In Memoriam: Life in Purgatory By Monsignor Anthony La Femina

In Memoriam: Life in Purgatory By Monsignor Anthony La Femina
Introduction by Matthew Bellisario O.P.

"...we must battle more diligently against the Evil One who seeks to destroy us and we must generously strengthen our attachment to our Triune Lord whose beatifying vision we hope and pray to enjoy one day for all eternity. We should also provide that after our departure Masses will be offered for the repose of our souls.  At that time all the flowers in the world are of no profit for the dead." (Monsignor Anthony La Femina)

This is the fifth installment and fourth article posted of my tribute to the late Monsignor Anthony La Femina. As of this point in time, I have one more writing of his on the Divine Mercy, which I will wait to post on this year's Feast of Divine Mercy. I am trying to get hold of some of his other writings. If I am able to obtain them, I will also post them up. This second talk is a bit longer than the first in this series. If you have come across this one first, I recommend reading the first talk, 'Life After Death' before you proceed. See the sidebar on the main page for a list of all the posts relating to Monsignor. Again I have left in his bold type emphasis.

Monsignor gave this talk in a local parish in the Diocese of Venice, Florida. As we know, many Catholics today do not pray for the deceased or the dying. They have a mindset that assumes the dying or deceased will go directly to heaven. Thus, the faithful seem to have little regard for praying for those about to die or those in Purgatory, nor are they concerned that they might suffer the agony of Purgatory. This was a concern for Monsignor.

He gave an account of a conversation he had with his dear friend and fellow Third Order Dominican, Dorothy Weimar, who's cause is now being considered, that when she saw St. Dominic on many occasions that he would ask for prayers for the dying because he said that they are the most important people in the world. "Their eternity is to be decided now." This is why Monsignor often called it our "Supreme Moment."

Since many Catholics today seem to have lost belief in the Church's teaching on Purgatory, we see Monsignor here in this talk put an emphasis on 'faith' before he proceeds to address the teaching on Purgatory. Having been taught by Monsignor at many men's groups and through many conversations, this talk again possesses his style and prose, juxtaposing the truth of the faith against his favorite arch-heretic, Luther. It was not Monsignor's intent to offend Protestants by revealing the errors of Luther, but so that they may see his errors and come to the Catholic faith.

Unlike many of the clergy today, he thought it was of immense importance for those outside the Church to be evangelized and brought into the Church. He believed that pointing out erroneous teaching and juxtaposing it with clear, unambiguous teaching of the Catholic faith was instrumental in achieving this. I believe that by meditating on the words written here by Monsignor, that we will be more equipped to live and hand on our faith to others, for the salvation of souls! Let us prepare for our own 'Supreme Moment.' Let us help those who are dying by our prayers and when providence allows us, by our presence. Let us also pray for the deceased, the holy souls in Purgatory.

Second talk              Life in Purgatory
By Monsignor Anthony La Femina

When we were baptized God gave us His free gift of supernatural faith.  

Faith is a theological virtue because it is directly concerned with God Himself. This virtue is a divine power, above any power that exists in our universe. Faith enables us to firmly believe all the truths that God has revealed. We believe these truths on the word of God revealing them; God, Who can neither deceive us nor, Himself, be deceived. St. Paul gives us a definition of faith: “Faith gives substance to our hopes, convinces us of things we cannot see (Heb 11:1). I will endeavor to elaborate upon this.

Faith is about believing God’s word; it must be firm and complete. Such a faith is possible for us because Almighty God Himself enables our belief to be both certain and all-encompassing. It is natural for our minds to seek evidence for what we are told.  However, faith is about supernatural truths which are part of the very mystery of God Himself. Our finite minds can never completely understand this Infinite Being Who is God. For this reason St. Paul tells us that our faith ITSELF is the very evidence supplying that absolute certainty about that substance we are unable to see or completely understand. (I make quick to add here that seeking to understand our faith is not doubting our faith. St. Peter exhorts us: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” [1 Pt 3:15]. Faith is about this hope and to help understanding our faith is the reason I teach classes in this parish once a month.)

