Tag: "purgatory"

Praying for the Holy Souls: The Soul You Help May Be Your Own
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Praying for the Holy Souls: The Soul You Help May Be Your Own

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“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”  2 Macc. 12:46 “There shall not enter into it anything defiled…” Apoc. 21:27 I lost my Dad in 1999.  He was a wonderful father and certainly considered by all to be a good man.  He […]

They're All With Us
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They’re All With Us

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We as Catholics believe that at death our material bodies are temporarily separated from our non-material souls until the end of time. We believe that at the end of time our bodies will be resurrected and re-united with our souls for eternity. For those who lived righteous lives their reunited bodies and souls will be […]

Facing Death as a Catholic: We Who Remain
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Facing Death as a Catholic: We Who Remain

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One of my favorite scenes in Return of the King is Sam and Frodo sitting together as Mt. Doom erupts around them. When Frodo says, “I am glad you’re with me Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things,” my heartstrings are always tugged because Frodo is reaching for the soul friendship. Love ‘till death. Boundless […]

All Souls Day
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All Souls Day

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THE Church teaches us that the souls of the just who have left this world soiled with the stain of venial sin remain for a time in a place of expiation, where they suffer such punishment as may be due to their offences. It is a matter of faith that these suffering souls are relieved […]

November:  Month of the Dead
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November: Month of the Dead

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“Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Eccl 1:2). So says Qoheleth, the Preacher, the protagonist of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the most unique book in the portion of the Old Testament classified as wisdom literature. As “king of Jerusalem,” the Preacher imparts to the reader his musings on life and death, which to him […]

Purgtory Part 3: Faith and Love
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Purgtory Part 3: Faith and Love

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This is the third in a series in which I attempt to address the question, “What is purgatory, and why is it necessary?” by expanding on the simple answer that Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Part 1 is here and Part 2 can be found here. “So […]

Purgatory Part 2: Salvation, Sanctification, and Atonement
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Purgatory Part 2: Salvation, Sanctification, and Atonement

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This is the second in a series in which I attempt to address the question, “What is purgatory, and why is it necessary?” by expanding on the simple answer that Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Part 1 can be found here. “The doctrine [of […]

Purgatory Part 1: Conversion as a Process
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Purgatory Part 1: Conversion as a Process

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Question: What is purgatory, and why is it necessary? Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Conversion as a Process When we are converted to Christ and baptized, we are given grace which allows us to recognize our sins, and which begins to cleanse us […]

Tree of Souls: A Way to Remember and Pray
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Tree of Souls: A Way to Remember and Pray

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The highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar,features a giant willow-like tree that represents the center of culture and religion for the Na’vi inhabitants of the planet Pandora. The tree has extreme spiritual significance because it allows the Na’vi to communicate directly with their Mother Goddess, Eywa. It also allows them to connect at the same […]

All Soul's Day
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All Soul’s Day

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I’ll never forget that bleak January day when my father died.  It was very hard to believe in the resurrection as I watched the undertakers carry away his lifeless corpse in a body bag. But imagine this scene.  You are an unborn child who has lived in cozy but cramped quarters with your twin for […]

The Cruelty of Casual Canonizations
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The Cruelty of Casual Canonizations

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In recent years it has become commonplace to turn funerals into casual canonizations. “Bob is in a better place,” we’re told, which, if taken literally, can only mean Heaven, as neither Hell nor Purgatory are better places than earth. Never mind the fact that Bob wasn‘t very generous with his time or money, drank too […]