An Attempt To Understand
the Roman Catholic
Doctrine of
Purgatory
G.D.O'Bradovich III
March 10, 2014
Background
I acquired a copy of the Catholic Catechism (1992) some years ago and I have included notes to statements of interest. I could never understand the social justice towards the end of the book. In this regard, the catechism is like “Dianetics”-the first half is understandable and reasonable and then it veers into “crazy land”.
I recently lent the catechism to Apprentice Tyler. Apprentice Tyler has become obsessed over the doctrine of Purgatory. There are thousands of entries, but there are only four references to purgatory. Clearly, purgatory can not be that important in Catholic thought, I reasoned, or there would be more references. The line of inquiry is typical of Apprentice Tyler's perseverance, where the overlooked or seemingly insignificant are of more importance. However, over the course of my research I’ve discovered, to my chagrin, that almost everything performed or done in the Roman Church is directed to benefit those in purgatory because these souls have no manner or ability to improve their condition. Any benefit to the living faithful seems to be secondary to assisting those in purgatory.
The four references to Purgatory in the Catechism
“1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. “
The fires of purgatory and the fires of the damned are “entirely different”, yet purgatory is a subdivision of Hell, therefore, "the elect" are in Hell.
“The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. 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.”
“We must believe” there is a purifying fire, but no reason is given and the Orthodox Church does not know of a fiery existence for the elect. It seems that Christ should be involved, somehow, with the elect in purgatory.
“1498 Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory. “
This usage of indulgences is very difficult to understand. Somehow the souls in purgatory are assisted by indulgences.
“1475 In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.”
This "perennial link" is similar to the Orthodox understanding of the community of all believers. One wonders how, “in this wonderful exchange”, that those souls in purgatory, who can not help themselves, help the living. There is no doubt that the saints assist the living.
“1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin.”
“On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory.”
One wonders what constitutes a healthy attachment to creatures.
“This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin.”
The purification involves not the intensity, but the time in purgatory.
“These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.”
The charity of the living can complete the purification of the sinner. If I understand this correctly, then the living faithful, through good works, can purify the soul in purgatory. This can not be correct; once again, I inquire: where is sacrifice of Christ in this doctrine?
Information from the EWTN website
“For one recitation of short ejaculatory prayers, He grants 100 or 300 or more days Indulgence. These we may say hundreds of times in the day. Those who say the little ejaculation: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee" one hundred times a day gain 30,000 days Indulgence. Those who say it 1,000 times, as many do, gain 300,000 days Indulgence each day! Then, for each Hail Mary of the Rosary, one gains more than 2,000 days Indulgence!”
For a waking day of 16 hours, 1,000 times is more than one recitation every minute. This seems like an unhealthy obsession to be constantly worried about souls in purgatory.
“The members of this order [3rd order of Saint Dominic] receive during life a share every day in thousands of Masses and prayers, and after death, when, alas, so many are neglected by their relatives, those who are members of this Third Order have a share daily in thousands of other Masses and prayers, this for as long as they remain in Purgatory!”
We learn that many departed faithful are “neglected by their relatives”. How many masses does it take? We do not know, but the English king Henry VIII attended mass five times daily. Perhaps the inherent uncertainty in Catholic teaching is the main reason why he left the Roman Church.
“In every prayer you say, every Mass you hear, every Communion you receive, every good work you perform, have the express intention of imploring God to grant you a holy and happy death and no Purgatory. Surely God will hear a prayer said with such confidence and perseverance.”
Every prayer, every Mass, every Communion and every good work the Catholic must implore God that he spends no time in Purgatory.
“Do all in your power for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Pray for them constantly, get others to do so… We recommend the booklets Read Me or Rue It and How to Avoid Purgatory St. John Massias, as we saw, released from Purgatory more than a million souls, chiefly by reciting the Rosary and offering its great indulgences for them.”
We have a number (over one million) of souls released from purgatory by St. John Massias.
“The great promise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, given to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251, is as follows: "Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire."”
This “promise” seems very superstitious to this researcher. The Roman Church clearly teaches that those in purgatory, “the elect”, will eventually be allowed into heaven, so the message is not misleading that the wearer will not “suffer eternal fire”. In fact, the person who does not where it, and ends up in purgatory, will not suffer eternal fire either.
“Since we do not know how long individual souls are detained in purgatory, there is need for persevering prayer for the repose of the souls of all those who die after reaching the use of reason, except those who are canonized or beatified by the Church.”
We again encounter the uncertainty of the time in purgatory.
Comparison with the Orthodox Church
Since accepted history tells us that the Western and Eastern Churches where united for a thousand years, we will, for completeness, offer the Orthodox Church's views of the afterlife for the Gentle Reader's edification. The first quotes are from the Greek Orthodox Church of North America. While it is incumbent for their statements to be polite or charitable, we have no restrictions on our commentary.
The full quote:
“Both purgatory and indulgences are inter-corrolated theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church, and when they were enforced and applied they brought about evil practices at the expense of the prevailing Truths of the Church. If Almighty God in His merciful loving-kindness changes the dreadful situation of the sinner, it is unknown to the Church of Christ. The Church lived for fifteen hundred years without such a theory.”
