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According to the doctrine of the Church, purgatory is
the place of those souls that have died under
obligation to suffer still some temporary pain, due
to venial sins not yet forgiven, or to sins already
forgiven but not yet expiated. They remain in
purgatory until the debt which they owe to divine
justice has been fully paid. They pay this debt
progressively, not by merit and satisfaction, for the
time of merit is gone by, but by satispassion, that
is, by enduring voluntarily the satisfactory
suffering inflicted on them. Their sufferings may be
shortened by suffrages made for them and especially
by Masses in their favor.
We find this doctrine of the Church in the Second
Council of Lyons, in that of Florence, [333] in that
of Trent, [334] and in the condemnation of many
errors of Luther. [335] Among the errors condemned by
the Church we may notice especially such sentences as
these: "The existence of purgatory cannot be
established by Scripture." [336] "The souls in
purgatory suffer by impatience." [337] "The souls in
purgatory are not sure of their salvation." The
Church, on the contrary, teaches as her common
doctrine that these souls suffer the punishment of
fire. [338]
The Protestant Error
The doctrine of purgatory was denied by the
Albigenses, the Hussites, and the Protestants. [339]
Luther began, in 1517, by denying the value of
indulgences, saying that they had no value before God
for the remission of the punishment due to our sins.
[340] Then he went on
to maintain that purgatory cannot be proved by Holy
Scripture; that the souls in purgatory are not sure
of their salvation; that we cannot prove the
impossibility of merit in purgatory; that the souls
in purgatory may sin by attempting to escape the
sufferings they are undergoing.
Later on, Luther reached the doctrinal root of all
his negations, namely, justification by faith alone.
Then he affirmed the uselessness of good works and
hence the uselessness of purgatory. Supported by
popular favor, he became more and more audacious. In
1524 he published his book on the abrogation of Mass.
In this work he says that the denial of purgatory is
not an error.
Finally, in 1530, he denied absolutely any necessity
of satisfaction for our sins. To uphold this, he
said, would be an injury to Christ, who has satisfied
superabundantly for all sin. For the same reason he
denied that the Mass is a true sacrifice,
particularly a propitiatory sacrifice. We have here
the radical denial of a life of reparation, as if the
sufferings of the saints for the expiation of sin
would be an injury to the Redeemer.
Now the first and universal cause does not exclude
second causes, but grants them the dignity of
causality, somewhat like a sculptor who should make
statues which live. Thus the satisfactory merits of
Christ do not exclude our own, but rather create
them. Christ causes us to work with Him and in Him.
St. Paul said: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so
you shall fulfill the law of Christ." [341] Again: "I
now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up
those things that are wanting of the sufferings of
Christ, in my flesh, for His body, which is the
Church." Certainly nothing was lacking to the
sufferings of Christ in themselves, but they lacked
fulfillment in our own flesh.
Calvin [342] and Zwingli [343] followed Luther in
denying indulgences, in denying the sacrifice of the
Mass, and purgatory.
Protestants of the present day have separated from
their masters on this subject. Many of them admit an
intermediate state between hell and heaven. They will
not call it purgatory, but do say that the souls
there can still merit and satisfy. Some hold that the
sufferings of hell are not eternal. Now this
temporary hell does not at all resemble the purgatory
taught by the Catholic Church, according to which all
souls in purgatory are in the state of grace and can
no longer sin.
This is but one more example of the variations and
contradictions to be found among Protestant Churches.
The chief Catholic theologians who wrote against this
Protestant error are Cajetan, Sylvester Ferrariensis,
St. John Fisher, John Eck, and St. Robert Bellarmine.
St. John Fisher speaks thus to the Lutherans: "In
suppressing the sacrifice of the Mass you have
excluded the sun which illumines and warms each day
of our life, and makes its influence felt even in
purgatory."
