Can any Catholic out there give me a detailed explanation of "Purgatory"?

Answer 1

Simply put, purgatory is the application of Christ's grace to the sinner's soul, so that we can be fully cleansed of all sin before we enter heaven.

In that sense, Protestants believe in it, too, but they don't call it "purgatory" and they don't have any definition for it.

Look, the Bible says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that "nothing unclean can enter Heaven). (Rev. 21:27)

So, somewhere between dying in the flesh as a sinner and entering heaven totally free from all sin, our souls are purged. They have to be. It's an absolute necessity. And it's why Jesus went to the Cross. (John 3:16, etc.)

We all have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, too. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body." (2 Cor 5:10)

This is what purgatory is. We die sinners. We go before the judgment seat of Christ. He cleanses us completely from all sin, and then -- only then -- can a person go to heaven.

It's entirely Biblical, and as I said before, Protestants agree that we have to be purified from all sin before we go to heaven and they agree that "all have sinned." So when else is this purification going to happen, other than between death and heaven? Honestly, people just need to think about it a little more.

Here are all the Biblical references to purification after death before heaven:

Ps 66:12, Mt 12:32, Phil 2:10-11, Ecc 12:14, Lk 16:19-31, 1 Thess 3:13, Is 4:4 (cf. Eph 4:8-10; 4:7 6:5-7 1 Pet 3:19-20) 2 Tim 1:16-18, Mic 7:8-9, 1 Cor 3:11-15, Heb 12:14, Mal 3:1-4 15:29 12:29, 2 Maccabees 12:39-45, 2 Cor 5:10, Rev 5:3,13, Mt 5:25-6, Lk 12:58-9, 7:1, 21:27

P.S. The Vatican has never "apologized" for this doctrine and the person who said so above is a bit loony for saying so. Either that or he has it mixed up with "limbo", which was never doctrine but only a unsubstantiated theory.

Answer 2

Purging of the soul. It is biblical in the part where it says about the fires burning off the dross and leaving behind the gold.
*goes to look it up*
anyway. The story goes that when we, ordinary Christians, who have not attained what some call "Nirvana" (okay, I have to laugh now.) I mean, "perfection", yet we died before this happened, but are not quite good enough to go into the Throne Room of the Lord, but not really bad enough for the Flaming Pits of Hell, we are sent to a place where our bad habits (like tobacco addictions and googling stuff on the computer) are burned away, and sometimes, in rare instances, are burned away for us by other souls....am I making any sense here?...anyway, there are some sacrificial souls that will take your punishment for you (Jesus being one of them) so that your stay in Purgatory is shorter and you can meet God sooner. Many people stay in Purgatory until the end of the Last Days when the great Judgement Day occurs.

That's all I know. Kind of nifty.

Answer 3

Here's what St. Paul said about the three things that can happen to a soul, after death:

1Co 3:13 Every man's work shall be manifest. For the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire. And the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.

Heaven ...
1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

Purgatory ...
1Co 3:15 If any mans work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Hell ...
1Co 3:17 But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

It doesn't get much simpler than this.

Protestants fail to understand it for some reason, while the Catholic church always has.

Funny how much stuff the Catholic church teaches and believes is totally biblical.

And by the way ... Purgatory is not "Limbo" and Purgatory always has, is now, and will always remain an authentic part of Catholic church doctrine, and it has never been refuted by the Pope.

The folks who claim otherwise simply don't know what they are talking about.

Answer 4

I was listening to Catholic answers radio once. It was kids day for call ins to the show and a little girl who was about 8 wanted to know what purgatory was like. The guy said, well you know when you go outside and get really dirty and your mommy has to scrub you clean to get all the dirt off? The little girl said "yes" he then says Thats what God does, but its to clean your soul. lol
I dont agree with that doctrine, but I suppose it was a great analogy for it.

Answer 5

It is a place or state of temporary awareness after death, for anyone who has damaged their union with God. Catholics believe that no one can enter heaven with the least attachment to sin.
Those who have preserved the gift of the union with God but possibly passed on before they were able to truly repent for venial sins. Or those who pass without having done sufficient penance to strengthen their union with God or their determination not to sin.

We don't believe we are "saved" we believe that we will be working toward our Salvation till the day we die and possibly there after. Purgatory is sort of like a station for refining/ purifying before we meet our maker.