The content of faith is the sum total of all those supernatural truths revealed by God. The totality of these truths make up Sacred Tradition. This Tradition is made up of 2 parts. The first consists in the oral teaching of Jesus Christ which is kept alive in the Roman Catholic Church by the Holy Spirit. The second is the written word of God, which we call Sacred Scripture or the Bible. Sacred Tradition makes up the deposit of faith which Jesus entrusted to his One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, founded by Him alone, the Son of God made Man, while He lived on this earth. Since the Roman Catholic Church alone is historically this Church founded by Jesus more than two thousand years ago, it is the true Church because it is the only Church entrusted with the precious deposit of faith.

You may ask yourselves why we are speaking about the virtue of faith when we are supposed to be talking about Purgatory. We speak of faith because belief in Purgatory and other Catholic beliefs related to Purgatory have been attacked by heretics. These false doctrines have, unfortunately, greatly influenced the thoughts and actions of many of our Catholic brothers and sisters, even without their realizing it. And for this reason we must speak about both the truths of Purgatory and those related to it together with the false teachings against our faith that effect Catholics. Truth is a double edged sword and might seem offensive to some of our Separated Brethren who do not share our faith. Nonetheless, the truth must be told; but in so doing, there is absolutely no offense intended for anyone.

The command to be perfect comes directly from Jesus Himself Who said: “You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt.5:48). This command is for all who desire to follow Christ, and extends to all, whether living or dead. Consequently, upon death, anyone imperfect is barred from entering into the Divine Presence. Such a person must first be made perfect (Rev. 21:27). It is this command that brings us to discuss the Roman Catholic belief in Purgatory. The word “Purgatory” comes from the Latin word purgare, and means to cleanse. Purgatory is where this cleansing takes place for departed imperfect souls.

To be perfect regards everyone, whether living or dead. (Those who die in the state of mortal sin cannot be considered here because they are immediately cast into hell forever upon their particular judgment.) However, those who did not die in mortal sin but are still imperfect must be cleansed of their imperfections from their sins committed but already forgiven on earth.

 Every sin, mortal and/or venial, entails an undue attachment to creatures. This propensity due to sin, though already forgiven, must be eradicated either here on earth or in Purgatory. By so doing a living person may gain personal merit in his arduous striving for divine perfection. But the deceased soul must attain perfection without any merit since death terminates the time of merit. Entrance into Purgatory is necessary for those souls who are burdened with unforgiven venial sins, the temporal punishment due to their past but forgiven sins and for the immoral dispositions from their past sins that still blemish their souls. The soul in Purgatory obtains the remission of their imperfections, not by merit but by satispassion. This special type of satisfaction is made by the suffering souls through the voluntary acceptance of the various pains required by Divine Justice for the remission of their debt. While God is infinite love and mercy itself, we must remember that He is also infinite justice. However, we may legitimately hope for His mercy, even in Purgatory, because mercy is justice that is tempered by love. This mercy, however, is not a right but a favor.

Everyone who dies is eternalized in the state of their souls at the time of their death. If they die as God’s children in the state of grace, they remain forever in that state. However, the remission of their venial sins yet unforgiven takes place immediately upon entrance into Purgatory under the light of the particular judgment. At that time, the soul - by divine illumination - sees all its venial sins singly and is consequently overcome by God’s love with the result that it deeply disdains each sin singly. However, this act of disdain made after death is not meritorious as it would have been if made during life. After death a soul cannot change its moral state, but this sorrow for venial sin after death does not change the moral stance of the departed soul since that soul, at its death, was already in the state of grace. However, divine justice requires that imperfect souls must endure the sufferings due to all their venial sins as well as the incompleted punishment due to their past but already forgiven sins.

Many departed souls in the state of grace retain numerous venial sins at the moment of their death. While these sins are forgiven in Purgatory under the light of the particular judgement, the order of justice must be re-established by the acceptance of punishment that compensates for sin. In such souls there remains, even after forgiveness, an inclination or propensity toward created goods which they followed and thus sinned. This inclination is a disordered disposition that is called the “remains of sin”. Not only venial sins but also the remains of sin must disappear before the departed soul can be permitted to enter into God’s presence. Sins are bad choices which necessarily have their consequences.

