by Fr. Tommy Lane
When we go from a dark room to bright sunlight outside, we are temporarily blinded by the light, and it takes a little time to adjust. When we are driving, if the sun is low, we are blinded and we lower our vizors so that we can see better. God is the brightest light of all and if we are not ready for the brightness of seeing God face to face in heaven, we have the opportunity in purgatory to prepare ourselves to be able to see the brightness of God face to face in heaven. It is a joyful place because the destination is clear: heaven. The holy souls are a step nearer than we are to our final destination: heaven.
The prophet Jeremiah went to the potter’s house one day and saw the potter working with clay making pots. If any pot did not turn out as the potter intended, he reshaped it as he wanted it to be (Jer 18:1-6). In an interview, Cardinal Ratzinger said this is what purgatory is like: God takes us and fixes us so that we turn out right (God and the World: Believing and Living in Our Time: A Conversation with Peter Seewald, pp129–130). In Matt 12:32, Jesus says “whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” So Jesus has indicated that sins are forgiven in this life but also after death, in the age to come; that is Jesus fixing us broken pots in the next life. The Second Book of Maccabees, one of the seven extra books in Catholic Bibles, tells us that it was a holy and pious thought that Judas Maccabeus made a sacrificial offering to remove the guilt of soldiers who had died (2 Macc 12:43-46). So Sacred Scripture tells us of the possibility of healing in purgatory what is broken.
Since there is one heaven for us all, we can easily imagine that part of the purification in purgatory to get ready for heaven is to forgive those who have hurt us and to rid ourselves of dislike or bias or hatred of others. There is one heaven for the Ukrainians and Russians, and the same heaven for the Palestinians and Israelis. Purgatory is a time to shed whatever would keep us from entering heaven with all others.
Just as the souls in purgatory see that they have to love each other with the pure love of God before they are ready for heaven, we too can love the souls in purgatory by praying for them. We know that death is not the end, and we love them even though they are no longer with us. The best way of loving them now is to forgive them of any hurt they have caused us and to pray for them, and the greatest prayer for them is Mass because it is Jesus offering himself to the Father. As we pray for them, we can pray that they will be able to love with the pure love of God that Jesus showed us, the love that is necessary to enter the kingdom of God in heaven.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2023
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More for November 2: Commemoration of the Faithful Departed
God’s magnificent plan for us after death: purgatory
Purgatory and praying for the holy souls
Homily Excerpt: Praying for the souls in purgatory
Stories about praying for the dead