P.S. Some of us don't feel as though we are led by our noses or "Wallets" as Wally would have you believe. IF anything it only makes some of us keenly aware of the responsibilities for our actions on this earth. Last I heard their is only one supreme being entitled to Judge any one of us. Lucky for me it isn't any of you here tonight.

God Bless you all.

Answer 6

I really wish Catholics would see this Q. they seem not aware that anti-Catholics took the opportunity with this question to bash Catholic beliefs.

Answer 7

(Not a Catholic, but..) to summarize, purgatory is a place that a christian’s soul goes to after death to be cleansed of the sins that had not been fully satisfied during life. is this doctrine of purgatory in agreement with the bible? i do not believe so.

Answer 8

The Vatican already apologized publicly for the false doctrine of purgatory a few months ago. You can do a search in the web and you will find the official Vatican press release.

Answer 9

"Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"
Gal. 4:16



Purgatory: Gold Mine of the Priesthood
Much confusion exists among Protestants regarding the Roman Catholic teaching of purgatory, largely because Rome is careful not to discuss it too openly where a Protestant might hear.
Yet among Catholic people, the doctrine is a central item in the religion of fear that makes them slaves to their priests and pope.
As with other teachings of a mystery religion, teachings on purgatory are somewhat confusing. First, Catholics are taught that there are two kinds of sins: mortal and venial. The mortal sins can send them to hell, and the venial sins are easily forgiven. Then, they are told that mortal sin can have two kinds of punishment: eternal (in hell) and temporal (in purgatory).
Even if the priest forgives all mortal sins in confession, and death follows quickly before the Catholic can sin any more, unless the Catholic has performed enough good works and given enough money to his church, he must still go to purgatory for "temporal" punishment. For the Catholic, Christ's sacrifice was not enough.
If you are confused that is normal. The effect is to keep Catholics from ever knowing for sure when they or their loved ones will be free from purgatory, thus insuring the continued flow of cash to the priest to say more masses to release loved ones from the flames!
"The doctrine of purgatory rests on the assumption that while God forgives sin, His justice nevertheless demands that the sinner must suffer the full punishment due to him for his sin before he will be allowed to enter heaven." (Boettner, Roman Catholicism, P. 219)
The belief in a place of purification by fire before entering heaven did not begin with Roman Catholicism. It has its roots far back in the ancient mystery religions that gave rise to the Catholicism of today. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and others believed it.
As Boettner points out in his classic, Roman Catholicism, "In the writings of Augustine (died, 430 A.D.) the doctrine of purgatory was first given definite form…
"It was, however, not until the sixth century that it received formal shape at the hands of Gregory the Great, who held the papal office from 590 to 604 A.D. The invisible world was divided into heaven, hell, and purgatory, with the imagination attempting to portray as vividly as possible the topography and experiences of each region. The doctrine was proclaimed an article of faith in 1438, by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent, in 1548. But does any intelligent person believe that if such a place as purgatory is described in the Bible that it would have taken the church fathers 600 years to discover it, and another 1000 years to confirm it?"
Roman Theologians teach that the pain of purgatory is greater than any suffering possible in this human body, sometimes lasting for centuries. Interestingly, the pope is believed to have special authority over purgatory, so that he can grant special "indulgences" which are supposed to get people out of purgatory sooner if they perform certain acts or give certain gifts to the Roman church.
However, once he dies, the poor pope is just a helpless victim of the flames like anyone else, dependent upon the prayers and sacrifices of the living to shorten his suffering. What a system!
Roman Catholics must live in constant fear of death. They cannot know the sweet peace with which a Christian faces death, for they see death as a doorway to the flames, no matter how good a Catholic they have been.
More and more cash is extorted from bereaved family members who must pay to have more prayers and masses said, they cannot sleep thinking of the torment of their loved ones.
Even then, the priest cannot ever say when it is enough! The cry is always for just a few more masses. No wonder purgatory has been called the "gold mine of the priesthood!"
How sweet were the words of Jesus as he looked at the repentant thief on the adjacent cross and said, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Nearly one billion precious people have been fed the lie, that there is no sure way to escape the flames of God's wrath. Will you tell them the truth?

Answer 10

There is no truth ab out purgatory. Imaginations only.
jtm