The Roman Catholic Church, from its very foundation by Jesus Christ, has believed in Purgatory as an intermediate state – to exist until the end of the world - for those departed souls which have not been completely liberated from venial sins, the “remains of sin”, or from any justly contracted temporal punishment due to their past forgiven sins. The Roman Catholic Church’s constant belief in Purgatory is historically verified by the many inscriptions found in the catacombs asking for prayers for the deceased. From the time of St. Augustine, who died in 430 AD, we find texts explicitly speaking of Purgatory. During the following centuries there gradually developed liturgical prayers, especially at holy Mass, as well as the Church’s dedication of the month of November for remembering and praying for the holy souls in Purgatory. History demonstrates that faith in the supernatural truth of Purgatory in the Roman Catholic Church passed - as it does in each individual person - from a less distinct idea to a clearly defined concept. It is undeniable that a belief in an intermediate state for holy but imperfect souls has always been the firm conviction of the holy Roman Catholic Church from its very beginning. This belief is also in continuity with the Hebrew belief found in 2 Maccabees: 12:46: “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”

Martin Luther, a fallen away heretic monk-priest in the 16th century judged that many things had to be changed in Roman Catholic beliefs. He spread, together with the others who followed him, the many errors of Protestantism which enticed members of the Church into denying the apostolic faith previously held since Christ established His one true Church.

When Christ founded his Church, he confided its earthly government to men; not to perfect, but to imperfect men. After all, there never was, nor will there ever be, any perfect human person with the sole exception of God’s all-holy Mother, Mary Immaculate, “our tainted nature’s solitary boast” (The Virgin, William Wordsworth (1770-1850). No one denies that during Luther’s time there were legitimate reasons for the reformation of many conditions in the Church. That was true then, and it still is. However, there are different ways to accomplish this. Certainly one should not throw out the baby with the bath water or substitute the apostolic truths of faith with new heretical beliefs.

Martin Luther and his followers attacked many Catholic teachings about Purgatory and related matters. It is necessary briefly to elucidate upon them because these erroneous attacks have caused much havoc to authentic Christianity since the 16^th century.

Luther taught that God’s Revelation could only be found in the Bible…. nowhere else. Thus, he abandoned the Catholic teaching about Sacred Tradition. For Luther the  unique measure of Christian belief is the written word of God found only in the Bible (which Bible he also changed to suit his own new theories). Upon departing from this earth, Jesus commanded his Apostles: “Go into the whole world, teaching men to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Rev. 28:20). Christ nowhere commanded his followers to write anything! He used the word “teach”, leaving the manner of fulfilling his command to the judgment of his followers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. At the Last Supper Jesus promised to send to his apostles the Holy Spirit to be, together with Himself, their inspiration (Jn 14: 15-17, 25). In fact, nowhere in the Bible do any of its Sacred Authors pretend to have written down all that Jesus taught. In concluding his gospel, St. John the Evangelist himself said that the world itself could not contain all that Jesus did, were every one of them to be written (Jn 21:25). In fact, and historically, the Bible that we know only came into existence in 393 AD, long after Jesus founded his Church. Yes, the Church existed and flourished without the Bible as we know it for almost 400 years! In 393, the bishops met for the Synod of Hippo. During this Synod they gathered together the scattered gospels and epistles written by the Sacred Authors who, incidentally, were all Catholic bishops. At that time these sacred writings were found in various parts of the ancient Church. So you see that both in its authorship and in its compiling, examining and approving its contents, the Bible is a Catholic work. The Christian Bible was written by Catholic bishops and compiled by Catholic bishops. Historically, the Bible is indisputably a Roman Catholic book, despite what others may allege! 

