Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Relationships and Religion
Are Most Catholics Meant Only for Purgatory?

Are Most Catholics Meant Only for Purgatory?

Last updated on: August 17, 2024 at 12:54 pm by Jocelyn Soriano

Are Most Catholics Meant Only for Purgatory? 2024-08-17T12:54:20+08:00 Jocelyn Soriano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

the fires of purgatory purifying one for heaven

Image from Canva Pro

If there is one Catholic concept that Protestants strongly reject, I think it would be purgatory. To our Protestant brothers and sisters, once you die, you can go to heaven if you have truly believed in Christ. It is that simple. Why make it complicated?

But of course, in the end, it is not about simplicity of thought but about truth. We can dig very deeply into something if we can uncover what’s true in the end.

For us Catholics, purgatory is a truth that we accept because it has been revealed by God’s wisdom and guidance to the Church.

Because of this, we don’t always assume that we go straight to heaven after we die. We know that we can still go to a place of purification before doing so.

“Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the ‘eternal punishment’ of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the ‘temporal punishment’ of sin.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (1472 )

“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.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (1030 )

The Acceptance of Purgatory

By accepting the doctrine of purgatory, we continue to pray for our loved ones who have passed away. Since we don’t assume they went straight to heaven, we do our best to pray for them in case they still need to be purified.

Hence, our loved ones are not left on their own on their path towards heaven. They have the Church, the saints and their loved ones who offer prayers, sacrifices and supplications for their sake.

Purgatory is indeed a common idea among us Catholics, and it’s so common that sometimes, we assume that it is the ordinary path we need to take after we die.

But is it? Is it God’s will that we should still undergo the purifying fires of purgatory instead of going to heaven?

The Possibility of Going Straight to Heaven

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.” (1472)

Let us also read the following:

“Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face…” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (1023 )

Although the Catholic Church believes in purgatory, it never said that it is the “only way”.

Why then must we assume we’re going there instead of hoping to get straight to heaven?

Sometimes, this belief in purgatory can affect our lives in such a way that we don’t strive anymore for the holiness it takes to see God face-to-face.

Since we assume almost everyone needs to go to purgatory, we may live mediocre lives, accepting to receive our due punishment after death.

We can also undermine God’s mercy by thinking that He “needs” to punish every sin. Didn’t Jesus already take upon Himself the terrible punishment for our sins?

The only reason we still need to be punished is if we refuse to follow Him and let Him purify us continuously in this life.

Do We Need To Be Like The Saints?

One thing that can hinder us is our fear that we can’t live the kind of lives like the saints we read about.

We can’t fast as often nor can we make sacrifices like they did. We don’t see ourselves living the way Mother Teresa did. And we can’t see ourselves in the likes of St. Francis of Assisi or Padre Pio.

But what we must understand is that not every Christian is called to live a life in the very same way that those saints did.

What all of us are called to is to live a life of holiness and love according to our state of life.

“God wishes all to be holy; but some He wishes to be holy for their own sakes, some He wills to be holy for their own sake and for the sake of others also.” – Ven. Joseph Frassinetti

“In this world some are called to lead a life entirely angelic and celestial, which we should reverently admire, not that we should copy their actions, but that we may bless God for the graces He bestowed on them.” – St. Francis de Sales

How Do We Go Straight To Heaven?

St. Therese of Lisieux has some of the most inspiring words for us when it comes to purgatory and going straight to heaven:

“You do not have enough trust. You have too much fear before the good God. I can assure you that He is grieved over this. You should not fear Purgatory because of the suffering there, but should instead ask that you not deserve to go there in order to please God, Who so reluctantly imposes this punishment. As soon as you try to please Him in everything and have an unshakable trust He purifies you every moment in His love and He lets no sin remain. And then you can be sure that you will not have to go to Purgatory.”

God is not more pleased when you still have to suffer and go to Purgatory. God loves you! And He would be more pleased if you could immediately go to Him to see Him face-to-face!

Jocelyn Soriano is the author of the book Defending My Catholic Faith (Straight Answers to Common Catholic Questions).

You may also want to read “What Should You Look Forward To In Heaven?”

Buy the book

You may also want to read “How to Avoid Purgatory and Go Straight to Heaven!” and “When You Can’t Go To Confession, How Do You Obtain God’s Mercy?”

General Christian

Education and Religion

About Jocelyn Soriano

Jocelyn Soriano is an author, poet, and book reviewer. She is an introvert who enjoys a cup of coffee and listening to the cello ****** while working.

She wrote the books To Love an Invisible God, Defending My Catholic Faith and Mend My Broken Heart. She also wrote books on poetry including Poems of Love and Letting Go and Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief. She has published more than 15 books and developed her own Android applications including God’s Promises and Catholic Answers and Apologetics.

She writes about relationships and common questions about God and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer. She is currently single and happy and she would like everyone to know how happy we can be by drawing close to the love of God!

Previous Post

June 5, 2024

4 Things That “Manifesting” Can Never Do

Next Post

June 13, 2024 Inside Out 2 Review: The Showdown Between Anxiety and Joy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christmas Church Issue Divine Mercy End Times Grief Healing Heaven Joy Miracles Movie Review Movies New Age Prayer Questions to God Relationships Single Life Spiritual Growth Technology Virgin Mary Wealth Management

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Naaman was healed of leprosy by washing seven times in the Jordan River.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE

Books by This Author Books by Beloved

See All Titles »