“Both purgatory and indulgences are inter-corrolated theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church..."
Purgatory and indulgences described as theories, not doctrine and not dogma. The Greek Church can not find evidence of these "theories" in the Bible nor do they have a tradition of these "theories".
"...and when they were enforced and applied they brought about evil practices at the expense of the prevailing Truths of the Church."
The time of enforcement of these "theories" that introduced "evil practices" must the the time of Martin Luther.
"If Almighty God in His merciful loving-kindness changes the dreadful situation of the sinner, it is unknown to the Church of Christ."
The Orthodox Church knows nothing related to the changes the fate of sinner in the afterlife, the Orthodox Church is ignorant of this fact. [vide The Ignorant Orthodox Church Examined]
"The Church lived for fifteen hundred years without such a theory."
The Orthodox Church existed for 15 centuries without the theory that the situation of the sinner changes in the afterlife. Again this is a reference to the time of Martin Luther.
"The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that it is necessary to believe in an intermediate after-death state in which believers are perfected and brought to full divinization, a process of growth rather than of punishment."
While our Protesting bretheren may not like this teaching of divinization, it is Orthodox theology.
“The Eastern Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem (1672) declared that "the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each hath wrought" (an enjoyment or condemnation that will be complete only after the resurrection of the dead); but the souls of some "depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have committed. But they are aware of their future release from there, and are delivered by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the Priests, and the good works which the relatives of each do for their Departed; especially the unbloody Sacrifice benefiting the most; which each offers particularly for his relatives that have fallen asleep, and which the Catholic and Apostolic Church offers daily for all alike. Of course, it is understood that we do not know the time of their release. We know and believe that there is deliverance for such from their direful condition, and that before the common resurrection and judgment, but when we know not.”
The Orthodox Church, unlike the Roman Catholic church, admits their ignorance without attempting to justify their position with reasoning or philosophy.
Conclusion
We understand that the living faithful help the departed faithful in purgatory by good works and indulgences. We are aware of two uncertainties: How long the faithful will be in purgatory and how much effort, charity or good works is required to release them from the purifying fires.
Appendix 1:
Usage of Purgatory in English (Courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary
Secondary sources are in red.
A condition or place of spiritual cleansing and purification; (R.C. Church) a place or state where the souls of those who die in a state of grace undergo such punishment as is still due to forgiven sins, and expiate their unforgiven venial sins.
?c1225 (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 102 Ihonged in fur of purgatorie [c1230 Corpus purgatoire]. oðer inpine of helle.
c1300 All Souls (Laud) 79 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 423 (MED), Purgatorie [is]..in fif studes..On is in þe firmament, þare gret brenningue is..Þat oþur is in þe Eyr..Þe þridde is an vrþe..þe feorþe in watere is; Þe fifte is onder vrþe deope, bi-side helle, i-wis.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 73 Purgatorie þe ssell seawy hou god clenzeþ veniel zenne.
▸a1393 Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1421 The man which lith in purgatoire.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 29165 (MED), Þai sal..for þair foly Bren in þe fier of purgatori.
c1475 (▸?a1430) Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) 22876 (MED), Prayer abreggeth purgatory.
a1530 (▸c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) v. xiv. 5510 Morys..askyt in his prayere Þat he sulde noucht de befor Þat her he tholit his purgator.
1534 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monast. (1843) 36 He wold prove purcatory by a certayne vers in the Saulter.
1562 Articles of Relig. xxii, The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory..is a fond thing vainly inuented.
a1591 H. Smith 6 Serm. (1594) 15 They invented Purgatorie, Masses,..and then all their trinkets.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. iv. i. iii. 522 Purgatory, Limbus patrum, infantum, and all that subterranean Geography.
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) (at cited word), The Council of Trent, Sect. 15. defines, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls detained there, are benefitted by the prayers of the faithful.
1713 Pope Corr. 8 Dec. (1956) I. 200, I cannot set his Delivery from Purgatory at less than Fifty Pounds sterling.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1777) III. iii. xix. 114 The doctrine of a purgatory seems innocent in itself..: it is only the absurd notion..of praying or buying souls out of Purgatory, that renders it a heresy repugnant to reason.
1824 R. Southey Bk. of Church I. 311 They might purchase a free passage through Purgatory, or at least, an abbreviation of the term.
1898 A. G. Mortimer Catholic Faith & Pract. ii. 352 The comparison of the differences between the Eastern and Western doctrines of Purgatory..strongly inclines one to the Western view.
Appendix 2:
All references to Purgatory (courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary) in Chronological Order to the year 1900
1225c? (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 102 Ihonged in fur of purgatorie [c1230 Corpus purgatoire]. oðer inpine of helle.
1300c All Souls (Laud) 79 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 423 (MED), Purgatorie [is]..in fif studes..On is in þe firmament, þare gret brenningue is..Þat oþur is in þe Eyr..Þe þridde is an vrþe..þe feorþe in watere is; Þe fifte is onder vrþe deope, bi-side helle, i-wis.
