Course 2, Chapter 20: Of union with our Lord, the new Adam, by faith. Purgatory

1. What is purgatory?

Purgatory is a place or state of being in which the souls of the just, who have departed this life without fully satisfying the divine justice for their sins, are finally purified before being admitted into heaven.

2. What are we to believe respecting purgatory?

We are to believe: 1st, that there is such a place; 2d, that souls suffer there; 3d, that the holy sacrifice of the mass, the prayers and good works of the living, will help them.

3. What proofs have you of the existence of purgatory?

We have many proofs of the existence of purgatory. The first is drawn from the Old Testament. It is written that Judas Machabeus sent to Jerusalem a sum of money to have prayers said for the souls of those who had fallen in battle, that they might be delivered from their sins. For, adds the Scripture, it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.

4. What is the second proof of purgatory?

The second proof of purgatory is taken from the New Testament, Our Lord says in the gospel, Ht

that shall speak anainst the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come. There are, therefore, sins forgiven in the next world, in a place which is neither heaven nor hell, and which we call purgatory.

5. What is the third?

The third proof of purgatory is the tradition of the Catholic Church. From the time of the apostles the Church has not ceased to pray and to offer up the holy sacrifice for her deceased children. Tertullian, St. Justin, St. Augustine, and all the other fathers of the Church, testify to this usage, and assure us that it was derived from the apostles, and, consequently, from our Lord Jesus Christ.

6. What is the fourth?

The fourth proof of purgatory is the tradition of the ancient sects separated from the Church. These sects, spread throughout the East, still preserve the custom of praying for the dead. They have not borrowed it from the Church since their separation; they received it, therefore, from the apostles, and consequently from our Lord.

7. What is the fifth?

The fifth proof of purgatory is the tradition of the pagans themselves. We see in their history that they offered sacrifices for the dead, and that they prayed for them; this usage is found even among savage nations.

8. What motives have we to pray for the dead?

A We have four principal motives to pray for the dead. 1 st. The glory of God, for whom we procure perfect adorers, by aiding the souls in purgatory to enter heaven. 2d. Charity; the souls in purgatory have a claim on our charity, because they are our brethren in Jesus Christ, and our relations and friends, according to the flesh. 3d. Justice; because some of them may be suffering on our account. 4th. Our own interest; becauw these *onls, when delivered bv our

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prayers, will intercede for us before God and aid us to get out of purgatory.