christian reaches up to his Savior in an increasing act of prayerful thanksgiving for his redemption and sonship.
He looks at Jesus in His strength and tries to be strong. He sees Jesus gentle to the crowds and he controls his anger. He admires the Mercy of Jesus and he forgives seventy times seven.
He feels the Compassion of Jesus and he becomes sensitive to the needs of others.
He is humbled by the humility of Jesus and he conquers his pride. He sees Jesus heroic, courageous, and unafraid and he is assured.
He watches Jesus as He answers His enemies in a serene tone of voice — truthful, without human respect, with perfect self-control — and he tries to be like Him. He imitates the Master’s sense of loyalty, zeal, simplicity, nobility, and loving qualities to the best of his ability. This becomes a way of life for a Christian, for he is not satisfied with giving his God thanksgiving, he desires to give Him perfect praise by imitation.
Most of all, he imitates the Master’s way of loving — without counting the cost — even unto death.
“And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the Image that we reflect” (2 Cor. 3:18).
See: http://catholicexchange.com/jesus-our-model
God provides everything we need for us to be transformed into the image of Christ in this life (through his grace which we receive through the sacraments, time in prayer, acts of penance, fidelity to our state in life, obedience to His will, consolations and crosses, etc. ). If we die in the state of grace but before we have been fully conformed to the image of Christ, Purgatory will complete that process for us.
Jesus & the Jewish Roots of Purgatory
by Dr. Brant Pitre
Did Jesus himself ever teach about Purgatory? For many readers of the Bible—Catholic and otherwise—the answer to this question would be ‘No’. Many studies of Purgatory in the Bible focus on two key passages: Jewish prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12) and St. Paul’s teaching about “being saved through fire” (1 Corinthians 3).
In this exciting study, Dr. Brant Pitre looks at these passages but goes even further, using his knowledge of ancient Jewish tradition to shed light on several forgotten teachings of Jesus himself regarding the reality of Purgatory. In this study, you will learn the following:
• The Sermon on the Mount and “Getting out of Prison”: Did Jesus talk about Purgatory in a Jewish way, in his most famous sermon of all?
• The Fires of “Gehenna”: Is Gehenna always a reference to the place of the damned? Or did ancient Jews believe in a spiritual realm of temporary punishment by “fire”?
• The Parable of the Servant’s Debts: Where is the “prison” into which God will cast us if we fail to pay off our “debts”? Is Jesus talking about an earthly prison in this parable?
• The Parable of the Master and the Servants: What are the different punishments that the servants receive when the Master comes back?
• The Amazing Grace of Purgatory: How can the Catechism of the Catholic Church refer to Purgatory as a “grace”? What is the “double consequence” of sin, and how does it shed light on the logic of Purgatory?
If there is any doctrine of the Catholic Church about which both non-Catholics and Catholics seem to have doubts and misunderstandings, it is Purgatory. If you’ve ever wanted to learn what Jesus himself had to say about what will happen to those who die before “making amends” with their enemies; if you’ve ever wondered what will happen to those who “aren’t ready” for when they meet their Master; and if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Purgatory—without actually having to go there—then this is the Bible study for you.
Listen to audio below of Jesus & the Jewish Roots of Purgatory
What is Purgatory?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a "purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven," which is experienced by those "who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified" (CCC 1030). It notes that "this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned" (CCC 1031).
The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.
Two Judgments
When we die, we undergo what is called the particular, or individual, judgment. Scripture says that "it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Heb. 9:27). We are judged instantly and receive our reward, for good or ill. We know at once what our final destiny will be. At the end of time, when Jesus returns, there will come the general judgment to which the Bible refers, for example, in Matthew 25:31-32: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." In this general judgment all our sins will be publicly revealed (Luke 12:2–5).
Augustine said, in The City of God, that "temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment" (21:13). It is between the particular and general judgments, then, that the soul is purified of the remaining consequences of sin: "I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper" (Luke 12:59).
How do Indulgences come into the picture? What is the difference between temporal (temporary) and eternal punishment? Press the button below to find out.
Videos about Purgatory & Indulgences
What is the Communion of Saints?