1300c St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) 2 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 199 Seint paterik..makede ane put in Irlonde Þat seint patrike purgatorie is icleoped.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 73 Purgatorie þe ssell seawy hou god clenzeþ veniel zenne.
1385▸c Chaucer Knight's Tale 1226 Now is my prisoun worse than biforn; Now is me shape eternally to dwelle, noght in purgatorie [v.r. purgotorye] but in helle.
1387▸a J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 375 (MED), A knyȝt þat heet Owen went into Patryk his purgatorie, and come aȝen..and tolde meny men of wondres þat he hadde i-seie in Patrykes purgatorie.
1390c (▸?a1300) Stations of Rome (Vernon) 412 Ȝif þow be þere al þe ȝer..Þenne hastou of crist pouweer A soule to draw from purgatori fer.
1393▸a Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1421 The man which lith in purgatoire.
1395c Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 489 By god, in erthe I was his purgatorie, For which I hope his soule be in glorie.
1400a (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 29165 (MED), Þai sal..for þair foly Bren in þe fier of purgatori.
1400c (▸a1376) Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. viii. 88 (MED), Oure lord haþ hem grauntid Here penaunce & here purcatorie vpon þis pur erþe.
1425a (▸a1349) R. Rolle Meditations on Passion (Uppsala) in Samfundet i Uppsala (1917) 19 42 Graunte me, lord Ihesu, purgatorie for my synnes er I deie.
1443▸c R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1987) 222 (MED), Of þi punyschyngis, lord god, summe ben purgatorie and satisfactorie for synnys and summe not so ben.
1450a (▸?1409) St. Patrick's Purgatory (Royal) 58 Y William Stavnton..entred in to þe purgatorie of seint Patrik in the bisshopriche of Cleghire in Irlande..on the friday next after holyrode day in harvest.
1456a (▸a1449) Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 421 (MED), I am euer in Purgatorye But whanne I seo my lady dere.
1475c St. Patrick's Purgatory (Brome) in L. T. Smith Common-place Bk. 15th Cent. (1886) 84 (MED), What man þat goth thys pylgrymage..Oþer porcatory xall he neuer haue.
1475c (▸?a1430) Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) 22876 (MED), Prayer abreggeth purgatory.
1490 Arte & Crafte to knowe well to Dye (Caxton) 7 The Infyrmyte tofore the deth is lyke as a purgatore.
1500a tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 33 (MED), He haþ a gret & an holsum purgatory [L.purgatorium] þat paciently receyueþ wronges.
1500a tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 33 Þi sorowe is satisfactory and purgatory [L.purgativus].
1513▸?a W. Dunbar Poems (1998) 274 We that ar heir in hevynnis glorie [at Court] To ȝou that ar in purgatorie [at Stirling in distress].
1530a (▸c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) v. xiv. 5510 Morys..askyt in his prayere Þat he sulde noucht de befor Þat her he tholit his purgator.
1534 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monast. (1843) 36 He wold prove purcatory by a certayne vers in the Saulter.
1550 T. Becon Fortress of Faithful sig. A.viiiv., The ryche worldelynges in tymes paste could buylde greate monasteries for the bellyed Hypocrites, greate Colledges, Chauntries, and Freechappels, for subtle cariars and Purgatorie rakers.
1562 Articles of Relig. xxii, The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory..is a fond thing vainly inuented.
1563–4 T. Becon Jewel of Joy Pref., We knew not Christ's most precious blood to be a sufficient purgatory for all our sins.
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue sig. B iv, Clensing whiche he calleth Purgatorie.
1591a H. Smith 6 Serm. (1594) 15 They invented Purgatorie, Masses,..and then all their trinkets.
1593 M. Drayton Idea iv. 21, A solemne pilgrimage, To holy Hayles or Patricks Purgatory.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. H4, The fire of Alchumie hath wrought such a purgation or purgatory in a great number of mens purses in England, that it hath clean fir'd them out of al they haue.
1607 G. Wilkins Miseries Inforst Mariage Sig. A4, Women are the Purgatory of mens Pursses, the Paradice of their bodies, and the Hel of their mindes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Depurgatoire, depurgatorie; purging.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. iv. i. iii. 522 Purgatory, Limbus patrum, infantum, and all that subterranean Geography.
1628 Field's Of Church (ed. 2) v. 791 The punishments of men, pure and cleane from sinne, for such sinnes as they formerly committed: if any such be imagined, cannot be named Purgatory punishments, but satisfactory onely.
1633 T. May Reigne Henry II iv. Sig. H1v, Or to your sacred eare relate the story Of our S. Patrick's famous Purgatory?
1639 N. N. tr. J. Du Bosc Compl. Woman i. sig. Gj, Women are so late ere they fall to devotion, and take it ordinarily but as a Purgatory of the offences of their youth.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State i. vii. 19 Those who first called England the Purgatory of servants, sure did us much wrong.
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) (at cited word), The Council of Trent, Sect. 15. defines, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls detained there, are benefitted by the prayers of the faithful.
1665 R. Flecknoe Ænigmatical Characters (new ed.) xlv. 69 They tell them lamentable Stories of Ireland, and St. Patricks Purgatory, (which they believe the sooner, because they look like so many poor souls come out of it themselves).
