by Barbara Schoeneberger

Created on: February 04, 2010

Purgatory is an idea, a belief, and a reality in Judeo-Christian religion.  The Latin "purgo" means "to cleanse morally, purify, expiate" and belief in purgatory existed for many years among the Israelites long before the time of Christ.  Purgatory refers to the process of final sanctification of the soul who has not been directly admitted to heaven upon death. 

The idea behind purgatory

The Catholic Church teaches that:

1.  We are all sinners; even after we've been freed from Original Sin in our baptisms.

2.  We cannot become holy by our own efforts.

3.  We would die separated from Holy God, except:

4.  Jesus died in our place, taking our sins to the cross. Then he rose from the dead, to give us a resurrected life in Heaven.

5.  Those who accept this and seek forgiveness will have their sins removed and will live united with Jesus in Heaven.

6.  Those who understand this yet reject it will die in their sins, unable to enter Heaven, thereby choosing Hell.

7.  The souls who die loving Jesus but have failed to love others fully (what we do unto others we do unto Jesus: Matt. 25:40) must be purified before they can experience the fullness of Heaven because "nothing unclean shall enter into it" (Rev. 21: 27)

The necessity of purgatory can be likened to a man who murders another person, whether in cold blood or by accident.  When he is caught, he either confesses and is sentenced or is tried and found guilty on the evidence.  Even if he apologizes to the family and friends of the one he murdered and is forgiven, he must still go to prison to make atonement for his sin under the law.  If we have not atoned for our sins in this life, God, in his mercy provides for that final purification when we die because Christ opened the gates of heaven for us and we must be in perfect charity with God to enter. 

When did the belief in purgatory originate?

It is impossible to say exactly when the Jews began to believe the doctrine of purgatory, but we find references to it in the Old Testament.  In Wis. 3:1-7, God tells us:

"But the souls of the just are in God's hand; no torment will touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to be dead; their departure was reckoned as defeat, and their going from us a disaster. But they are at peace, for though in the sight of men they may suffer punishment, they have a sure hope of immortality, and after a little chastisement they will receive great blessings,

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