Communion of Saints. The Church founded by Christ has three levels of existence. She is the Church Militant (or Pilgrim Church) on earth, the Church Suffering in purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in heaven. After the last day, there will be only the Church Triumphant in heavenly glory.
It is understood that there is communication among these three levels of the Mystical Body. Those on earth invoke the saints in heaven and pray for the souls in purgatory. Those in heaven pray for the Church Militant and the Church Suffering; they obtain graces for us on earth and an alleviation of suffering for the poor souls. Those in purgatory can invoke the saints on high and pray for us struggling with the world, the flesh, and the evil spirit.
We might, then, describe the Communion of Saints as the unity and cooperation of the whole Church. Together, we all form one Mystical Body. We share our merits and prayers with one another for the greater glory of God and the upbuilding of Christ’s Body which is His Church.
Catholics are often challenged by other Christians to defend the Church’s teaching about the Communion of Saints.
“Why designate certain people with the title ‘saint’?” they ask. “Aren’t we all saints? And why should we pray to them and venerate them?”
To answer these questions, we must start with a definition: What exactly is a saint?
“Holy Ones”
The biblical Greek and Hebrew words in Scripture most often translated as “saints” literally mean “holy ones” (Acts 9:13) or “faithful ones” (1 Sm 2:9). In Catholic tradition, the word saints can be used in several ways, which are all reflected in Scripture.
St. Paul sometimes addressed his letters to “the saints” in a particular city (see Eph 1:1; Col 1:2). In this case, he was speaking of all Christians as the “holy ones,” because they have now been made holy by their baptism and are striving to become more holy.
The Catholic Church affirms, then, that all faithful Christians are “saints” in this sense. The vocation, the calling, to holiness is universal; God is speaking to all Christians when He says in Scripture, “Be holy because I [am] holy” (see 1 Pt 1:14-16).
The Church Militant, Penitent and Triumphant
Those who make up the Communion of Saints have traditionally been designated by three terms:
(1) The Church Militant: those who are still fighting the good fight of faith on earth (see 2 Tm 4:5).
(2) The Church Penitent (or Suffering): the holy souls in purgatory.
(3) The Church Triumphant: the perfected saints in heaven.
Nevertheless, the word “saints” appears in some scriptural passages to have a narrower sense. St. Matthew’s Gospel refers to the “saints” who rose from the dead after Christ’s resurrection (see 27:52-53) as faithful departed who were being taken by Christ to heaven. St. Paul speaks of the “saints” who will accompany Christ from heaven when He returns to earth at the end of the world (1 Thes 3:13, RSV). And St. John uses the same term to refer to the “saints” who are now in heaven praying to God (Rv 5:8; 8:3, RSV).
It’s in this latter, narrower sense that the Catholic Church uses the term “saints” to refer to all those who have been perfected and are now face to face with God in heaven and have a share in His divine nature. When the Church celebrates the solemnity, or solemn feast, of All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1, these are the saints being honored that day: all those human beings who have left this life and are now in heaven with God — the ones whose names we know, and the ones whose names we don’t know.
In addition, there’s one more sense in which we use the term “saint,” in a way even narrower than the ways already described. The Catholic Church honors certain departed Christians with the formal title “saint.” This title indicates the Church’s confidence that the individual died in friendship with God and is now with Him in heaven.
Though the Church teaches that we can’t know for sure who may be in hell, the Church also insists that, in some cases, we can know for sure that certain individuals are in heaven. We refer to them by name as “St. So-and-So.”
So how does the Church gain the confidence that a particular person is in heaven? Various kinds of evidence are sought in the process called canonization, which leads to the formal recognition of a person’s sainthood. This evidence includes reliable testimony to the person’s extraordinary holiness in this life; indications that the person’s life has drawn others closer to God; and carefully documented miracles occurring after the person’s intercession has been asked for. Such miracles provide evidence that the person can offer effective assistance because he or she is now with God in heaven.
The Communion of SaintsWhy is it important for the Church to designate certain individuals as “saints”? In this case, “saint” is actually much more than just a title of honor. Because the Church is confident that these “holy ones” are now in heaven, Catholics are urged not only to imitate their holiness, but also to ask for their assistance.