1675 G. Fox Arraignment Popery 209 Anti-christ sends forth his disciples to be Mass-mongers, Soul-carriers, Purgatory-rakers, God and Christ-makers of Bread and Wine.
1675 R. Burthogge Cavsa Dei 21 Plutarch..tells us, that Infernal Punishments are Purgatory and Medicinal.
1696 M. Pix Spanish Wives iii. ii. 3 I'le Curse, Excommunicate, Purgatory ye, Hang ye, Damn ye.
1703 Irish Act 2 Anne c. 6 §26 The Superstitions of Popery are greatly increased and upheld by the pretended Sanctity..of a place called St. Patrick's Purgatory in the County of Donegall.
1713 Pope Corr. 8 Dec. (1956) I. 200, I cannot set his Delivery from Purgatory at less than Fifty Pounds sterling.
1713 Popery Display'd 15 This Purgatory Punishment, to which this procures them admission, and there they are sure to be throughly purified, and made fit for Heaven.
1721c in Inventories Worcs. Landed Gentry (Worcs. Record Soc. 1998) 336 An iron purgatory.
1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers VI. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 98 Half way to North Allerton is a very bad piece of road which goes by the name of Purgatory.
1747 in B. Trinder & J. Cox Yeomen & Colliers Telford 1660–1750 (1980) 191 One Cast Iron Purgatory plate.
1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris i. 25 And you really think Paris a Kind of Purgatory.
1760 Boston Evening Post 2 June 4/3 (advt.) To be sold. A number of tracts of land... A part of the lot No. 25, in purgatory swamp.
1766 M. Cutler Jrnl. 22 Feb. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 12 Hunted in Purgatory with Mr. Dean and Mr. Penniman [for botanical specimens] this afternoon, but found nothing.
1774a A. Tucker Light of Nature (1777) III. iii. xix. 114 The doctrine of a purgatory seems innocent in itself..: it is only the absurd notion..of praying or buying souls out of Purgatory, that renders it a heresy repugnant to reason.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 272 Every man who has served in an assembly is ineligible for two years after... This purgatory interval is not unfavourable to a faithless representative.
1792 Trans. Soc. Antiq. Scotl. 1 391 Although these articles are called by the vulgar denomination of Purgatory Hammers, yet they appear to be diversified in the manner I have already described.
1797 J. Morse Amer. Gazetteer Sutton, a township in Worcester co., Massachusetts... The cavern, commonly called Purgatory,..is a natural curiosity.
1807 W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1864) I. 186 We have toiled through the purgatory of an election.
1824 R. Southey Bk. of Church I. 311 They might purchase a free passage through Purgatory, or at least, an abbreviation of the term.
1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants iii. 308 In the low prairies near the Wabash, are swamps, called by the people purgatories, which are almost impassable in the wet season.
1834 J. M. Peck Gazetteer Illinois iii. 171 The purgatory swamps, as they are called, around the prairie, had a deleterious influence.
1851 D. Wilson Archaeol. & Prehist. Ann. Scotl. vi. 135 The stone hammer..popularly known in Scotland almost till the close of last century [as] the Purgatory Hammer.
1854 J. Torrey tr. A. Neander Gen. Hist. Christian Relig. (ed. 6) II. 675 Notions respecting disciplinary or purgatory sufferings.
1855 E. Hitchcock Elem. Geol. (new ed.) 115 When the rocks exposed to the waves are divided by fissures..the mass between two fissures is sometimes removed by the water, thus leaving a chasm... Such fissures have been called purgatories, in New England, when they are quite narrow.
1855 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity VI. xiv. ii. 430 The Purgatory of St. Patrick, the Purgatory of Owen Miles,..were among the most popular and wide-spread legends of the ages preceding Dante.
1861 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner xxi. 232 Blanche Creamer..was purgatoried between the two old Doctors.
1866 Mrs. H. Wood Elster's Folly iii, The ‘purgatory’ in Mr. Jabez Gum's kitchen consisted of a hole, two feet square, under the hearth, covered with a grating, through which the ashes and the small cinders fell.
1874 Compl. Hist. Illinois lxvi. 925 The draining of Purgatory Swamp opposite Vincennes.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths II. 199 The paradise of other women was her purgatory.
1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New English I. iii. 505 The Teutonic and Romance are compounded in a purgatory-raker.
1888 J. D. Whitney Names & Places 160 Along the coast of New England, and in the interior, narrow ravines with nearly perpendicular walls are called ‘purgatories’.
1894 J. T. Fowler in St. Adamnan Vita S. Columbae Introd. 33 This one has perhaps been set up as a rival to an earlier St. Patrick's Purgatory.
1895 T. Pinnock Black Country Ann. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 650/2 What bad luck to drap yer weddin ring in the purgatory hole.
1897 R. M. Gilchrist Peakland Faggot ii. 20 Et's onpossible, wi' them purgatories on th' harstone, to keep ashes fro' flyin.
1898 A. G. Mortimer Catholic Faith & Pract. ii. 352 The comparison of the differences between the Eastern and Western doctrines of Purgatory..strongly inclines one to the Western view.
