What is purgatory?

Good News ReflectionMonday of the 31st Week in Ordinary TimeNovember 2, 2009
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)Share the Good News! For a printer-ready copy of "Why Pray for Souls in Purgatory?", which is an alternative reflection for today, published by Catholic Digital Resources, please visit Catholic Digital Resources at http://catholicdr.com/calendar/November/AllSouls.htm
The following readings are from the options for this day.
Today's Readings:Wisdom 3:1-9Ps 23:1-6Rom 5:5-11 or Rom 6:3-9John 6:37-40http://www.usccb.org/nab/110209.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_11_02.mp3
What is purgatory?
All Souls Day is a special day that the Church has given us to remind us about how important it is to offer prayers for those who have died in the arms of Jesus but have not yet reached the full glory of heaven. Transitioning from earthly life to full union with God in heaven is not instantaneous.
We call this transition "purgatory". Since there is much confusion and misunderstanding about the Doctrine of Purgatory, I'm providing here a brief explanation.
What does the Church teach about the after-life?
We are all sinners. Even after we've been freed from Original Sin through baptism, we cannot become perfectly holy by our own efforts.
Because we are sinners, we would die separated from Holy God, except:
Jesus died in our place, taking our sins to the cross. Then he rose from the dead to give us a resurrected life in heaven.
Those who accept this and seek forgiveness are purified from their sins and will live eternally united with Jesus in heaven.
Those who understand this yet reject it will die full of sin, unable to enter heaven, preferring hell so as to avoid spending eternity with God.
Those who follow Christ but fail to seek forgiveness for ALL of their sins will still go to heaven, but in order to enter into the fullness of unity with God they must be purified – purged (thus the name "Purgatory") – of everything that's unholy.
Since the earliest years of Christianity, we have known that it's impossible to immediately enter into heaven's perfection if we die with unrepented sins. We simply cannot take our sinfulness into heaven. They must be purged from us.
"Purgatory" comes from the Latin word for "cleansing fire". When we die, we come into full contact with the infinite love of God (the "Beatific Vision"), and suddenly we realize how unlike God we really are. Completely aware of how unloving we were in our sinful habits, we long to be purified so that we can be full of love. We "burn" with this desire.
Purgatory is a gift of God's mercy, not a punishment. He gives it to us because we want it. The fiery, purifying pain of purgatory is our deep regret over how imperfectly we have loved, fueled by our yearning to live eternally in total, holy love.
Pope John Paul II liked to point out that purgatory is a place of joy. Let's not forget that! Your departed loved ones who believed in Jesus are rejoicing in the Beatific Vision to the extent that they are ready to be united to it. They are rejoicing because they are free from evil and are totally with God, even if they're not totally in his glory yet.
As today's first reading (Wisdom 3:1-9) says, "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them."
If you're ministering to anyone who's suffering the loss of a loved one, see my Resources for Bereavement Ministry, published by Catholic Digital Resources, at http://catholicdr.com/faithbuilders/bereavement
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