Purgatory
In Dante's Purgatory each of the souls struggling their way to Paradise have seven marks engraved upon their heads. Each one is the letter "p" _ "p" for peccatum, the Latin word for sin. As the souls makes their way higher and higher to Heaven, one by one the "p”s disappear, until the soul enters the vestibule of heaven, and the "p"s are gone altogether. Poetic insight joins here with theological precision.
Seven "p”s upon the soul's forehead represents the seven capital sins to which all men are prone. Their gradual disappearance is the result of the comforting purifications of purgatory.
Purgatory comforting? So teaches Holy Church. Souls confined there are called "holy" for this reason. Their souls are being washed clean in the burning fires of God's love. Certainly there is pain. But the knowledge that a necessary purgation is occurring as prerequisite into heaven is reason enough to sustain the pain with elation. Other reasons for joy exist for the Holy Souls: no temptation to sin taunts them any longer; they have no fear of Satan's lurking presence; their waiting will conclude in the perfect splendor of heaven.
No understatement should be made of the soul's torments in purgatory. They are quite real. So it is that they are called "poor". Actually the first and primary reason for this attribution is their ontological state: with death they are no longer to elicit any free acts. Only life on earth affords that blessing. Souls in purgatory are left only to the consequences of the acts they performed when alive. They can pray for us; they cannot pray for themselves. Their time in purgatory shall not be lessened until the purification set by God is complete. Only one thing can shorten their purgation: your Masses, prayers and sacrifices.
How do the poor souls suffer? First, they know acutely the absence of God and know even better how much they want Him. This suffering is indescribable.
Have you ever felt the separation of a loved one? Their betrayal? Abandoned inexplicably by an intimate friend? That is a gnawing and implacable pain. Multiply these by factors of one hundred and you will know the torment of the Poor Souls.
Moreover, they no longer enjoy the luxury of distraction. Distraction is a blessing that occasionally set us free from our miseries. In purgatory there are none. Souls train their attention only on God and being with Him. Time seems to stand still.
Ever watch a pot boil? You get the idea. Apart from all that the soul is plagued by the constant regrets over its sins. Not only that they were committed, but also that they are the reason for their long separation from God in heaven.
Much to think about in November.
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Originally appeared in “From The Administrator’s Desk” - November 9th, 2003