I acquired a copy of the Catholic Catechism (1992) some years ago and I have included notes to statements of interest. I could never understand the social justice towards the end of the book. In this regard, the catechism is like “Dianetics”-the first half is understandable and reasonable and then it veers into “crazy land”.
I recently lent the catechism to Apprentice Tyler. Apprentice Tyler has become obsessed over the doctrine of Purgatory. There are thousands of entries, but there are only four references to purgatory. Clearly, purgatory can not be that important in Catholic thought, I reasoned, or there would be more references. The line of inquiry is typical of Apprentice Tyler's perseverance, where the overlooked or seemingly insignificant are of more importance. However, over the course of my research I’ve discovered, to my chagrin, that almost everything performed or done in the Roman Church is directed to benefit those in purgatory because these souls have no manner or ability to improve their condition. Any benefit to the living faithful seems to be secondary to assisting those in purgatory.
The four references to Purgatory in the Catechism
“1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. “
The fires of purgatory and the fires of the damned are “entirely different”, yet purgatory is a subdivision of Hell, therefore, "the elect" are in Hell.
“The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. 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.”
“We must believe” there is a purifying fire, but no reason is given and the Orthodox Church does not know of a fiery existence for the elect. It seems that Christ should be involved, somehow, with the elect in purgatory.
“1498 Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory. “
This usage of indulgences is very difficult to understand. Somehow the souls in purgatory are assisted by indulgences.
“1475 In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.”
This "perennial link" is similar to the Orthodox understanding of the community of all believers. One wonders how, “in this wonderful exchange”, that those souls in purgatory, who can not help themselves, help the living. There is no doubt that the saints assist the living.
“1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin.”
“On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory.”
One wonders what constitutes a healthy attachment to creatures.
“This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin.”
The purification involves not the intensity, but the time in purgatory.
“These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.”
The charity of the living can complete the purification of the sinner. If I understand this correctly, then the living faithful, through good works, can purify the soul in purgatory. This can not be correct; once again, I inquire: where is sacrifice of Christ in this doctrine?
Information from the EWTN website
“For one recitation of short ejaculatory prayers, He grants 100 or 300 or more days Indulgence. These we may say hundreds of times in the day. Those who say the little ejaculation: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee" one hundred times a day gain 30,000 days Indulgence. Those who say it 1,000 times, as many do, gain 300,000 days Indulgence each day! Then, for each Hail Mary of the Rosary, one gains more than 2,000 days Indulgence!”
For a waking day of 16 hours, 1,000 times is more than one recitation every minute. This seems like an unhealthy obsession to be constantly worried about souls in purgatory.
“The members of this order [3rd order of Saint Dominic] receive during life a share every day in thousands of Masses and prayers, and after death, when, alas, so many are neglected by their relatives, those who are members of this Third Order have a share daily in thousands of other Masses and prayers, this for as long as they remain in Purgatory!”
We learn that many departed faithful are “neglected by their relatives”. How many masses does it take? We do not know, but the English king Henry VIII attended mass five times daily. Perhaps the inherent uncertainty in Catholic teaching is the main reason why he left the Roman Church.
“In every prayer you say, every Mass you hear, every Communion you receive, every good work you perform, have the express intention of imploring God to grant you a holy and happy death and no Purgatory. Surely God will hear a prayer said with such confidence and perseverance.”
Every prayer, every Mass, every Communion and every good work the Catholic must implore God that he spends no time in Purgatory.
“Do all in your power for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Pray for them constantly, get others to do so… We recommend the booklets Read Me or Rue It and How to Avoid Purgatory St. John Massias, as we saw, released from Purgatory more than a million souls, chiefly by reciting the Rosary and offering its great indulgences for them.”
We have a number (over one million) of souls released from purgatory by St. John Massias.
“The great promise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, given to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251, is as follows: "Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire."”
This “promise” seems very superstitious to this researcher. The Roman Church clearly teaches that those in purgatory, “the elect”, will eventually be allowed into heaven, so the message is not misleading that the wearer will not “suffer eternal fire”. In fact, the person who does not where it, and ends up in purgatory, will not suffer eternal fire either.
“Since we do not know how long individual souls are detained in purgatory, there is need for persevering prayer for the repose of the souls of all those who die after reaching the use of reason, except those who are canonized or beatified by the Church.”
We again encounter the uncertainty of the time in purgatory.
Comparison with the Orthodox Church
Since accepted history tells us that the Western and Eastern Churches where united for a thousand years, we will, for completeness, offer the Orthodox Church's views of the afterlife for the Gentle Reader's edification. The first quotes are from the Greek Orthodox Church of North America. While it is incumbent for their statements to be polite or charitable, we have no restrictions on our commentary.
The full quote:
“Both purgatory and indulgences are inter-corrolated theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church, and when they were enforced and applied they brought about evil practices at the expense of the prevailing Truths of the Church. If Almighty God in His merciful loving-kindness changes the dreadful situation of the sinner, it is unknown to the Church of Christ. The Church lived for fifteen hundred years without such a theory.”
