Last Thursday was the anniversary of the day in 1517 when Martin Luther technically launched the Protestant revolt against the Church. He opposed, among other things, the Church’s practice and teaching concerning Purgatory and those who go there, and what we can do to help those souls. Luther objected to the whole idea of Purgatory, both because he said that, since it is not mentioned in Scripture it can’t be true, and also because he thought it wasn’t necessary anyway. When we die, if we die in God’s favour, whether we are sinners or not, so long as we are forgiven we go straight to heaven. No Purgatory. No nasty punishment for sins. No fearsome fires.
But it is very timely to remind ourselves on this first Sunday of November what the Church actually does teach about Purgatory. The first point is that we must always make amends for our misdeeds. Not just a matter of forgiveness by those whom we harm or offend, but of satisfaction. e.g. When someone commits a crime in this life and are taken to court, then, whether they are sorry or not, whether they are forgiven or not, they have to make amends. They are fined or sent to prison. In the same way after this life is over there is a need of Purgatory.
The second point is that we cannot see God in heaven until we are fully holy, therefore, if we are not already perfectly holy at the time of our death, we need to be made perfect before we can enter heaven. Therefore, after this life there is the need for Purgatory.
The third point is that all humanity is somehow joined together. When I say ‘all’, I am including those who are dead. Sin is something we all share in, as a result of Adam, who is the cause of original sin. St Paul says: ‘when one [part of the body] is hurt, all parts are hurt with it’. We are all affected by the sins of others. But so too, thank God, we are affected by the goodness of others, and share in that too, for again Paul says: ‘If one part [of the body] is given special honour, all parts [of the body] enjoy it.’ (1Cor 12:26). Now the entire human race consists of those who are alive now and those who are dead. And the Church, too, consists of those who live now and those who are dead. As St Paul says, ‘if we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together.
The fourth point is that however much sin there is in the whole human race and in all history, the grace of Christ is greater than all sin. So, in the end, goodness will always triumph even in us poor sinners, but only when we have been changed inwardly by it. This is what makes the saints what they are. They are those who were once in the world like us and had to overcome sin in order to become what they now are in heaven. But the saints are still joined to us by descent from Adam, and by union in Christ, whom St Paul calls the ‘new Adam’, for just as Adam, who sinned, is the father of the entire human race, so Christ is the author of the human race renewed and saved by His grace. So St Paul says: ‘however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life, thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom 5:20-21)
But our being in this altogether, the living and the dead, the sinners, those needing purification, those who have been made perfect, means that we all have a part to play in helping each other. We ask the saints to pray for us, because they are one with us in Christ. So too, we can pray for the souls who are being purified, and who are paying their debt of sin, including those sins already forgiven by God. Those souls want to be purged, they want to become fully holy once they have glimpsed the Face of God after death.
They know they are not yet able to stand the gaze of that loving Face, but they long to be able to do so. That is why Purgatory is, rather paradoxically, described in Catholic tradition as both painful and joyful at the same time.
But this is the crunch for us here and now in November, in the month of prayers for those souls who long for the completion of what they need in order to be able freely and joyfully to enter and stay in God’s presence: our loving assistance. Love is the key to all this. God’s love is so great that when we realise it for the first time on leaving this world, it utterly overwhelms us. In the Dream of Gerontius, Saint John Henry, Cardinal Newman pictured the soul of Gerontius going into the presence of God, seeing His loving Creator and Redeemer face to face, and recognising for the first time the infinite greatness of that love, and the amazing fact that such love brought God to become a son of Adam, and take Adam’s sin upon Himself on the cross so as to free us from sin’s consequences: which are everlasting death and damnation. In the sight of that beautiful face, Gerontius can only say: ‘take me away!’ for all he wants at this moment of understanding is to be cleansed of all his imperfections, which make him unworthy of that loving God, and to make amends for absolutely everything that he has ever done wrong.
So we come to the fifth point: the idea of Purgatory does not deny the loving mercy of God, but builds on it. Without God’s mercy there would be no opportunity to make amends after this life is over. It would be: ‘you’ve had your chance, you’ve completely messed up, and now you have deserved hell for ever.’ But thank God for His mercy which says to the deceased soul, ‘now on glimpsing my face you have seen the meaning of all that life was really about, and how you failed to love me properly, whether in your practice of the faith, or keeping free of sin, or in your lack of care for your neighbour, now you can make amends, now you can become truly holy and prepare to enter into the everlasting joy of your Lord with our Lady and all the saints.’
That is where we come in. For again as St Paul says, ‘It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that still has to be undergone by Christ for the sake of His Body, the Church.’ (Col.1:24). It is this which is at the heart of the practice of indulgences obtained for the souls in Purgatory, for by our loving sacrifices we can accelerate the change which they must undergo, we can alleviate the suffering which they endure simply from knowing how much they need that purification, how much they need and want to make amends. Our love can help them. That is what Christ asks of us, as a sign of solidarity with the Church in Purgatory.
But what exactly are indulgences? What are we doing when we say some prayers, and do so specifically for the benefit of the souls in Purgatory? How does that help them? Well, this is because of the union we have with Christ. He is the one who has perfectly fulfilled all that is necessary for our salvation, but he asks us to share, with Him, the work of purification, both our own and others’. We are members of His Body and so we share in His sufferings and His triumph. But just as we still have to grow in holiness ourselves, so too do the souls of the dead who are not yet perfect on leaving this world. As we are helped by the saints, and as we help our brothers and sisters in Christ around us who are in need, so too we can help those who are also in need, but not any longer in this world and life, to make that final preparation for complete union with Christ and God.
So, please, during this month of November, remember to pray for those souls undergoing this state of preparation for heaven, so that our sacrifices, in union with Christ’s saving death and resurrection, may be of service to them.
And here’s something else: when we do this, we not only help the souls in purgatory, but we actually grow in holiness ourselves. For there is nothing mechanical about this. We have to put our whole selves into it; hence the central importance of being in a state of grace – That is why the Church insists that in order to gain an indulgence (either for ourselves or for the Holy Souls) we must have confessed our sins recently enough still to be in a state of grace, and we must go to Holy Communion on the very day we try to gain the indulgence, for only then are we in that state of holiness which can make our offering profitable both to ourselves and to others.
So, finally, to fulfil the conditions of a plenary or full indulgence to help the souls in purgatory, go to confession (unless you have been very recently and are still in a state of grace), go to Holy Communion, and then visit a cemetery any day between now and November 8th praying an Our Father and a Creed (I believe in God). Over the next couple of weeks I will announce the dates and times of the blessing of the graves in all the major cemeteries of the town, so that you may join the priests and people of the town in prayer for the souls of the faithful departed in general, or of those in particular whom you wish to pray for. You can do this also on your own throughout the rest of November too, and it will also help the souls by means of a partial indulgence. God alone decides exactly how much what we do for them can help them to become holy enough to enter heaven sooner.
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