Having attacked Church teaching about divine Revelation itself, Luther then directed his attention to the Roman Catholic teaching authority about divine revelation and connected matters. By divine commission Jesus gave this authority to Peter, the Apostles, and their successors, which is to say, to the pope and bishops together with the pope. Jesus promised his assistance to them until the end of time. On the other hand, Luther completely did away with belief in this teaching authority and taught that each person could freely interpret the Bible. Luther thus introduced “individual interpretation” of the Bible and its dire consequences for Christianity. Protestant denominations do not have one of the marks of the one true Church: the unity of faith.

Having eliminated the divinely appointed ecclesiastical teaching authority, there was no one to teach authentically and definitively how God intended his book, the Bible, to be interpreted. Yet, it must be said that it would be completely illogical for God to entrust a book to fallible human beings to interpret. Doing away with the teaching authority of the Church leaves thousands of different Christian denominations that have contradictory beliefs. Individual interpretation precludes unity of faith.

The other object of Luther’s teaching regards salvation itself. He taught that man is able to be saved solely by a single act of faith in Christ. Sins committed even after that act have no importance. Thus came about the Protestant idea that: “Once saved, always saved.” Many of you have undoubtedly heard many of our Protestant brethren affirming that they have already been saved. Yet Scripture tells us: “Call no man happy before his death, for by how he ends, a man is known” (Sirach 11:28)

Luther taught that man’s nature was completely corrupted by original sin and, therefore, man is incapable of any good work. Luther held that man does not have free will and could not avoid sinning. Someone unknown to me wrote an accurate explanation of Luther’s idea about man. He wrote: “Luther convinced himself that man, as a consequence of original sin, was totally depraved, destitute of free will, and that all his works, even though directed towards the good, were nothing more than an outgrowth of his corrupted will; and, in the judgments of God, in reality, mortal sins.  Man can be saved by faith alone.” Luther, reassuring man who could not avoid sin, and being convinced of the efficacy of his invented saving act of faith, exhorted his followers: “Sin boldly, but believe more boldly” (Pecca forte sed crede fortius).  Logical with his belief that man is saved despite his sins and depraved nature, Luther believed that with a single act of faith in Jesus, man goes straight to heaven after death. This error has stealthily crept into the minds of many Catholics. Thus, in Luther’s judgment, Purgatory is completely useless.  Luther called Purgatory an invention of the devil.

Luther had great objections to the belief of the Church in indulgences and said they were sold as a means of getting money. While there were abuses, these sins of simony were forcefully condemned by different popes. Catholics should not be defensive about indulgences because they are based on principles straight from the Bible. We can be confident not only that indulgences exist, but that they are useful and worth obtaining. In granting indulgences, the Church opens the treasury of the merits of Jesus Christ and the saints to obtain from God the forgiveness of the temporal punishment due to past but already forgiven sins. Indulgences may be gained by the living for themselves and for the dead.

Luther’s belief of a completely corrupted human nature due to the fall of our first parents is completely flawed. Human nature was not corrupted. It was, however, wounded:  man’s intellect was darkened and his will was weakened. Instead, Luther believed that man’s mind and will were so corrupted that man is incapable of eliciting a virtuous action. Yet it is a contradiction that Luther could think that man, incapable of any virtuous action, was capable of making a salvific act of faith.

Regarding holiness in man, Luther did not believe that man is interiorly transformed by grace to make him pleasing to God. Instead, Luther believed that man together with his perverse nature, was merely externally covered over in heaven, like with a cloak, by the merits of Christ. Luther’s opinion about man’s justification contradicts the Scripture speaking of God’s presence: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled” (Rev. 21:27).

The Church teaches that man, to be truly holy, must be interiorly transformed by God’s sanctifying grace. This grace, as its name indicates, truly makes man to be holy and pleasing to God. By sanctifying grace man becomes a saint because he is made a sharer of Christ’s divine Sonship and a living member of His Mystical Body. Man must be made thoroughly and interiorly holy to pay his dues to divine justice before he can enter into God’s all-holy presence. Moreover, an unclean soul would never want to go before God because this would cause that soul such excruciating suffering that it would gladly rush into Purgatory to be made holy.

We have just reviewed the information that, while enlightening but sometimes painful, is needed to clarify the understanding of the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about Purgatory. 