“Both purgatory and indulgences are inter-corrolated theories, unwitnessed in the Bible or in the Ancient Church..."
Purgatory and indulgences described as theories, not doctrine and not dogma. The Greek Church can not find evidence of these "theories" in the Bible nor do they have a tradition of these "theories".
"...and when they were enforced and applied they brought about evil practices at the expense of the prevailing Truths of the Church."
The time of enforcement of these "theories" that introduced "evil practices" must the the time of Martin Luther.
"If Almighty God in His merciful loving-kindness changes the dreadful situation of the sinner, it is unknown to the Church of Christ."
The Orthodox Church knows nothing related to the changes the fate of sinner in the afterlife, the Orthodox Church is ignorant of this fact. [vide The Ignorant Orthodox Church Examined]
"The Church lived for fifteen hundred years without such a theory."
The Orthodox Church existed for 15 centuries without the theory that the situation of the sinner changes in the afterlife. Again this is a reference to the time of Martin Luther.
"The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that it is necessary to believe in an intermediate after-death state in which believers are perfected and brought to full divinization, a process of growth rather than of punishment."
While our Protesting bretheren may not like this teaching of divinization, it is Orthodox theology.
“The Eastern Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem (1672) declared that "the souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each hath wrought" (an enjoyment or condemnation that will be complete only after the resurrection of the dead); but the souls of some "depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have committed. But they are aware of their future release from there, and are delivered by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the Priests, and the good works which the relatives of each do for their Departed; especially the unbloody Sacrifice benefiting the most; which each offers particularly for his relatives that have fallen asleep, and which the Catholic and Apostolic Church offers daily for all alike. Of course, it is understood that we do not know the time of their release. We know and believe that there is deliverance for such from their direful condition, and that before the common resurrection and judgment, but when we know not.”
The Orthodox Church, unlike the Roman Catholic church, admits their ignorance without attempting to justify their position with reasoning or philosophy.
Conclusion
We understand that the living faithful help the departed faithful in purgatory by good works and indulgences. We are aware of two uncertainties: How long the faithful will be in purgatory and how much effort, charity or good works is required to release them from the purifying fires.
Appendix 1:
Usage of Purgatory in English (Courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary
Secondary sources are in red.
A condition or place of spiritual cleansing and purification; (R.C. Church) a place or state where the souls of those who die in a state of grace undergo such punishment as is still due to forgiven sins, and expiate their unforgiven venial sins.
?c1225 (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 102 Ihonged in fur of purgatorie [c1230 Corpus purgatoire]. oðer inpine of helle.
c1300 All Souls (Laud) 79 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 423 (MED), Purgatorie [is]..in fif studes..On is in þe firmament, þare gret brenningue is..Þat oþur is in þe Eyr..Þe þridde is an vrþe..þe feorþe in watere is; Þe fifte is onder vrþe deope, bi-side helle, i-wis.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 73 Purgatorie þe ssell seawy hou god clenzeþ veniel zenne.
▸a1393 Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1421 The man which lith in purgatoire.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 29165 (MED), Þai sal..for þair foly Bren in þe fier of purgatori.
c1475 (▸?a1430) Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) 22876 (MED), Prayer abreggeth purgatory.
a1530 (▸c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) v. xiv. 5510 Morys..askyt in his prayere Þat he sulde noucht de befor Þat her he tholit his purgator.
1534 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monast. (1843) 36 He wold prove purcatory by a certayne vers in the Saulter.
1562 Articles of Relig. xxii, The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory..is a fond thing vainly inuented.
a1591 H. Smith 6 Serm. (1594) 15 They invented Purgatorie, Masses,..and then all their trinkets.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. iv. i. iii. 522 Purgatory, Limbus patrum, infantum, and all that subterranean Geography.
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) (at cited word), The Council of Trent, Sect. 15. defines, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls detained there, are benefitted by the prayers of the faithful.
1713 Pope Corr. 8 Dec. (1956) I. 200, I cannot set his Delivery from Purgatory at less than Fifty Pounds sterling.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1777) III. iii. xix. 114 The doctrine of a purgatory seems innocent in itself..: it is only the absurd notion..of praying or buying souls out of Purgatory, that renders it a heresy repugnant to reason.
1824 R. Southey Bk. of Church I. 311 They might purchase a free passage through Purgatory, or at least, an abbreviation of the term.
1898 A. G. Mortimer Catholic Faith & Pract. ii. 352 The comparison of the differences between the Eastern and Western doctrines of Purgatory..strongly inclines one to the Western view.
Appendix 2:
All references to Purgatory (courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary) in Chronological Order to the year 1900
1225c? (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 102 Ihonged in fur of purgatorie [c1230 Corpus purgatoire]. oðer inpine of helle.
1300c All Souls (Laud) 79 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 423 (MED), Purgatorie [is]..in fif studes..On is in þe firmament, þare gret brenningue is..Þat oþur is in þe Eyr..Þe þridde is an vrþe..þe feorþe in watere is; Þe fifte is onder vrþe deope, bi-side helle, i-wis.
1300c St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) 2 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 199 Seint paterik..makede ane put in Irlonde Þat seint patrike purgatorie is icleoped.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 73 Purgatorie þe ssell seawy hou god clenzeþ veniel zenne.
