Purgatory, a Cleansing Fire

Purgatory has been a topic of conversation I have been more aware of this Lenten season than I have in any past year. It came up at our Lenten retreat last week. There have been articles in the papers. Today, I listened to Lino, The Catholic Guy, and it was one of their topic areas.

Frankly, Purgatory has been a foreign concept to me. It was briefly mentioned in a college course when I was a freshmen. The professor was talking about the Irish Potato Famine and a woman's fear of dying and spending an eternity in Purgatory. That was the last I really ever heard of Purgatory until more than a decade later.

At the Lenten retreat, the focus was on the Seven Deadly Sins. The discussion centered on Dante's interpretation of the seven layers of Purgatory, with Pride being the foundation and working its way up to the top of the Seven Deadly Sins, Lust. It has provided the motivation for a more in-depth look into what Purgatory is and what it means to me, as a Catholic.

I spent some time with my Bible. There are two primary references to purgatory, even though it is never named as "Purgatory" in any Scripture. The first is in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 3, verse 15: "If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire." Fire can destroy anything in its path. At the same time, metal having gone through fire is stronger.

The second is from 1 Peter, Chapter 1, verse 7: "so that the genuineness of your faith- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Lino Rulli mentioned there is a third reference, which is not found in the King James Bible. It is in 2 Maccabees. I will need to spend some time in reflection, prayer, and reading since I missed the actual reference.

When I started this reflection, I thought of Purgatory as something to fear. With what I have read so far, I am not sure fear is the right word. Definitely, Purgatory is something that should be respected. However, if fire is what tests us and brings us closer to God, it should be more of an ideal. After all, as best as we know, we do not descend from Purgatory in to Hell. We do ascend from Purgatory to Heaven, though. It is only a passing through place to a greater ending.