IS THERE A PURGATORY?

IS THERE A PURGATORY?

This was the question that my professor in theology asked me to dwell on when I was a seminarian at St. Francis de Sales Seminary at Lipa City in 1953.

I would like to share the results of my study on this matter.

The first one to come out openly against the doctrine of Purgatory was Martin Luther, an Augustinian Friar, when on the eve of All Saints Day, 1517, he posted a list of 95 propositions on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. His denial of purgatory was a logical consequence of his doctrine that we are saved by faith alone.

In the General Council of Trent in 1563 there was a Decree on Purgatory which reads as follows: “The Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit and in accordance with sacred Scripture and the ancient Tradition of the Fathers, has taught in the holy Councils that there is a purgatory, and that the souls detained there are helped by the acts of intercession (suffragia) of the faithful, and especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar. Therefore this holy Council commands the bishops to strive diligently that the sound doctrine of purgatory, handed down by the Holy Fathers and the sacred Councils, be believed by the faithful and that it be adhered to, taught and preached everywhere.”

In the Old Testament (2 Mc. 12:46) it says: “This was the reason why Judas offered this sacrifice for the dead, so that the dead might be pardoned for their sin.”

In the New Testament (1 Cor. 3:15) it says: “…but if your work becomes ashes, you will pay for it. You will be saved, but it will be as if passing through fire.”

“Salvation through Faith Alone” is actually the basic ground for denying the existence of Purgatory.

In the Letter of James, however, we read the following: “Brothers, what good is it to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you. If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or food and one of you says, ‘May things go well for you; be warm and satisfied’, without attending to their material needs, what good is that? So it is for faith without deeds: it is totally dead. … So you see, a person obtains holiness by his deeds and not by faith alone….So, just as the body is dead without its spirit, so faith, without deeds, is also dead.” (James 2:14-26)

The Catechism for Filipino Catholics says: “Purgatory means ‘the state of final purification’ so that those who died in the state of grace but are weighed down by the remnants of selfishness and sin, may be purified and thus enter into everlasting glory with the Lord.” (2104)

Here in the Philippines on November 1-2 of every year, we witness huge crowds of people visiting the graves of their beloved dead and praying for the eternal repose of their souls. This to me is a phenomenon which manifests the deep faith of the great majority of our people that somehow in God’s infinite goodness and mercy they can still do something to hasten or mitigate any temporal punishment that a soul has to undergo in order to be fully cleansed and be worthy to be admitted into the Kingdom of God where there is everlasting peace, love and happiness.

by: Salvador "Buddy" Cagurangan

Date: Oct. 11, 2009