1385▸c Chaucer Knight's Tale 1226 Now is my prisoun worse than biforn; Now is me shape eternally to dwelle, noght in purgatorie [v.r. purgotorye] but in helle.
1387▸a J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 375 (MED), A knyȝt þat heet Owen went into Patryk his purgatorie, and come aȝen..and tolde meny men of wondres þat he hadde i-seie in Patrykes purgatorie.
1390c (▸?a1300) Stations of Rome (Vernon) 412 Ȝif þow be þere al þe ȝer..Þenne hastou of crist pouweer A soule to draw from purgatori fer.
1393▸a Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 1421 The man which lith in purgatoire.
1395c Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 489 By god, in erthe I was his purgatorie, For which I hope his soule be in glorie.
1400a (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 29165 (MED), Þai sal..for þair foly Bren in þe fier of purgatori.
1400c (▸a1376) Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. viii. 88 (MED), Oure lord haþ hem grauntid Here penaunce & here purcatorie vpon þis pur erþe.
1425a (▸a1349) R. Rolle Meditations on Passion (Uppsala) in Samfundet i Uppsala (1917) 19 42 Graunte me, lord Ihesu, purgatorie for my synnes er I deie.
1443▸c R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1987) 222 (MED), Of þi punyschyngis, lord god, summe ben purgatorie and satisfactorie for synnys and summe not so ben.
1450a (▸?1409) St. Patrick's Purgatory (Royal) 58 Y William Stavnton..entred in to þe purgatorie of seint Patrik in the bisshopriche of Cleghire in Irlande..on the friday next after holyrode day in harvest.
1456a (▸a1449) Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 421 (MED), I am euer in Purgatorye But whanne I seo my lady dere.
1475c St. Patrick's Purgatory (Brome) in L. T. Smith Common-place Bk. 15th Cent. (1886) 84 (MED), What man þat goth thys pylgrymage..Oþer porcatory xall he neuer haue.
1475c (▸?a1430) Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) 22876 (MED), Prayer abreggeth purgatory.
1490 Arte & Crafte to knowe well to Dye (Caxton) 7 The Infyrmyte tofore the deth is lyke as a purgatore.
1500a tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 33 (MED), He haþ a gret & an holsum purgatory [L.purgatorium] þat paciently receyueþ wronges.
1500a tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 33 Þi sorowe is satisfactory and purgatory [L.purgativus].
1513▸?a W. Dunbar Poems (1998) 274 We that ar heir in hevynnis glorie [at Court] To ȝou that ar in purgatorie [at Stirling in distress].
1530a (▸c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) v. xiv. 5510 Morys..askyt in his prayere Þat he sulde noucht de befor Þat her he tholit his purgator.
1534 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monast. (1843) 36 He wold prove purcatory by a certayne vers in the Saulter.
1550 T. Becon Fortress of Faithful sig. A.viiiv., The ryche worldelynges in tymes paste could buylde greate monasteries for the bellyed Hypocrites, greate Colledges, Chauntries, and Freechappels, for subtle cariars and Purgatorie rakers.
1562 Articles of Relig. xxii, The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory..is a fond thing vainly inuented.
1563–4 T. Becon Jewel of Joy Pref., We knew not Christ's most precious blood to be a sufficient purgatory for all our sins.
1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue sig. B iv, Clensing whiche he calleth Purgatorie.
1591a H. Smith 6 Serm. (1594) 15 They invented Purgatorie, Masses,..and then all their trinkets.
1593 M. Drayton Idea iv. 21, A solemne pilgrimage, To holy Hayles or Patricks Purgatory.
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. H4, The fire of Alchumie hath wrought such a purgation or purgatory in a great number of mens purses in England, that it hath clean fir'd them out of al they haue.
1607 G. Wilkins Miseries Inforst Mariage Sig. A4, Women are the Purgatory of mens Pursses, the Paradice of their bodies, and the Hel of their mindes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Depurgatoire, depurgatorie; purging.
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) iii. iv. i. iii. 522 Purgatory, Limbus patrum, infantum, and all that subterranean Geography.
1628 Field's Of Church (ed. 2) v. 791 The punishments of men, pure and cleane from sinne, for such sinnes as they formerly committed: if any such be imagined, cannot be named Purgatory punishments, but satisfactory onely.
1633 T. May Reigne Henry II iv. Sig. H1v, Or to your sacred eare relate the story Of our S. Patrick's famous Purgatory?
1639 N. N. tr. J. Du Bosc Compl. Woman i. sig. Gj, Women are so late ere they fall to devotion, and take it ordinarily but as a Purgatory of the offences of their youth.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State i. vii. 19 Those who first called England the Purgatory of servants, sure did us much wrong.
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) (at cited word), The Council of Trent, Sect. 15. defines, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls detained there, are benefitted by the prayers of the faithful.
1665 R. Flecknoe Ænigmatical Characters (new ed.) xlv. 69 They tell them lamentable Stories of Ireland, and St. Patricks Purgatory, (which they believe the sooner, because they look like so many poor souls come out of it themselves).