Over the centuries many theories have been advanced about Purgatory, especially in the writings of saints from either their personal experiences or from various apparitions over the centuries. Theologians have also offered their own interesting theories about different aspects of Purgatory. However, it must be said that there are relatively few declarations of the Church herself about Purgatory. These declarations concern the existence of Purgatory and the benefit that accrues to the poor souls detained there from the prayers and pious actions of the faithful for their deliverance.  In this regard the doctrine of the Communion of Saints cannot be forgotten.

The existence of Purgatory was defined by three different Councils of the Church.  Their declarations have proclaimed the existence of Purgatory as an article Catholic faith which must be believed by all the faithful.  Purgatory’s existence was defined in the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, the Council of Florence in 1439, and in the Council of Trent from 1543-1563.

Together with the above declarations, those Councils also decreed that the poor souls benefit from the intercessory pious acts of the faithful’s prayers, good works, almsgiving, the offering of indulgences and, especially and above all, by attending and having holy Masses offered for the repose of the departed souls.

The connection and interdependence of the poor souls with the living faithful and the saints already in heaven is clear from the fact that all three groups of the Church: - the Church Militant, the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant - are all linked together under the headship of Christ as members of His Mystical Body, which is the Church. We profess this mystical union in Christ of all the faithful whether they are living, deceased and in heaven when we recite the Creed every Sunday, saying that we “believe in the Communion of Saints”.  This doctrine illustrates how the holiness of one is profitable for others.

What could life be like in Purgatory for those detained there? Our interesting information comes principally from the writings of theologians, saints and other pious faithful.

The doctrine of Purgatory is one of wisdom and consolation because it stresses the holiness and majesty of God. It strengthens our sense of justice and manifests the disorder of sin.  Faith in Purgatory also purifies us by putting us on our guard against any affection for a person or material goods which is incompatible with our love for God.

Dante wrote that over the gates of hell is written “Abandon all hope you who enter here” Hell is a place of complete despair. But Purgatory is a far cry from hell because, despite Purgatory’s being a place of excruciating torment, the love of God, hope and peace reign there. Those in Purgatory are confirmed in the love of God. These souls are no longer concerned over their eternal salvation and do not suffer from the torments of the demons since they have already won the victory over the powers of hell.

According to many saints every pain in purgatory is far worse than any pain endured here on earth for the same sin. But do these pains diminish? As the remains of all evil dispositions from past sins gradually disappear from the soul, the pains are progressively diminished. However, as that soul becomes more attached to God, that soul’s intense desire to see Him increases in like measure. Consequently, that soul’s pain also grows accordingly all the more vehement.  

The pains in Purgatory are twofold: the pain of delay from not seeing the beatifying vision of God, and the pain of sense resulting from having turned toward creatures without reference to God.

The chief pain of Purgatory is the delay of the Beatific Vision of God. St. Robert Bellarmine tells us that the privation of God is without doubt a very great suffering, but it is sweetened by the assured hope of once possessing Him. And from this hope there arises an incredible joy which grows in measure as the soul approaches the end of its exile.  However, the joy they have in hope of deliverance cannot diminish the suffering the souls feel from the deprivation of the beatific and beatifying vision of God.  St. Catherine of Genoa tells us that “Souls in purgatory unite great joy with great suffering.  One does not diminish the other. No peace is comparable to that of the souls in purgatory, except that of the saints in heaven. On the other hand, the souls in purgatory endure torments which no tongue can describe and no intelligence comprehend without special revelation.” This saint herself experienced on earth the pains of purgatory.

In Purgatory the suffering from the privation of the beatifying vision of God is no longer mitigated by created goods or the distractions and occupations of this earthly life. The detained soul has a supernatural desire which comes from its infused hope and charity. For the moment God refuses to fulfill this desire. The soul, having sought itself instead of God while living on earth, cannot now find him. These souls can no longer do anything to mitigate their sufferings. They can only suffer.  Therefore, we who can still merit and offer satisfaction must offer our merits and satisfaction for them that they may sooner be granted the beatifying vision of God.

