Sunday, November 6, 2022 – Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C Readings: 2 Mark 7:1-2, 9-14, Psalm 17 “Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full”, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5, Luke 20:27-38

     My dear brothers and sisters, on November 2nd we commemorated all the faithful departed and we are reminded to pray for the Holy Souls in purgatory. Although Jesus requires us to be perfect, most people- even those who die in God’s favor-never reach this state of perfection prior to their death. These imperfections often include attachments to created goods, inordinate desires for earthly pleasures, and small but habitual sins. They also include the satisfactions still owed to God, to restore the equality of justice for the many sins that they committed during their lives.
     The bible says “nothing unclean” shall enter heaven, and without holiness no one can see the Lord. So, how can the souls hope to behold the face of the all-perfect and holy God? The answer is purgatory. In purgatory, God purifies the soul of its imperfections through the fire of his divine justice. During this process, the soul is purged of its evil inclinations and makes final satisfaction to God for its sins. After the purification is complete, God admits the soul into heaven where it enjoys the Beatific Vision for all eternity.
     The word “purgatory” comes from the Latin ‘purgare’ which means to purge, purify, or make clean. The church teaches that it is a place or condition of temporal punishment for departed souls who are destined for heaven but not completely purified from sin. Through this purgative process, spiritual contamination is removed and the soul is made wholly pleasing to God so it can live forever with Him in heaven.
     Many people have mistaken ideas about purgatory. Some people think that purgatory is a place where people get a “second chance” after death to accept God and be saved. Others think that purgatory is an alternative destination for people who are “too good” for hell but “not good enough” for heaven. Some also think that purgatory is a place where the soul works for heaven and gains additional merits from God. These views are erroneous. Purgatory is not a “second change”, nor an “alternative destination or a middle state between the place of the saved and the place of the damned. In purgatory the soul does none of the work of purification; rather God does all the work.
     We can assist the holy souls through penance, the sacraments, and indulgence. We can offer Holy Mass for them, pray for them. May we remember them and offer them to the Lord. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Amen.
Fr. Paschal Chester, SVD