Those who have been perfected and are now face to face with God in heaven — that is, the “saints” in the latter sense of that word — have a share, Scripture tells us, in His divine nature (see 2 Pt 1:4). This insight helps us understand the Church’s teaching about what we call the Communion of Saints — that is, the fellowship, the sharing, of the saints.
The perfected saints, having a share in God’s own nature, have a share in His perfect love. They love those of us still on earth as God loves us. They want to help us; they want to see us reach heaven as well. So they have the desire to assist us in any way they can.
The perfected saints have a share in God’s perfect, supernatural power. They are able, through His grace, to act on our behalf, to intervene in earthly affairs, just as He does. They don’t just pray for us; they can act on our behalf in other ways as well.
Scripture tells us, “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” (Jas 5:16). If that’s true of righteous people still on earth, think how powerful and effective is the prayer of the saints in heaven, who have been perfected in righteousness!
By His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has conquered death. Death does not have the power to separate those who are in Christ from one another; in Him, they maintain a deep communion, whether they are in heaven, on earth or in the purgatorial process on their way to heaven.
For this reason, we on earth can help those in purgatory through our prayers and sacrifices. And those in heaven can help us on earth through their prayers and other interventions. As members of one Body, the Body of Christ, we are able to share the spiritual goods that we have through mutual prayer and assistance.
Some may ask why God would be willing to share this power. Why would He want in the first place to grant intercessory roles to the saints, the angels and even those of us still on earth?
The answer is simple: It reflects His desire, as St. Paul says, that we “attain to … mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Eph 4:13), who is himself the great Intercessor. The intercession of the saints is simply one way in which Christ’s body, with its members “joined and held together … builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:16). When we help one another, we display the love of God in which we share.
Some Christians think we shouldn’t ask the saints for help because God would somehow be displeased if we went to them for help rather than going directly to Him. But the truth is that all Christians ask other Christians on earth to pray for them and to help them in other ways. Yet when we do that, we don’t worry about not going to God directly for help.
Why not? Because we understand the principle that it pleases God to have His children helping one another. That’s why He commands us in Scripture to “pray for one another” (Jas 5:16).
Veneration vs. Adoration
Since ancient times, the Catholic Church has recognized the infinite difference between veneration and adoration (or what today we would call worship). Adoration is the act of giving ourselves to God as the One to whom we owe everything, an act of absolute submission to Him. He alone, then, is to be adored, to be worshiped, in this sense.
Veneration, on the other hand, is a much lesser thing: the paying of appropriate honor to a creature of God who deserves such honor. When we venerate the saints, then, we’re not adoring them as if they are the source of our existence, or worshiping them in the modern sense of that word. We’re simply honoring them.The perfected saints also have a share in God’s perfect knowledge. They are able, through His grace, to know what’s taking place on earth. God allows them to see and hear what He sees and hears, so they can hear the requests we may make of them.
Showing honor is a natural human response to the goodness, even the greatness, of another human being. We honor the founders and other leaders of our country from throughout history. We name cities after them, write books about them, make statues of them to erect in public places. We paint pictures of them to display in schools and government buildings. We speak reverently and gratefully of them on patriotic holidays.
We do similar things for great scientists, great leaders of social movements, great artists and musicians. Why? Because it’s a matter of justice to recognize their gifts and contributions to us. Justice means giving to each his due, and we recognize that we owe much to these great human beings, and we want to say so in different ways.
In all these ways, we are venerating these great men and women — we are giving them honor. And so we shouldn’t be surprised that the Catholic Church venerates the great heroes of the Faith, who over the centuries have embodied in an extraordinary manner the way of life to which we’re called as Christians. Now that these men and women have been perfected by God and are saints standing face to face with Him in heaven, we have even more reason to venerate them.
Some may object that if we venerate the saints God will be jealous, because we should give honor to Him alone. But He is a God of justice, so it is His will that honor be given where honor is due. Scripture tells us, “Pay … honor to whom honor is due” (Rom 13:7).
