For him I had made my prayer, and between him and me there was a large interval, so that neither of us could approach to the other. But I trusted that my prayer would bring help to his suffering. I made my prayer for my brother day and night, groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me.
Then, on the day on which we remained in fetters, this was shown to me: I saw that the place which I had formerly observed to be in gloom was now bright; and Dinocrates, with a clean body well clad, was finding refreshment. Let us weep for them, let us assist them to the extent of our ability, let us think of some assistance for them, small as it may be, yet let us somehow assist them.
But how, and in what way? By praying for them and by entreating others to pray for them, by constantly giving alms to the poor on their behalf.
Not in vain was it decreed by the apostles that in the awesome mysteries remembrance should be made of the departed. They knew that here there was much gain for them, much benefit. Through penitential practices, prayer, works of charity, and the patient endurance of suffering, we can work through the temporal punishment for our sins in this life. But if any temporal punishment has been left unsatisfied at the end of our life, we must endure that punishment in Purgatory before entering Heaven.
It cannot be stressed enough: Purgatory is not a third "final destination," like Heaven and Hell, but merely a place of purification, where those who are:. In that sense, Purgatory is a comforting doctrine. We know that, no matter how contrite we are for our sins, we can never fully atone for them. Yet unless we are perfect, we cannot enter Heaven, because nothing impure can enter into the presence of God. When we receive the Sacrament of Baptism , all of our sins and the punishment for them are washed away; but when we fall after baptism, we can only atone for our sins by uniting ourselves to Christ's suffering.
In this life, that unity is rarely complete, but God has given us the opportunity to atone in the next life for those things for which we failed to atone in this one. Knowing our own weakness, we should thank God for His mercy in providing us with Purgatory. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content.
Create a personalised content profile. The starting point, says historian Alan Bernstein of the University of Arizona, was the practice of praying for the dead. The apostle Paul, for instance, in a letter to Timothy, prayed for divine mercy for his apparently deceased friend Onesiphorus.
Likewise, early Christian liturgies and inscriptions on catacomb walls contain prayers for the dead. But what? Barely years after the last book of the New Testament was written, an answer started coming into focus. But the Scriptures, too, hinted at post-mortem places other than Heaven and Hades.
Early believers wondered: Where do the dead go before then? In the 5th Century, a brilliant North African theologian began mapping out the possibilities. Strange visions and medieval near-death experiences breathed that abstract framework to life. In other accounts, Purgatory appeared as a demon-infested valley of fire and ice--or as a fragrant meadow where souls are irradiated by a divine fire that causes paroxysms of ecstasy. The poet Dante portrayed Purgatory as a mountain, overseen by a guard named Cato no relation to O.
Souls traversed the incline carrying weights and battling fire, until they reached Paradise. Another possible factor in the rise of Purgatory was ghosts. Hordes of the dead were said to be wandering through forests. Join now. Purgatory is a process, not a place, pope says Jan 12, Join the Conversation Send your thoughts and reactions to Letters to the Editor.
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