Sunday Reflection – 31st Sunday

Purgatory: Therapy of Divine Love  (Mark 12:28-34)

Purgation is a process of purification.  Purgatory is not specifically mentioned in the bible but the doctrine of purgatory is a beautiful development which holds in unity two ideas which might seem to be contradictory.  Firstly, the doctrine of God’s holiness reminds us of God’s unique otherness, glory, and blinding light, far beyond anything we could ever merit.  The other doctrine is of God’s loving mercy.  The all-holy God whom we could never deserve is also the God of mercy who allows us a process of purification, namely purgatory.

Old and new Catechisms

Many of us grew up with a Catechism which told us that purgatory is a place or state of punishment, where some souls suffer for a time before they go to heaven.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994, paints a very different picture.  “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism 1030). The old Catechism spoke of punishment and suffering.  The new Catechism speaks of assured salvation and a therapy of purification.

Preparing for the Beatific Vision

Saint John gives us this beautiful, uplifting insight into our future.  “My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.  Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify self, must try to be as pure as Christ” (1 John 3:2-3). 

So, what has to be purified?  Today’s Gospel sets the standard of loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength: and loving your neighbour as yourself.

Great spiritual directors down the ages have listed seven deadly roots which produce sins:  pride (glorification of me), covetousness, lust, envy, anger, gluttony and sloth (laziness).  These poisonous roots produce thoughts and behaviour that are contrary to the light of Christ. 

A gradual therapy

Dante described purgatory as climbing up step by step, beginning with the eradication of pride, until the soul is ravished in love.  As one gradually ascends towards God, the cataracts of selfishness, lust, anger, injustice etc. are cleansed from the eye of the soul.  The journey to God is completed when the soul is completely cleansed.  One of the beatitudes of God’s kingdom states, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”  A person is then like a mirror, receiving and returning a perfect reflection of God.  As we heard from Saint John, “we shall see him as he really is.”  This is called the beatific vision.

“I shall be filled when I awake with the sight of your glory, O Lord” (Psalm 16:15).

Suffering in Purgatory

Is there suffering in purgatory?  Yes, but not physical pain or burning in fire. Any form of therapy will cause a stab of pain when the injured part is touched, but this is a step towards healing.  “The truth will set you free.”  The therapy of God’s love confronts one with the painful truth of how one falls short of perfection.  It is the pain you feel when you recognise how much you have hurt others, or when you have allowed selfishness to govern your life, or when you realise how much God loves you and how poorly you have loved in return.  That’s the pain of love which is beautiful because it only comes in the vision of divine love.  It’s like the reaction of Saint Peter to the miraculous catch of fish: “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man”.

“There is no joy, save that in paradise, to be compared with the joy of the souls in purgatory.

As the rust of sin is more consumed, the soul is more and more open to God’s love.

Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the sun’s rays, in the same way, as the covering of the soul is removed, the soul opens itself fully to the rays of the sun.

That is why the soul seeks to cast off all impediments, so that it can be lifted up to God: and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of the souls in purgatory.”  (St. Catherine of Genoa)

The happiness of Purification

Next question: are the souls in purgatory happy?  Yes, intensely happy.  As the Catechism says, they are assured of salvation, coming ever closer to the clear vision of God’s glory which “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, even beyond our imagination” (St. Paul).  Not for one moment would they return to this lesser level of life.  Would the butterfly return to its former existence as a slimy grub?

Pray with the souls in Purgatory

O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.

So, I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.  (Psalm 62).