diff --git a/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.cfg b/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.cfg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d1e6f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.cfg @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +filename = 2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.html +title = An Analogy for Purgatory +description = Purgatory is one of those teachings of the Holy Catholic Church that is often difficult to comprehend, not only for those outside the Church, but even for those Catholics within. I believe that, to better understand what Purgatory is, we should understand sins as injuries to our soul. +created = 2021-02-12 +updated = 2021-02-12 diff --git a/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.html b/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..28e478c --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/posts/2021-02-12-an-analogy-for-purgatory.html @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +

Purgatory is perhaps one of the most misunderstood Catholic doctrine. +So much so that even many Catholics have difficulty understanding it. +Protestants will err in saying that it's a sort of waiting room before a +soul enters Heaven, and Eastern Orthodox will err in saying that +Catholics believe it's a light version of Hell. Both of these, however, +miss the target, despite the true meaning being in the name itself: +purging or purification.

+ +
+ "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, which is entirely + different from the punishment of the damned."
+ - Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1030-1031 +
+ +

Even so, the concept of Purgatory can still be difficult to +understand: if God has forgiven me of my sins, why must I go through a +process of purification? I believe this difficulty with the concept of +Purgatory is the product of something I've mentioned in my previous +post about Sin & Hell. Although "[Sin] is an offense against +God"[1], it would seem we're sometimes +limited to believing it is only this, when in reality sin has a real +negative effect on our immortal souls, causing deformities to the image +& likeness of God in which we were all created. This is similar to +how when a child misbehaves: although the child suffers first-hand the +consequences of his actions, his bad behaviour is an offense to his +father who raised him better. As such, if sin causes injury to our +souls, then our souls will also require healing, not just forgiveness of +our Heavenly Father. As such, Purgatory is not simply a tiny +hell, as it's not a question of punishment.

+ +

Yet, sometimes the process for healing and purification can be more +painful than the injury itself. Hence why Purgatory is not a waiting +room, but rather a place where those who find themselves there are cured +back to that perfect image & likeness which they were created with. +This process can be painful. To give an analogous anecdote, recently I +had cut my hand with a knife; the injury itself hardly hurt, but the +process of cleaning it and mending it hurt many times more than the +injury itself. If this is true for physical wounds, why would it not be +true for wounds of the soul? Our souls require healing and +purification.

+ + Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1871