1030 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.

how sure that the death will undergo purification?

The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:607

u mean Purgatory was non Biblical right? Its man Made doctrine.

This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead,

so do you Believe that Prayer of the living is working for those who are dead?

From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.610 The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

how can we make sure that kind of sacrifices was effective? 

thanks..please answer my questions clearly and Biblical.

bhokuto

What OT?

Overtime, Other Technology, Over Thinking?  

Hi Sparcz,

I hope this is helpful:

1 Corinthians 3:15  "If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Also,

Matt 18:34-35  (parable) "And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." 

I realize your bible probably does not have the book of Maccabees, however (please someone correct me if this is in any detail inaccurate) my understanding if I recall correctly, is that the only bible used by Christianity (for 1400 plus years) until the Protestant Reformation was the "Catholic" version, with all the books we still include. It was one MAN, named Martin Luther, who decided to throw out the ones he didn't like. He did this by deciding to only use the scripture that the jewish council chose to keep. They threw out scriptures that Jesus himself would have used in his day.

In other words, one MAN chose the Old Testament books that the jewish council chose, over the books the Holy Spirit chose through the Christian church.  Which council, the jewish or christian was being led by the Holy Spirit? Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be with His church forever.

One other thing - the jewish council was made up of Saducees - those jews who disagreed with Jesus about life after death. They said there was no resurrection of the dead, so they threw out scripture (like Maccabees) that disagreed with their view.

(Again, if any of this is inaccurate, I trust those more knowledgeable that me on Church History will kindly correct for Sparcz!)

Christ be with you!

This was a tough one for me too upon entering the Catholic Church.  I'll contribute more once I return from my 4 day sailing trip.  But for now, here is a quick synopsis.

Purgatory is a method of purifying the soul prior to entry into heaven.  It is part of the journey.

Where is the actual word "trinity" found anywhere in scripture?  However, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is found in scripture.  The concept is there even though the actual word is not.  The same holds true for purgatory.  We read about a purifying fire, praying and making atonement for the dead, mortal and venial sins, etc...The concept is there although the actual word is not.

In addition to 2 Macc referenced in the post above, consider how in 3 John, John teaches that there are sins that are deadly (mortal sin) and those sins that are not deadly (venial sins).  He is making a distinction here.  John also writes in Revelations, that nothing unclean shall enter the kingdom of heaven.  Those who die in mortal sin will be eternally separated from God. Those who die who are still in friendship with God, though imperfect, need to be purified as nothing unclean can enter the kingdom of heaven.  There is continuity in these two passages because it was the same author who wrote them. None of us will stand before God in a state of perfection, but he will make it that way before we enter heaven. 

Purgatory is part of the entrance into heaven.  It is a temporal state preparing us to be in the presence of our God.  It is about love, not punishment. 

Also we read in parables in the gospel of the servant who's master forgave him of his debt, but didn't forgive his fellow servant.  The master then threw him in jail not to be released until he has repaid the final penny.  There are other such parables that you can look up yourself.

From a non-theological view consider this analogy.  Your son throws a rock through the neighbors window.  He is truly sorry and the neighbor forgives him, but the window is still broken and needs to be replaced (sin and its forgiveness).  Since the little boy has no money to replace the window, he may mow the neighbors yard for the entire summer (this is purgatory).  Yes, Christ paid for our sins on the cross, but we continue to sin.  Being "saved" doesn't take away our accountability to God.  To be once saved always saved would take away our free will.

So purgatory is no more man made than the trinity.  The concept is there, but the word isn't. 

Aim for heaven, not purgatory!

I got to go, so I'll jump in again when I return. 

Pax Christi, 

Catalina22

svangerpen

Which council, the jewish or christian was being led by the Holy Spirit? "Jesus" said the Holy Spirit would be with "His church" forever.

the answer is in your Question...If you really understand  

But it is better to search than to ask me... Why? because I know that you find a way to Insult me.. ha ha ha  

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said "I will Build My Church" (NKJV)

And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Eph 5:32 

This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.

Col 1:18    And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Great Passages. Notice how they all reference "my Church and the Church", not "my churches and the Churches". Singular language used in Scripture for a single Church, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Now let me ask you, what does this have to do with the subject of purgatory. See my post on purgatory above. Seems like things are getting a little sidetracked. Let's stay on track here.

I look forward to your response to my post on purgatory in this forum and will respond when I return.

Bon Voyage!

Pax Christi,

Catalina22

Pulgatory is was preached by Catholic, its between heaven and Hell...

how its operate and how it happened to be there in term of death will come..

its a Biblical or not?

were the spirit of human being stay if he or she was dead?