There is an old line about how five out of four people do not understand fractions. That lack of perception might also pertain even to some who believe in what the Church deems “The Four Last Things” — death, (particular) judgment, Heaven and Hell.
Here is a short mathematical summary: Everyone must encounter the first two and one of the last two. While not totally the same for all, three of the four are at every door, and yet there is often one more: Purgatory.
Similar to Hell, Purgatory is not guaranteed, yet it is probably quite busy. That is another way of saying that many souls in a state of grace are not totally fit for Heaven at the hour of death; they need some intense cleaning up (or purgation) before seeing God face to face.
Revelation 21:27 says that nothing impure shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, so there must be something between now and Eternity that makes souls totally pleasing to God — not just in name, but in reality.
Name-Blame Game
Some people may be offended by the word “Purgatory” because it is not in the Bible. Yet the words “Trinity” and even “Bible” itself are not in the Bible, and we still believe in them.
There is actually a vacation destination in Durango, Colorado called Purgatory Resort, further indication of how names do not always correspond with what we expect of them. The important thing is the reality, not how that reality is labelled.
Those who do not believe in Purgatory either have too high an opinion of themselves or too low an opinion of God. Then again, maybe both lopsided views are in play. Venerable Fulton Sheen said that
The more a man exalts himself, the less God seems to him in comparison. The good man is never sure he is good because he measures himself by the Perfect; the evil man is quite sure he is good because he measures himself by himself.
Those who have no standards beyond their noses find Purgatory repugnant, while those who take God’s commandments seriously see how Purgatory is needed by the soul on the right path, but not quite ready for the Great Feast in the King of King’s Castle.
Nearer and Dearer
Because the soul in Purgatory knows far better than ever before the boundless good that God is, the more intense is the pain at not being entirely united to Him. It’s a paradoxical paradigm that can be compared to childbirth, in which the joyous reality of finally seeing one’s precious baby is preceded by extraordinary pain.
It could also be likened, believe it or not, to the Kansas City Royals, who in 2014 got as close as a team possibly can to winning the World Series without actually doing so. They had to wait an entire year before winning the whole thing. Those twelve months can be seen as their Purgatory, in which the ultimate baseball good was closed to them. Very tough, but certainly better than being in labor for a year, which would probably be an even more accurate depiction of Purgatory.
Strangely enough, the Royals’ disappointment that began in 2014 would not have been nearly as bad, had they not even made the playoffs. That can be compared to a soul on earth who suffers, but not nearly as intensely as someone in Purgatory who is on the doorstep of eternal happiness.
Guests and Hosts
The closest we can get to eternal happiness here below is by receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Even then, otherwise devout Catholics harm themselves greatly by not being fully present to the One is fully present to them.
Some people attend Mass daily but arrive just on time (or late) and leave right afterward — or stick around and act as though the church were a restaurant or sports bar. It would be better to attend one extra Mass during the week by arriving half an hour before and staying a half an hour after, than to perfunctorily receive the One who will pass an eternal sentence on us.
In volume 3 his Summa on the Christian Life, Venerable Louis of Granada gives this much-needed instruction:
Under no circumstances should we, immediately after receiving Communion, congregate with others and spend the time laughing and conversing. This is reprehensible indeed. What bad manners it would be to receive a guest into one’s house and then immediately turn your back on him [to] talk and laugh with others.
If this is true with any guest, how much truer is it when the Guest just received is the One who created and redeemed all the other guests and the host? Indeed, the Guest in the Sacred Host is the One the other host should converse with the most.
Hour of Power
Saint Alphonsus Liguori gives some idea of the time needed to adequately give thanks to God for the gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist. He states the following in his masterpiece, The True Spouse of Jesus Christ:
Many religious [receive Communion] frequently and draw only little fruit from [this] because they remain only a short time with Jesus Christ. To Saint Margaret of Cortona, Our Lord once said: ‘I treat souls as they treat me.’
If you are not prevented by some duty of obedience or of charity, be careful to remain with Jesus Christ at least for half an hour after Communion. I say ‘at least for half an hour’ [because] an hour is the proper time for thanksgiving.
Although it can be objected that Saint Alphonsus is laying down rules for religious and that laypeople should be cut some slack, consider this: Is talking to Bob about football or Marge about cooking more important than demonstrating respect to God Almighty? Football, cooking, the post office, gas station and library can all wait, but the one thing necessary cannot.
Prepare In Order Not to Go There
Other than receiving Jesus Christ with proper dispositions (both before and after the actual event), possibly the best way to avoid Purgatory is to assist those who are currently suffering there. The seventh spiritual work of mercy is to pray, not only for the living, but also for the dead. Litanies, rosaries, Divine Mercy chaplets, the Liturgy of the Hours, and most especially Masses, aid the faithful-departed in need of purification.
Another of the spiritual works of mercy is to instruct the ignorant, which includes lessons on Purgatory. Books on the topic include the classic collection of considerations and prayers called Purgatorian Manual, available in a pocket-sized hardcover from Loreto Publications. A slightly larger paperback version can be found from Mother of Our Savior and Refuge of Sinners Publishing, which may have the most titles of any publisher on the Four Last Things (plus the fifth of them).
While no one should aim for Purgatory, Father Michael Magiera, FSSP, has pointed out that the only exit from it is the entrance to Heaven. To make that transition for oneself very short or remove it entirely, assisting those now there is a path that four out of four living Catholics should tread long before they find themselves among the dead.
Trent Beattie is the author of Scruples and Sainthood (Loreto Publications) and Fit for Heaven (Dynamic Catholic). He is also the editor of Saint Alphonsus Liguori for Every Day (Mediatrix Press), Finding True Happiness (Dynamic Catholic) and Apostolic Athletes (Marian Press).
