I'm Catholic! Is purgatory real or do we go straight to heaven or hell?

Question

how long do we spend in purgatory? like a time span?

Answer 1

Purgatory is very real and you can spend years and years there. The torments there are the same as hell. Only difference is that the souls in Purgatory do not despair. They know they will see the Face of God one day. The souls in Purgatory rely on our prayers and almsgiving and Masses to be relieved of their torments and also to be quickly released from Purgatory. During the duration of a Mass said for a soul, the soul does not suffer its torments. That is why souls desperately wait for our prayers. Holy water sprinkled for a soul relieves the soul of its pain and is much awaited by the soul.

Many saints have gone to Heaven directly because of their perfections or spent a very short time in Purgatory. But sinful souls who have not attained perfection on earth have to pay for their sins either partly on earth or in Purgatory in order to appear pure and perfect before the Divine Majesty. Many souls from Purgatory appeared before saints to beg the fruits of the saints' sufferings, prayers and alms to be applied to their souls in order to obtain relief. Another big misconception is to think that a soul was saintly and must be in heaven and thus doesnt need our prayers. That soul could be one of the Forgotten souls of Purgatory who desperately awaits our prayers.

This is a prayer by which Our Lord promises to release 1000 souls from Purgatory everytime it is said:
" Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in union with the Masses said all over the world today for the Holy Souls in Purgatory."

A very good book about Purgatory which will make your eyes pop is 'Charity for the Suffering Souls' by Rev. John A. Nageleisen.

Answer 2

Here's how I got a better idea of purgatory:

Say you play baseball with your friends and accidentally hit a ball through someone's large picture window. That's like a sin (figuratively speaking).

Once you go up to the person and explain what happened, that person will always forgive you (assuming that this person is God). At that point, you are back in a state of grace. However... that doesn't change the fact that there is a big gaping hole in the front of this person's house. At some point or another, you need to fix that hole. In the Catholic faith, we call that penance. It's not the dues you pay to heaven, or what you have to do before you're forgiven.

Instead, penance is what we do to repair ourselves after being self-destructive in sin. If we do not do this penance fully on earth, we then go to purgatory, where we are purified. It's not an oven where souls get shoved in, or a final test or a second chance, even. It's a purification process.

As far as time is concerned.... I have no clue. I doubt time exists in the same way or at all in the afterlife. I will add that I think it's silly when people get fired up about purgatory being real or not. If someone denies the existence of purgatory, I doubt it makes much, if any, difference in what happens. In much the same way, if purgatory did not exist, what problems would we incur in doing penance which does nothing but strengthen our faith?

Sometimes I wish people would think a little bit more ecumenically before they speak of these things.

Edit: As an interesting bit of reading, I recommend C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce." It gives an interesting illustration of heaven, hell, and purgatory. It does not pretend to be accurate, but it will certainly help you think more actively about the subject. Plus it's a short and interesting read.

Answer 3

Again I see Dreamstuff entity here. You are searching for God whether you know it or not, it's as obvious as the nose on my face, otherwise you wouldn't care so much.

Purgatory is not real, it was made up my the catholic church as a way to try and get those who were not saved when they died, into heaven, a lot of the time it is done by paying large sums of money to the catholic church. Most Christians (non catholic) do not believe in purgatory. We believe in God, His son Jesus, in heaven and hell. Purgatory has no place in our beliefs. Once you die, you cannot be saved, that is why it's so important to ask Jesus into your heart whilst your alive. No where in the bible is purgatory mention, the reason is because it doesn't exist.

Answer 4

Yes, Purgatory is real.

As far as time spent there, remember that you are talking about the eternal realm - where time as we know it has no meaning.

We think of Purgatory in terms of time, and assume some stay in Purgatory longer than others.

Even the longest stay in Purgatory is a drop in the bucket in terms of eternity. It might very well be that souls are cleansed in seconds.

The point of Puragory is not so much how much time one is apt to spend there. It's what happens there that's important.

I think, most often, people talk about Purgatory in terms of "time spent" because it's easier to understand Purgatory in that context.

It might be more spiritually accurate to think of Purgatory in terms of "time cleansed", and the fact that all souls that go to Purgatory will go to Heaven.

Answer 5

Time is very weird after death.

Remember a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day.

Are you perfect now? Most people would say no.

Will you be perfect in heaven? Most people believe yes.

Purgatory (or purgation) is the process of God's love changing our imperfect selves into perfect beings.

Depending on the amount of change needed by different people this can be an easy or slightly harder process.

Everyone in purgatory is on their way to heaven.

I don't think Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a very hard time of it.

For more information see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1030: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art12.htm#1030

With love in Christ.

Answer 6

Catholics believe in purgatory as a place where souls go to gain the "final purification" they need to enter heaven. There are no set times or anything for how long one remains in purgatory. So, people who go to purgatory, will eventually enter heaven once their souls are "pure."

Answer 7

I do not find purgatory in God's Word. When we die, our spirits go immediately to heaven or hell and our bodies return to dust until both are reunited (we do get new bodies). I believe purgatory is a man made idea in the tradition of Catholicism. God bless

Answer 8

There is no such thing as "purgatory". It is a myth. There is no biblical basis for such a strange belief. It was created as promulgated as a way in which the Catholic church could blackmail money from people by scaring them into paying for masses to be offered for deceased relatives and friends.

Answer 9

well,u might go down to u know where.lol..because yall have no reason to think mary is greater than jesus.You could spend a time span but if u want to go to heaven become a baptist cuz u never hear john the catholic .You hear john the baptist.And thats the only religon they speak in the bible.Even though jesus was a jew,catholic is a boring religon.no offense.but just try a baptist for one day and see how u like it.It could change ur life.they are fun ppl in churches

Answer 10

my dear brother.

the purgartory doctrine is not true.

it gives you the idea that you have a 2nd chance to receive salvation after death.

it is not true. God judges us after we are dead. we accept Christ on earth and enter into either ETERNAL Bliss with God, or eternal condemnation in hell.

please , read your Bible and check out the following doctrines too:

is mary sinless? Mary did commit sin. We know this because she, like the rest of humanity, needs a Savior. She said, "my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). You can not save that which is not lost!

is the pope infallible?Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God

is mary the intercessor or is Jesus the One? "one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).
is praying to the dead correct?