The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “All who die in God’s grace, but are still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they [must] undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (1030, emphasis added). How did we as a Church come to this understanding of Purgatory?
Here we can look to several verses from Scripture that support its existence.
Though the author does not explicitly mention the concept of “Purgatory,” in the Old Testament, 2 Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus prays for his fallen comrades who had died in battle while wearing amulets dedicated to pagan idols (a very grave sin). The prayers specifically mention that the comrades are to be “released” from their sin (12:39–46).
Furthermore, several verses from the New Testament are quoted in support of the idea that Purgatory exists as a physical place of penance for entering Heaven. “And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mt. 12:32). According to Jesus, there are certain types of sins that can be forgiven in the present life, while others may be forgiven in the afterlife, thereby implying that forgiveness after death is possible for certain sins that we commit. Such a concept fits with the belief that there exists a place, Purgatory, where sins are “purified” before a person can enter Heaven.
Another Gospel passage develops this idea further:
Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny. (Mt. 5:25–26)
Here, Jesus warns that if individuals do not seek forgiveness or reconciliation, they risk judgment and being placed in prison. For many Christians, this “prison” is likened to what is considered Purgatory—a place where the debts of sin must be “paid in full” before gaining “freedom.” Hence, this passage demonstrates that even if a person is forgiven, certain misgivings must still be ironed out before one is allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Another passage that is used to support the existence of Purgatory is 1 Corinthians 3:11–15, which reads:
For no other foundation can anyone 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, stubble—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.
In this passage, Paul explains that every person’s life will certainly be tested by fire at the end. Indeed, some works may endure and bring rewards, while others may be “burned away,” thereby implying that being saved entails suffering by going “through fire.” Such a description matches our notion of Purgatory in which a person is purified of sin through suffering, thus entering Heaven in a purified state.
There is no mention of “the cleansing of sin” anywhere in the text; instead, only the testing of works is mentioned. However, as Aquinas points out, “works” or “merits” include rewards for our good deeds as well as punishment for our bad ones. In connection to the idea of penance, undergoing the testing fire is not only a form of judgment but also a form of correction or penance—a process that removes impurities before our souls can fully enter God’s presence.
In this regard, having to go through a cleansing or testing fire is consistent with a belief that we are ultimately saved by grace/faith. Specifically, our bad deeds that are “burned away” are our human faults or failures that must be removed. Thereafter, our good deeds that survive the fire bring us an everlasting reward. Hence, similar to the idea espoused in 1 Corinthians 3:11–15, being saved requires a process of purification (going through fire) after death, which takes placed in Purgatory.
The fact that the Bible does not prescribe exactly how or where Purgatory takes place, or even use the term, does not affect the validity of this belief. Purgatory is but one of many words in theology, such as the “Trinity,” the “Incarnation,” the “Pope,” and the “holy Mass,” that are used to describe concepts that are seen in/evident from the Bible.
As we will see in our next article, the history of doctrine and dogma in the Catholic Church can teach us critical lessons about how the beliefs we hold today came to be.
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