Are we somehow denying God the honor that is due Him when we honor His saints? By no means! They are His perfected handiwork, His masterpiece (see Eph 2:10). When we praise the craftsmanship, all the accolades go to the Craftsman.
Meanwhile, as the old saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of praise.” And so the Church urges us to imitate the saints, to follow their example of holiness. In the end, that’s the best way to honor them.
What Is the Communion of Saints? Why Should We Pray to Them and Venerate Them?
Paul Thigpen
THE REFINER’S TOUCH
The Process of Purgatory has been compared to the Refiners Touch:
There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
This next article takes this analogy a few steps further:
The Refiner’s Fire: The Biblical Vision of Purgatory
Contrary to what skeptics may say, Scripture directly describes purgatory for us.
Perhaps the most famous text is 1 Corinthians 3:10-15:
According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.
This is not an isolated passage. Instead, St. Paul is drawing upon a pre-existing motif of the refiners’ fire that occurs in several texts throughout the Old Testament. Most often cited is Malachi 3:2-3:
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand firm when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like fullers’ lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the Levites, Refining them like gold or silver, that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
Then there is also Zechariah 13:8-9:
In all the land two thirds of them will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left. I will bring the one third through the fire; I will refine them as one refines silver, and I will test them as one tests gold. 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.”
There are also references to the refiners’ fire in 1 Peter 1:7, Isaiah 48:10, Job 23:10, Proverbs 17:3, and Psalm 66:10—though from the context it is not always clear these verses are explicitly referring to purgatorial fire. Nonetheless, the image of a refiners’ fire is a recurrent one in Scripture and one that is utilized to describe what many of the faithful will experience after death.
Unlike the ‘everlasting’ fire, this fire is of a limited duration. Its purpose is also manifestly different—rather than simple punishment, it aims to ‘test’ those who endure and to ‘refine’ them.
1 Corinthians makes it clear that this ‘testing’ evaluates one’s works in life. Those of value—the good works of charity and mercy—are like the gold and silver that endure, while the bad works are like the chaff that is burned up. Likewise, just as a refining fire removes impurities from precious metals like silver and gold, so also the faithful departed will be purified of any remaining traces of sin.
Most of us get the basic concept of a refiners’ fire. But there was much more to the ancient process.
To take the example of silver, this metal usually appeared in lead ores. One account describes the process this way:
This was freed from the lead by heating in a furnace with a bed of bone ash, which absorbs some of the lead. A blast of air was used, and this causes the rest of the lead to oxidise, forming a cake known technically as litharge. The silver rises to the surface of the semi-liquid slag, or ‘dross’ as it is referred to in the Bible. This was removed, either with a blast of air or a scraper. After all impurities are removed silver will radiate a pure, brilliant light. (Source: Testimony Magazine.)
And then the silver was refined yet once more—this time by sticking it in a clay vessel.
It is also frequently said that the refiner knows when the process is complete when he sees his own image in the silver, a beautiful analogy of our lives. However attractive the idea, it is unfortunately quite incorrect technologically, as anyone will attest who has witnessed the process. The molten silver is brilliant, it is true, but it emits its own light, it cannot act as a mirror. (Testimony Magazine.)
In the ancient world—particularly in the ancient world as depicted in the Bible—silver had a variety of uses. It was, in the first place, currency. (Think of the ‘ten pieces of silver’ in Luke 15:8, for example.) Silver was also used in the construction of the tabernacle under Moses. (See Exodus 26.) Silver furthermore symbolized purity and incorruptibility. (Testimony Magazine.)
The symbolism here is rich with implications for the journey of the faithful departed through purgatory. Here are a few:
The purgatorial process: Just as the refinement of silver involves several steps, we can infer that purgatory will likewise be complicated. Perhaps this is why Catholics traditionally assumed purgatory would be of such a long duration. A vision of what that might be like is offered to us by J.R.R. Tolkien in his parable of purgatory, Leaf by Niggle. (Also described here.)
Light of our own: The identification of God with light is intimately familiar to us. As we become sons of God the metaphor is extended: we are also to become ‘children of the light.’ Perhaps in purgatory we will advance to a point at which our communion with God is so intense that we radiate light from within rather than simply reflect it.
