Purgatory

by Anthony Arigo - Parishioner of St. Martha

Purgatory

As Christians we hold to the belief that we are beings who possess a soul and that our soul must be in a sufficient state of grace, without the stain of sin, to enter the kingdom of God.

To achieve this cleansing of our soul, many of us enter an intermediate state after death for expiating purification. According to Church doctrine, the souls of those who die in God’s grace may make satisfaction for past sins to become fit for heaven.

Still an official teaching of the Church (Catechism 1030-1032), purgatory is an essential plan of salvation and affirmed in each of the last three ecumenical councils. The Pope said it is a process, not a place, to experience regret for one’s sins. For many Christians, accepting the Church’s teachings that it is not over when it’s over and that our souls live on to continue the journey to the kingdom of God becomes and act of faith with reservations.

For me, the existence of my soul and its after death journey is something I totally accept, not only from a position of faith, but as someone who has seen and can bear witness to events that everything the Catholic church has told its faithful about our souls and the purity of the Blessed Mother is true.

And with the last breath I take, I will echo my father’s final words to me. “I will see you later”. And he did. And I will. And that is the truth. Amen.