Catechism Corner | The Souls in Purgatory

Man is composed of body, soul and spirit. When a man dies, his body corrupts, but the soul does not die. According to our Christian faith, it will be raised by Christ on the last day. That is why death is not the end of our life. The soul goes on to live in eternity. It has to leave this world and take either of the two destinations: heaven or hell; eternal life or eternal damnation. It is not God's will that man goes to hell. He wants all men to be saved. But there are those who are condemned to hell, not because God likes it, but because they have willfully rejected God. And God cannot do anything about that because He has to respect the freedom of man. God cannot force a man to go to heaven if he wants to go to hell.

When the soul goes to hell, there is no more chance of getting out. The fire in hell is eternal, and the main cause of the sufferings of the souls in hell is the total and final absence of God. There is no possibility of seeing God anymore. The soul that does not go to hell is destined for heaven. Ordinarily a soul cannot go direct to heaven. It has to go through a process or stage of purification so that it will be worthy to face God. When we commit a mortal sin, we go to sacramental confession. The sin is erased through the absolution in the sacrament. But the temporal punishments of sin still remain. They are like the scars or stains of the soul. When a man dies, his soul will not anymore go to hell because his sins have been forgiven. But he has to undergo purification because of these temporal punishments of sins. That is purgatory.

The fire in purgatory is the same fire in hell. But while the souls in hell are violently suffering in eternal fire and they are cursing and angry because they know there is no more way out and no more possibility of seeing God, the souls in purgatory, on the other hand, are patiently enduring the pains of purification because they know that this is only for some time and they are assured of heavenly glory and union with God for eternity. Nevertheless, they are still suffering.

That is why we refer to the as the "poor souls in Purgatory." They are "poor" in the sense that they are suffering, and secondly, because they cannot do anything more for themselves. They totally rely on the prayers and sacrifices of their loved ones in their behalf. Their suffering is caused mainly by two reasons: first, the pains of purification; and second, the state of being so near God but they still cannot see God because they are not yet worthy and ready.

But in God's abundant mercy, and through the rich deposits of divine graces in the Church, there is a way for the faithful to cleanse his soul while still in this world, so that when he dies, he can be exempt from the fires of purgatory. This is by gaining indulgences. "An indulgence is the remission in the sight of God of the temporal punishment due for sins, the guilt of which has already been forgiven" (can. 992, Code of Canon Law). A plenary indulgence cleanses all temporal punishments; a partial indulgence only partially cleanses them. So, it is possible for a soul to go direct to heaven if he has gained a plenary indulgence for himself. Moreover, he can also apply this indulgence to a soul in purgatory by way of suffrages. One plenary indulgence will send a soul in purgatory to heaven. When that soul reaches heaven, he will definitely intercede before God in behalf of the person who gained for him the plenary indulgence.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.