Precious and incorruptible: Just as silver was a precious and incorruptible metal highly valued as currency, so also Christians are precious in the eyes of God. And so also Christians in the next life will become physically and morally incorruptible.
Communion with God: Just as silver was used on the construction of the tabernacle—where God was present to Israel—so also we will live up to our calling as temples of God in heaven. Purgatory is what finally enables us to do this.
Scripture does not provide us with all the answers we might want, but it tells us much more about purgatory than we might at first suspect. With the metaphor of the refiners’ fire, Scripture indicates that whatever we might experience in purgatory, at the end we will become something beautiful for God.
Original Source: https://catholicexchange.com/refiners-fire-biblical-vision-purgatory?mc_cid=c32586b2c3&mc_eid=53ff21c2c6
Tagged as: 1 Corinthians, apologetics, Best of Week, fire, Malachi, Purgatory
Sanctifying Suffering in Union with Christ
How can my trustful surrender to Divine Providence, especially in suffering, help others ? The article below, "Sanctifying Suffering in Union with Christ" explains this so clearly. What kind of suffering? Physical suffering, emotional suffering, social suffering, family suffering, interior suffering, spiritual suffering...All suffering - great or small can be currency in God's Kingdom!
But how does all of this "Offering up" and trustful abandonment to Divine Providence through patient endurance of suffering help the holy souls in purgatory? The following excerpt taken from The Mystery of Purgatoryby Fr. Hubert (*) explains this:
"Let it be like this for now" - Matthew 3:13-17
Abandonment requires us to rest in Jesus in all the circumstances of our life, without exception, and it has its foundation in divine love. This love appeals to faith and confidence. The more perfectly we endeavor to practice abandonment, the more lovingly and freely we allow God’s love to search out and purify, as by fire, the nooks and crannies of our self-love.
This life of abandonment is a kind of purgatory on earth and bears resemblance to life in the true purgatory. This expiatory rest in the midst of trials obtains eternal rest for the holy souls in purgatory.
By generously opening to the purifying and maturing influence of divine love in the restful purgatory of abandonment in this life, and by offering for the holy souls the sufferings experienced in that abandonment, we alleviate their pains and may by doing so avoid purgatory after our own death.
These silent sufferers plead with us to expiate their failures to rest in Our Lord during their lifetimes by us resting in Him now, in our own lives, through the practice of holy abandonment. The more generous our endeavors to rest in Jesus in the earthly purgatory of abandonment with the intention of helping the Holy souls, the more efficacious becomes that sacred rest for them and for ourselves. The happy repose of abandonment through love purifies and matures our own souls, and it is a fitting expiation for the souls in purgatory.
Begin today to follow our Lady. Abandon yourself to God!
(*) The Mystery of Purgatory, by Fr. Hubert, O.F.M. Cap., copyright 1975, Franciscan Herald Press (Chicago)
Where does the trust in God, the love and the strength to make this offering come from? From our union with Christ, especailly in the Eucharist which culminates in Holy Communion! Remember his words at the last supper right before he gave us his Body & Blood as food for our soul: "Do this in memory of me" - in other words, offer yourself, your sufferings especially, for others in imitation of and union with Jesus Christ.
ALTAR FIRE & PURGATORY
This section is written and recorded by Sonja Corbitt, a Catholic Bible Study leader. She is using the Old Testament Tabernacle as a blue print for the Catholic Faith.
In this episode she explains the Altar Fire and its connection with the Catholic understanding of Purgatory.
It is a great explanation!
First read the introduction below and then follow the L.O.V.E. the Word section below to listen to the audio presentation by Sonja.
INTRODUCTION
"The fire that fell from God’s presence onto the Old Testament altar is the same fire spoken of in the NT as the fire of purgatory which purifies, or sanctifies, us now on earth or after death (in the absence of mortal sin).
Popes Gregory and Benedict XVI, along with such mystic Saints as Catherine of Genoa, Faustina, and John Paul II, have said the all-consuming fire of God’s presence, the fire of purgatory, and the fire of hell are the same fire: Trials on earth are bitter fire for the sinner, even as they purify the person of God.