The souls in Purgatory suffer also the pain of sense because by their sins they turned to creatures without reference to God. Most theologians are in agreement that this pain is experienced to the very end of their stay in Purgatory.

Regarding the pain of sense, we are told by the theologians that the existence of fire in purgatory must be classified as most probable. We might wonder how a material fire can cause sufferings to souls separated from their bodies. Fire is an instrument of God’s justice just as water is an instrument of His grace. The soul which has refused the instruments of mercy on earth must suffer from the instruments of God’s justice in Purgatory. The way the fire acts upon the soul is mysterious. It is suggested that being material, the fire has the power to bind the soul by hindering its action and inflicts upon the soul the great humiliation of being subject to matter while the soul itself is itself above matter.

Yet another suffering of the detained souls must be their complete ignorance of anything happening on earth, even with their loved ones. We on earth live in the realm of faith, knowing nothing about those in Purgatory or in heaven. So also do those in Purgatory live in the darkness of faith. In their state of separation from the body, they lack the possibility of obtaining any new knowledge about anything. Of course they may be illuminated, but this cannot be the normal practice. They must pray, suffer and remain helpless in the darkness while remaining in the peace of God Whom they do not yet see.

And what about the duration of suffering in Purgatory?

When we speak of duration of time in Purgatory we must remember that in Purgatory there is no solar time. Time in Purgatory is measured by completely different types of time. There is really no proportion between our solar time and the different measures of Purgatory time. It would be too complicated to go into this matter.  However, suffice it to say that the duration of Purgatory for a particular soul is longer and more intense according to the expiation required by its guilt and its rootedness in sin.

What should we take with us from this short meditation on life in Purgatory?

First of all we should increase our efforts by prayer, sacrifice and the use of the Sacraments, especially to prepare for death, to be more perfectly like our heavenly Father. This means we must battle more diligently against the Evil One who seeks to destroy us and we must generously strengthen our attachment to our Triune Lord whose beatifying vision we hope and pray to enjoy one day for all eternity.

We should also provide that after our departure Masses will be offered for the repose of our souls.  At that time all the flowers in the world are of no profit for the dead. Especially recommended are providing for the offering of Gregorian Masses for ourselves. These Masses have been shown to the saints to be very efficacious before God for shortening the suffering of souls in Purgatory. This practice consists in the offering to the Eternal Father of the very Sacrifice of His Son on Calvary for thirty consecutive days. It is Jesus himself who makes His sacrifice present through the Mass and offers it to His Father. 

Secondly, in our charity we must be faithful in praying and sacrificing for the poor suffering souls in Purgatory, remembering that they depend upon us for their deliverance. All they can do is suffer without any merit. We must recall that, because of their condition as disembodied spirits, they have no means – except by extraordinary divine illumination - to know about us on earth or how we are. As we do not know about them in Purgatory, they do not know about us on earth. In this regard they are in ignorance and, like us, they live in the darkness of faith.

How can we best alleviate and shorten the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory?

The souls in Purgatory are greatly helped by our prayers, sacrifices, gaining indulgences for them, almsgiving, by doing for them both corporal and spiritual works of Mercy and by offering may rosaries for them. However, we must always remember that the most excellent way to relieve their pain and shorten their stay in Purgatory is by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Let us strive to avoid Purgatory and help others to do the same through our prayers and example.  This means that, by using God’ paternal grace, we seriously strive to increase our love and generosity for our Triune Lord through the intercession of our Blessed Mother. Saint Faustina tells us that Our Lady visits Purgatory to bring refreshment to the suffering souls. Certainly, she as the God-given Mother of God’s children, does not abandon any of us as long as there is still hope. While her heart and the heart of God Himself are touched by this suffering of their dear children, God’s infinite justice demands it.  But let us remember that God’s infinite mercy is not absent from Purgatory because while his infinite justice demands compensation for sin, his infinite mercy is tempered by His infinite love.

Through the mercy of God, and the powerful intercession of His Immaculate Mother, + May the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.