The Final Purification of the Elect

PRAISED BE JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!

These past two days have forced us to confront a reality which we normally avoid: the reality of death. By visiting cemeteries, we remember those who have gone before us. But remembering them, we also are reminded of the fact that we shall later be wherever they are now. Death for us inevitable because “through the disobedience of one man, sin entered into the world and together with sin entered death.” “Even though man’s nature is mortal, God has destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator, and entered the world as a consequence of sin.” (CCC, 1008.) Therefore, had Adam and Eve not sinned, we would not die. Had we not sinned, we would not die. “Death entered the world as a consequence of sin.”

How can death be a consequence of sin? God is the Creator and Source of life. In him, we live. In him, we move. In him, we have our being. In as much as sin separates us from the Lord, it separates us from him who is Life itself. And when we separate ourselves from Life, we have nothing but death. It is only in the Lord that we shall have life. Only in him do we live. In fact, this is what God desires for all of us. He does not want us to die because if he did, then why did he give us life? He wants us to live and that is why he calls us to turn back to him. So long as we are afflicted with sin, so long as we stay away from him, we shall never have life. It is only by living with him in heaven shall we have life to its fullest.

Therefore, in order to have life which is full and eternal, we have to be purified from sins. If Heaven is the communion of life and love between God and the angels and saints, sin has no place in it for in God there is no sin. The only way to enter into this communion of life and love is to be purified from everything that separates us from God. “Everyone who has this hope based on him (God) makes himself pure, as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3) Thus, we strive to be purified from sin by repenting to the Lord and by acts of penance that make reparation for our sins. We cannot enter heaven unless we are totally purified of sin.

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect…” (CCC, 1030-1031) “This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: ‘Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.’  From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: ‘Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.’ (St. John Chrysostom)” (CCC, 1032.) The teaching of the Church is very clear: “Not by weeping, but by prayer and almsgiving are the dead relieved." (St. John Chrysostom)

Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

On Death and Judgment

Yesterday, we were talking about the realism of the Saints in contrast to the accusation of the world that the Church is not in touch with reality. Today, our commemoration of the faithful departed brings to mind realities which the world prefers not to think of – namely, death and judgment. Contrary to the claim that the world we live in is truly in touch with reality, it is truly in state of denial. By the bombardment of images of youthful beauty, the world tries to deny that one reality which, whether we like or not, will one day confront us all – and that is Death. And because it denies death, the world also tries to brush under the rug the reality of judgment. The world detests the thought of responsibility for everything we think, say, and do.

And yet, no matter how vehemently the world tries to deny these realities, the truth remains: there is death and judgment. One day, we shall die and the world is afraid of this. This fear of death comes from the fact that it does not have any idea of what lies beyond it. Denying what is invisible, the world sees nothing beyond the materiality of death. Thus, death to the eyes of the world is simply the end: the end of life, the end of relationships, and the end of existence. And this thought drives man to take all he can out of life – to eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die. Live without accountability. Enjoy without responsibility. Nothing waits for you at the end.

But such is a very naïve view of human life. To limit human life to simply what is temporal is to cheat man of the great destiny that is truly his. Reality is not simply limited to the temporal. Temporality is but a small portion of what we call “reality.” Beyond it is the bigger part, the more substantial part and that is the Eternal. I was struck by what Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said this morning. He said that of the three sectors of the kingdom of God, ours (the Church Militant) is the smallest. For if only we take to mind the actual number of those who have gone before us in death – those who compose both the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering – we who are on earth, the Church Militant, will simply be a minority. And this is true. We are not the only ones alive. Those in heaven and in purgatory are also very much alive. Death did not end their existence. St. Therese in her last moments said: “I am not dying. I am entering into life!” When people say that life is short, I agree only to the extent that “life” here is meant to refer to life on earth. And indeed, it is very short as compared to the eternity that awaits us. And yet, short though it may be, it is so decisive that it determines the quality of our eternity. Our eternity will be the retribution that we shall receive at the moment of death (CCC, 1022). This eternity will either be entrance into the blessedness of heaven – either through a purification or immediately, - or immediate and eternal damnation.

Eternal retribution speaks of accountability. It involves judgment, reward, and punishment. Divine Revelation puts names to these realities: Heaven and Hell. Of course, hell is outside the Kingdom of God. It is the place of punishment and exclusion for those who have persistently rejected Divine Mercy through mortal sin. Heaven, which we have meditated on yesterday, is the place of reward and communion with the Blessed Trinity. How we all wish that at the end of our lives, we could enter Heaven as a just reward. However, the beauty of Paradise could not admit the ugliness of sin: “Nothing impure can enter Heaven.” The perfection of God is the high standard of Heaven: “Be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect.” Our obsession with perfection on earth is not yet quite the perfection that is the Father’s. Our perception of goodness is not yet quite close to the Holiness of the Father which is beyond all our imagining. We oftentimes think that what we have done is good enough only to find out at judgment that it is not quite proximate to the Holiness that is the Father’s. Oh how we wish that it were as easy as rounding off fractions to the next power, but it is not. Jesus said, “You will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” The justice of God is exacting. Yes, He is Merciful, but He is also Just. It will be in Purgatory that we shall realize that the sin we once disregarded as trivial will involve so much reparation and purification. It will be in Purgatory that we shall realize how thorough the Lord’s judgment is. No thought, no word, no act – even the most covert, the most hidden – will be unaccounted. Everything will be reviewed. Every moment will be considered.

This is why we cannot afford to trivialize anything. We cannot afford denying the truth of accountability and judgment. But how can we ever achieve the perfection which the Father requires? How can we be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect? Think: who is as perfect as the Father is perfect? Is He not His only begotten Son? And how was the Son made perfect in obedience? The Letter to the Hebrews says: Jesus learned obedience through suffering. And when perfected, He became the source of salvation of those who believe in Him. He was made perfect in suffering. The Cross, which we oftentimes trivialize, is the instrument of heavenly perfection. The Cross, which we wish we could do without, is the one necessary instrument by which our lives might be perfectly conformed to Jesus. It is by suffering that we are purified. It is by suffering that we are perfected.

And when a man’s voluntary sufferings on earth are not enough to atone for his sins, he bears the remainder in Purgatory. And in the wonderful mystery of the Communion of Saints, we can augment their deficit with our own sacrifices and prayers. “The Church, in its pilgrim members, from the earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins,’ she offers her suffrages for them. Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making intercession for us effective.” (CCC, 958.) The Communion of Saints involves the communion in Charity. It is a communion that is not destroyed by death. Beyond death, we continue to bear one another’s burden. And this mutual carrying of burdens has only one interest in mind: that of helping each other be perfect as the Father is perfect.