Life’s “fiery trials,” then, are the all-consuming, jealous fire of God probing and purifying us deliberately, deeply, and intimately, just as the altar fire once idd in the OT sacrifices. If we offer them to God willingly in Communion with Jesus’ Cross, they contribute to our salvation to the degree that we can be wholly holy at death. When our trials are viewed this way, they become our sacred offerings of love, offered in participation in Jesus’ Cross. They “save” us."
Use the L.O.V.E. acronym above:
LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice: lectio without the Latin.
L – Listen (Receive the Word.) Listen to the podcast below.
O – Observe (Choose one or more of the following personality approaches to connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
F | Franciscan – Cradle a crucifix in your hand; touch His five wounds; pray a thanksgiving prayer on each one.
I | Ignatian – Imagine you are offering an animal sacrifice at the tabernacle. What can you see around you as you lead your goat to the priest at the altar? As you lay your hand on its head and confess your sins over it, what else can you hear? What do you smell? How do you feel just before you cut its throat with your knife and bleed its blood into the pan? What are your thoughts as the priest pours the blood out around the base of the altar?
A | Augustinian – How does this week’s show make you understand and appreciate the Eucharist more? How is Jesus’ gift of His Body and Blood meant to help you be more broken and spilled out for others?
T | Thomistic – Make a list of anything new you learned about Old Testament sacrifices, and see if you can connect them to Jesus’ sacrifice.
V – Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word journal. Or get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.
E – Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, and there shall be a new creation, and you will renew the face of the earth. Amen +
NOTES AND REFERENCES
“For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).
Fire in the OT:
Genesis 15:1-17 God calls Moses from the burning bush
Exodus 3:1-8 God leads from the pillar of cloud and fire
Exodus 12:8-10 God descends on Mt. Sinai in a fire
Exodus 13:17-21 God and Abraham make a covenant
Exodus 19:18-19 the Passover lamb must be roasted and eaten
Leviticus 9:22-24, And fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar.
Leviticus 6:9-13 it is stressed three times that the altar fire, once lit, must burn continuously, because every sacrifice offered in the tabernacle from this time forward was to be incinerated in the fire that originated from God’s presence.
In early Judaism, criminals whose crimes were hanging offenses were said to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:22-23).
Luke 9:23-24, And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”
Peter 4:12-14, When you experience suffering voluntarily (like OT freewill offerings) “the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
1 Peter 1:6-7, Fire purifies metals of the impurities that make it weaker, less valuable, and less reliable.
1 Peter 4:12, We suffer “fiery trials” to purify our faith.
Sirach 2:1-6, “Fiery trials,” especially the sufferings and humiliations suffered by those who “serve the Lord,” can cleanse us from sin and passions and purify us of the inclination to sin.
Exodus 34:14, It is the holy, jealous love of God, Himself, that purifies us.
“Either in this life or in the life to come, the soul that seeks union with God must be purged by ‘The fiery Love of God.’ The holy souls are purged of all the rust and stains of sin which they have not rid themselves in this life. The fire of purgatory is first of all The Fiery Love of God” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
1 Corinthians 3:9-17, For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw– each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
St. Faustina: “I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.”
Pope Benedict the XVI, teaching on the mystics, said that rather than a “place” in the depths of the earth with an exterior fire, they saw purgatory as an interior fire. They understood purgatory to be the soul’s experience and awareness of God’s immense love and perfect justice. The soul suffers for not having responded appropriately to the perfect love it “sees” and experiences. This suffering is just, and is the simple, natural consequence of habitual separation of one’s will from love. It is precisely the love of God Himself which purifies the soul from the ravages of sin (General Audience, 1.12.11).
“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect*, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned… 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” (CCC 1030-1031).
EPISODE RESOURCES Fulfilled, Uncovering the Biblical Foundations of Catholicism, Chapter 5, Sacrificial Love
Ignite, Chapters 6 & 7, The How of the Bible
Come join the chatter on the Facebook community. What’s the most sacrificial thing you’ve ever offered God? Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week’s show.