1675 G. Fox Arraignment Popery 209 Anti-christ sends forth his disciples to be Mass-mongers, Soul-carriers, Purgatory-rakers, God and Christ-makers of Bread and Wine.
1675 R. Burthogge Cavsa Dei 21 Plutarch..tells us, that Infernal Punishments are Purgatory and Medicinal.
1696 M. Pix Spanish Wives iii. ii. 3 I'le Curse, Excommunicate, Purgatory ye, Hang ye, Damn ye.
1703 Irish Act 2 Anne c. 6 §26 The Superstitions of Popery are greatly increased and upheld by the pretended Sanctity..of a place called St. Patrick's Purgatory in the County of Donegall.
1713 Pope Corr. 8 Dec. (1956) I. 200, I cannot set his Delivery from Purgatory at less than Fifty Pounds sterling.
1713 Popery Display'd 15 This Purgatory Punishment, to which this procures them admission, and there they are sure to be throughly purified, and made fit for Heaven.
1721c in Inventories Worcs. Landed Gentry (Worcs. Record Soc. 1998) 336 An iron purgatory.
1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers VI. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 98 Half way to North Allerton is a very bad piece of road which goes by the name of Purgatory.
1747 in B. Trinder & J. Cox Yeomen & Colliers Telford 1660–1750 (1980) 191 One Cast Iron Purgatory plate.
1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris i. 25 And you really think Paris a Kind of Purgatory.
1760 Boston Evening Post 2 June 4/3 (advt.) To be sold. A number of tracts of land... A part of the lot No. 25, in purgatory swamp.
1766 M. Cutler Jrnl. 22 Feb. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 12 Hunted in Purgatory with Mr. Dean and Mr. Penniman [for botanical specimens] this afternoon, but found nothing.
1774a A. Tucker Light of Nature (1777) III. iii. xix. 114 The doctrine of a purgatory seems innocent in itself..: it is only the absurd notion..of praying or buying souls out of Purgatory, that renders it a heresy repugnant to reason.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 272 Every man who has served in an assembly is ineligible for two years after... This purgatory interval is not unfavourable to a faithless representative.
1792 Trans. Soc. Antiq. Scotl. 1 391 Although these articles are called by the vulgar denomination of Purgatory Hammers, yet they appear to be diversified in the manner I have already described.
1797 J. Morse Amer. Gazetteer Sutton, a township in Worcester co., Massachusetts... The cavern, commonly called Purgatory,..is a natural curiosity.
1807 W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1864) I. 186 We have toiled through the purgatory of an election.
1824 R. Southey Bk. of Church I. 311 They might purchase a free passage through Purgatory, or at least, an abbreviation of the term.
1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants iii. 308 In the low prairies near the Wabash, are swamps, called by the people purgatories, which are almost impassable in the wet season.
1834 J. M. Peck Gazetteer Illinois iii. 171 The purgatory swamps, as they are called, around the prairie, had a deleterious influence.
1851 D. Wilson Archaeol. & Prehist. Ann. Scotl. vi. 135 The stone hammer..popularly known in Scotland almost till the close of last century [as] the Purgatory Hammer.
1854 J. Torrey tr. A. Neander Gen. Hist. Christian Relig. (ed. 6) II. 675 Notions respecting disciplinary or purgatory sufferings.
1855 E. Hitchcock Elem. Geol. (new ed.) 115 When the rocks exposed to the waves are divided by fissures..the mass between two fissures is sometimes removed by the water, thus leaving a chasm... Such fissures have been called purgatories, in New England, when they are quite narrow.
1855 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity VI. xiv. ii. 430 The Purgatory of St. Patrick, the Purgatory of Owen Miles,..were among the most popular and wide-spread legends of the ages preceding Dante.
1861 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner xxi. 232 Blanche Creamer..was purgatoried between the two old Doctors.
1866 Mrs. H. Wood Elster's Folly iii, The ‘purgatory’ in Mr. Jabez Gum's kitchen consisted of a hole, two feet square, under the hearth, covered with a grating, through which the ashes and the small cinders fell.
1874 Compl. Hist. Illinois lxvi. 925 The draining of Purgatory Swamp opposite Vincennes.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths II. 199 The paradise of other women was her purgatory.
1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New English I. iii. 505 The Teutonic and Romance are compounded in a purgatory-raker.
1888 J. D. Whitney Names & Places 160 Along the coast of New England, and in the interior, narrow ravines with nearly perpendicular walls are called ‘purgatories’.
1894 J. T. Fowler in St. Adamnan Vita S. Columbae Introd. 33 This one has perhaps been set up as a rival to an earlier St. Patrick's Purgatory.
1895 T. Pinnock Black Country Ann. in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 650/2 What bad luck to drap yer weddin ring in the purgatory hole.
1897 R. M. Gilchrist Peakland Faggot ii. 20 Et's onpossible, wi' them purgatories on th' harstone, to keep ashes fro' flyin.
1898 A. G. Mortimer Catholic Faith & Pract. ii. 352 The comparison of the differences between the Eastern and Western doctrines of Purgatory..strongly inclines one to the Western view.