The Church condemned this Protestant error. The
Council of Trent declares: "If anyone says that the
man who has repented and received the grace of
justification is forgiven and released from
obligation to eternal punishment, in such fashion
that he no longer has any obligation to temporal
punishment, whether in this world or in purgatory,
before he can be given entrance into heaven: let him
be anathema." [344]
In the fourteenth chapter, which corresponds to this
cannon, the Council affirms the necessity of
satisfaction for sins committed after baptism:
satisfaction in the form of fasting, of almsgiving,
of prayer, and of other exercises of the spiritual
life. These satisfactions are not meant for the
eternal punishment, which was remitted by the
sacrament of penance or by the desire of the
sacrament, but for the remission of temporal
punishment, which is not always remitted entirely, as
it is in baptism. [345] The Council quotes these
words of Scripture: "Be mindful therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and do penance and do the first
works." [346] "For the sorrow that is according to
God worketh penance." [347] "Do penance." [348]
"Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance."
[349] And if this reparation, this satisfaction, has
not been paid in this world, the soul will have to
undergo the satisfactorial punishment of purgatory.
Purgatory in Scripture
In the Old Testament we read that Judas Machabeus
"making a gathering sent twelve thousand drachmas of
silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for
the . . . dead, . . . who had fallen asleep with
godliness, . . . that they may be loosed from sins."
[350] This passage shows that according to the faith
of Israel the just, after death, could be aided by
the sacrifices offered on earth. In that same passage
we read: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead."
St. Thomas remarks: "We are not taught to pray for
the souls of the dead who are in heaven, nor for
those who are in hell, hence there must be a
purgatory after death, where the souls of the just
pay the debts which they did not pay on earth." [351]
In the New Testament we read: "He that shall speak
against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world, nor in the world to come."
[352] Now these words presuppose, according to
tradition, that certain sins can be forgiven after
death, but certainly these are not mortal sins. Hence
these words deal with venial sin, or with suffering
due to mortal sins, remitted but not entirely
expiated.
The text becomes clearer when we read in St. Paul:
"You are God's building.... The foundation ... is
Christ Jesus. Now, if any man build upon this
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble,
every man's work shall be manifest." "And the fire
shall try every man's work." [353] If the work which
each one added to the building subsists, he will
receive recompense (for this part of his work) yet he
will be saved, but only as through fire. This means
that if upon this foundation he has built with wood
or hay or stubble, his work will be devoured by the
fire. These works which will be devoured are, for
example, good works done in vanity, good accomplished
in order to advance oneself, or by a spirit of
opposition to adversaries, rather than by love of
truth and of God.
Many Fathers have seen in this text the doctrine of
purgatory: Origen, Basil, Cyril of Jerusalem, Jerome,
Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory the Great. These last two
understand the text to speak also of the fire of
persecution and of the last judgment.
St. Thomas, [354] in commenting on this passage,
speaks as follows: "In the building constructed upon
Christ, good works are compared to gold, to silver,
to precious stone. Venial sins are compared to wood,
to hay, to stubble. The day of the Lord is that on
which He manifests His judgment, first of all during
tribulation on earth, then at the particular judgment
after death, finally at the last judgment. The fire
which tests and purifies is that of tribulation on
earth, then that of purgatory, lastly that of
universal conflagration at the last judgment. In
truth, many texts of Scripture speak of the purifying
fire under these three different forms." [355]
This unifying interpretation, which admits diverse
purifications, is held today, both by exegetes like
Father Allo, Father Prat, and by theologians like
Father Pesch. Father Allo [356] speaks as follows:
"There are faults which are not grave enough to close
heaven and to open hell, which nevertheless must have
their own proportionate punishment. The Catholic
dogma of venial sin and purgatory finds in our text a
very solid support." [357] Father Pesch [358] defends
the same conclusion.
Purgatory in Tradition
On this subject we must distinguish two periods.
During the first four centuries the existence of
purgatory is affirmed, at least implicitly, by the
universal practice of prayer and sacrifice offered
for the dead. Tertullian speaks thus: "We make
oblations for the dead one year after their death."
