Pope John
Paul II on Purgatory
Purgatory
Is Necessary Purification Before
we enter into full communion with God, every trace of sin within us must
be eliminated and every imperfection in our soul must be corrected
At
the General Audience of Wednesday, 4 August 1999, following his
catecheses on heaven and hell, the Holy Father reflected on Purgatory.
He explained that physical integrity is necessary to enter into perfect
communion with God therefore "the term purgatory does not indicate
a place, but a condition of existence", where Christ "removes
... the remnants of imperfection".
1.
As we have seen in the previous two catecheses, on the basis of the
definitive option for or against God, the human being finds he faces one
of these alternatives: either to live with the Lord in eternal
beatitude, or to remain far from his presence.
For
those who find themselves in a condition of being open to God, but still
imperfectly, the journey towards full beatitude requires a purification,
which the faith of the Church illustrates in the doctrine of
"Purgatory" (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.
1030-1032).
To
share in divine life we must be totally purified
2.
In Sacred Scripture, we can grasp certain elements that help us to
understand the meaning of this doctrine, even if it is not formally
described. They express the belief that we cannot approach God without
undergoing some kind of purification.
According
to Old Testament religious law, what is destined for God must be
perfect. As a result, physical integrity is also specifically required
for the realities which come into contact with God at the sacrificial
level such as, for example, sacrificial animals (cf. Lv 22: 22)
or at the institutional level, as in the case of priests or
ministers of worship (cf. Lv 21: 17-23). Total dedication to the
God of the Covenant, along the lines of the great teachings found in
Deuteronomy (cf. 6: 5), and which must correspond to this physical
integrity, is required of individuals and society as a whole (cf. 1 Kgs
8: 61). It is a matter of loving God with all one's being, with
purity of heart and the witness of deeds (cf. ibid., 10: 12f.)
The
need for integrity obviously becomes necessary after death, for entering
into perfect and complete communion with God. Those who do not possess
this integrity must undergo purification. This is suggested by a text of
St Paul. The Apostle speaks of the value of each person's work which
will be revealed on the day of judgement and says: "If the
work which any man has built on the foundation [which is Christ]
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" (1 Cor 3: 14-15).
3.
At times, to reach a state of perfect integrity a person's intercession
or mediation is needed. For example, Moses obtains pardon for the people
with a prayer in which he recalls the saving work done by God in the
past, and prays for God's fidelity to the oath made to his ancestors
(cf. Ex 32: 30, 11-13). The figure of the Servant of the Lord,
outlined in the Book of Isaiah, is also portrayed by his role of
intercession and expiation for many; at the end of his suffering he
"will see the light" and "will justify many",
bearing their iniquities (cf. Is 52: 13-53, 12, especially vv. 53: 11).
Psalm
51 can be considered, according to the perspective of the Old Testament,
as a synthesis of the process of reintegration: the sinner
confesses and recognizes his guilt (v. 3), asking insistently to be
purified or "cleansed" (vv. 2, 9, 10, 17) so as to proclaim
the divine praise (v. 15).
Purgatory
is not a place but a condition of existence
4.
In the New Testament Christ is presented as the intercessor who assumes
the functions of high priest on the day of expiation (cf. Heb 5: 7;
7: 25). But in him the priesthood is presented in a new and
definitive form. He enters the heavenly shrine once and for all, to
intercede with God on our behalf (cf. Heb 9: 23-26, especially, v.
24). He is both priest and "victim of expiation" for the sins
of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2: 2).
Jesus,
as the great intercessor who atones for us, will fully reveal himself at
the end of our life when he will express himself with the offer of
mercy, but also with the inevitable judgement for those who refuse the
Father's love and forgiveness.
This
offer of mercy does not exclude the duty to present ourselves to God,
pure and whole, rich in that love which Paul calls a "[bond] of
perfect harmony" (Col 3: 14).
5.
In following the Gospel exhortation to be perfect like the heavenly
Father (cf. Mt 5: 48) during our earthly life, we are called to
grow in love, to be sound and flawless before God the Father "at
the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints" (1 Thes 3: 12f.).
Moreover, we are invited to "cleanse ourselves from every
defilement of body and spirit" (2 Cor 7: 1; cf. 1 Jn 3: 3),
because the encounter with God requires absolute purity.
Every
trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of
the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this is
precisely what is meant by the Church's teaching on purgatory. The
term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence. Those who,
after death, exist in a state of purification, are already in the love
of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection (cf.
Ecumenical Council of Florence, Decretum pro Graecis: DS
1304; Ecumenical Council of Trent, Decretum de iustificatione:
DS 1580; Decretum de purgatorio: DS 1820).
It
is necessary to explain that the state of purification is not a
prolungation of the earthly condition, almost as if after death one were
given another possibility to change one's destiny. The Church's teaching
in this regard is unequivocal and was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican
Council which teaches: "Since we know neither the day nor the
hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so
that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed
(cf. Heb 9: 27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage
feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and
slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the
outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth' (Mt 22: 13
and 25: 30)" (Lumen gentium, n. 48).
6.
One last important aspect which the Church's tradition has always
pointed out should be reproposed today: the dimension of "communio".
Those, in fact, who find themselves in the state of purification are
united both with the blessed who already enjoy the fullness of eternal
life, and with us on this earth on our way towards the Father's house
(cf. CCC, n. 1032).
Just
as in their earthly life believers are united in the one Mystical Body,
so after death those who live in a state of purification experience the
same ecclesial solidarity which works through prayer, prayers for
suffrage and love for their other brothers and sisters in the faith.
Purification is lived in the essential bond created between those who
live in this world and those who enjoy eternal beatitude.
(Source:
EWTN)
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