[359] St. Ephrem [360] demands remembrance on the
thirtieth day after death. St. Cyril of Alexandria
believes that prayers made for the dead obtain succor
for them. St. Epiphanius and St. John Chrysostom
speak in the same sense. [361] And the most ancient
liturgies show that this usage was common. [362]
This view is confirmed by inscriptions in the
catacombs, as early as the third century. These
inscriptions, which pray that God may refresh the
soul of the dead, contain manifest allusions to the
sufferings which the souls in purgatory must undergo.
[363]
This universal practice, found in the Orient and the
Occident, proves that there was general belief in the
existence of a place and state where souls, not yet
entirely purified, undergo punishment due to their
sins. The Church never prays for the damned, and does
not offer for them the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Thus we
see the faith of the early Church in purgatory, just
as her faith in the existence of original sin is
expressed by the practice of baptizing infants.
Further, during these first four centuries, we have
explicit testimonies regarding the sufferings of
purgatory. Tertullian [364] speaks of a woman who
prays for the soul of her husband and asks for him
"refreshment," that is, attenuation or cessation of
the punishment of fire. St. Ephrem [365] speaks of
expiation of sins after death. St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa, speak of
prayers for the dead. [366]
During the second period, beginning with St.
Augustine, we find texts which speak explicitly of
purgatory, of the fiery punishments undergone by the
just who have not sufficiently expiated their sins
during life. The Fathers, St. Augustine, St.
Caesarius of Arles, St. Gregory the Great, affirm
four truths which contain the entire doctrine of
purgatory. First, after death there is no longer a
possibility of merit or demerit. [367] Secondly,
purgatory exists, a place where souls undergo
temporary pains for their sins. [368] Thirdly, these
souls can be aided by the prayers of those who live,
especially by the Eucharistic Sacrifice. [369]
Fourth, purgatory will end on the day of judgment.
[370] St. Augustine expounds this doctrine. [371] The
same holds good of St. Caesarius, [372] and of St.
Gregory the Great. [373]
During the following centuries the liturgy for the
dead was gradually developed. The doctrine of the
Church on purgatory was defined in the Second Council
of Lyons, in that of Florence, and that of Trent.
[374]
This retrospect shows that the faith of the Church
passes from a less distinct concept to a concept
which is distinct. This development is seen in the
doctrine on baptism, on the sacrament of penance, on
the
Sacrifice of the Mass, and in many other revealed
truths. Let us recall here that good Christians,
particularly the saints, even when they do not have a
distinct theoretical concept of a mystery, as do
theologians, can still have a very deep and living
concept.
Many saints, although they cannot explain
theologically the difference between venial sin and
mortal sin, have the virtue of contrition much more
profoundly than many theologians. Unable to tell you
what is formally the essence of the Sacrifice of the
Mass, they are penetrated with its grandeur and
fruitfulness. Thus Christians in the catacombs,
preparing for martyrdom, sacrificing for their dead,
had a deep and living concept of purgatory, though
they could not speak of it as did theologians after
the Council of Trent. Uneducated saints have a living
concept of sin, of the punishment due to sin, of
repentance, of satisfaction, of judgment, of hell, of
purgatory, and of heaven. This science of the saints,
in last analysis, is the most real, the one that
counts for eternity.
This living concept is expressed by The Imitation of
Christ. [375] We must be willing to suffer everything
for eternal life, even what is most painful.
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| 333. |
Denz., nos. 464, 693, 840, 983. |
| 334. |
Ibid., nos. 744, 777, 778, 780. |
| 335. |
Ibid., nos. 777, 3047. |
| 336. |
Ibid., no. 778. |
| 337. |
Ibid., 779. |
| 338. |
Ibid., nos. 3047, 3050. |
| 339. |
Dict. theol. cath., "Purgatoire." |
| 340. |
Denz., no. 758. |
| 341. |
Gal. 6:12; Col. 1:24. |
| 342. |
Institutiones Christianae, Bk. III, chap. 4, no.
6. |
| 343. |
Opera, thesis ann. 1523, th. 57. |
| 344. |
Denz., no. 840. |
| 345. |
Ibid., no. 807. |
| 346. |
Apoc. 2:5. |
| 347. |
II cor. 7:10. |
| 348. |
Matt. 3:2; 4:17. |
| 349. |
Ibid., 3:8. |
| 350. |
II Mach. 12:43-46. |
| 351. |
IV Sent., dist. 21, q. 1, a. 1, and Appendix to
the
Supplementum, De purgatorio, a. 1. |
| 352. |
Matt. 12:32. |
| 353. |
I Cor. 3:10-15. |
| 354. |
Commentary on the First Epistle to the
Corinthians. |
| 355. |
Ecclus,. 2:5 and 27:6; Wisd. 3:6; Ps. 96:3. |
| 356. |
In his Commentary on the First Epistle to the
Corinthians Father Allo speaks thus: "Jesus has
spoken
in Luke 17:22 of one of the days of the Son of man (a
day whereon He will exercise judgment), as if there
could be many such days. Thus we may believe with St.
Thomas that in this verse there is question of a
triple
judgment of God." Ibid., p. 66. "We have interpreted
the fire in the widest sense, as including the
ensemble
of the judgments and of the trials to which Christ
will
submit the worth of those who have labored or
intended
to do so. But (v. 15) He shows that it is not only
the
work taken by itself, but also the workman who will
be
reached by the flame, although he is destined to
salvation. As nothing indicates that these trials
must
all have place during this present life, we must
recognize that St. Paul envisages, also for the elect
soul that has left this world, the possibility of a
debt still to be paid to God. When shall this debt be
claimed? We can see no moment except that wherein
they
will appear before the tribunal of Christ (11 Cor.
5:10; Rom. 14:10). The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks
thus: 'It is reserved for men once to die and after
that the judgment.' " Heb. 9:27. |
| 357. |
The Theology of St. Paul, I, 112. |
| 358. |
Praelectiones theologicae, IX, no. 590. |
| 359. |
De corona, chap. 4. Cf. de Journel, Enchir.
patrist., no. 382. |
| 360. |
Journel, no. 741. |
| 361. |
Ibid., nos. 852, 853, 1109, 1206. |
| 362. |
Cf. Martigny, Dict. des antiquites chretiennes,
"Purgatoire"; cf. also Didascalia apostolorum, Bk.
VI,
chap. 22, no. 2. "Offer without ceasing prayers to
God,
offer the Eucharist you have accepted, offer it for
those who sleep." Similarly in the Liturgy of St.
Basil
and of St. John Chrysostom. |
| 363. |
363 Cf. Marucchi, Elements of Christian Archeology,
I,
19l. In the catacombs we find inscriptions like the
following: Victoria, may thy spirit find refreshment
in
good. Calemira, may God refresh thy spirit, together
with that of thy sister, Hilaria. Eternal light be to
thee, Timothea, in Christ. |
| 364. |
Journel, no. 382. |
| 365. |
Ibid., no. 741. |
| 366. |
Ibid., no. 1061. |
| 367. |
Ibid., Index. theol., no. 584. |
| 368. |
Ibid., no. 587. |
| 369. |
Ibid., no. 588. |
| 370. |
Ibid., no. 589. |
| 371. |
Enchiridion, chaps. 69, 109 ff. Also in the
Commentary on Psalm 37. |
| 372. |
Daesarius of Arles, Sermons 105, no. 5. |
| 373. |
Dialogues, 593, 4, 39. Cf. Journel, op. cit.,
1467,
1544, 2233, 2321. |
| 374. |
Denz., nos. 494, 693, 983. |
| 375. |
Imitation of Christ, Bk. III, chap. 47. |
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