We live in a very sinful world. Even many of the members of the Church on earth are very sinful. By the grace and mercy of God, great sinners can avoid eternal punishment by contrition and confession, or by perfect contrition alone (if confession is unavailable). But when a soul dies in a state of grace, yet with unrepented venial sins and/or repented sins for which one has not done sufficient penance, some purification is necessary between death in a state of grace, the particular judgment of God, and entrance into Heaven. Purification in purgatory is necessary because entrance into Heaven and reception of the Beatific Vision of God and the Beatific Union with God requires purity of soul. The mercy of God is a just mercy and a merciful justice; it is not mercy in contradiction to justice or truth. And the justice of God is never without mercy. In God, justice and mercy and love are absolutely identical.

Many descriptions of purgatory propose a place of very intense suffering. Now it is to be observed that many Christians live very sinful lives, and so, if they die in a state of grace, we must consider that the temporal punishment due for their many sin would often be very great. Thus, there is nothing wrong with describing the sufferings of purgatory as being, in general, particularly severe.

Of course, the souls in purgatory do not have bodies, so their sufferings are of the soul only. We might consider that, for certain bodily sins, some souls in purgatory might experience what seems like a bodily suffering, if the justice of God sees fit. But generally the sufferings of purgatory are spiritual. The particular judgment shows each person all the sins of their life (as well as the good). The souls in purgatory retain that knowledge of their own sins. In purgatory, they see the sinfulness of their own knowing choices in life, clearly and fully. They see all the harm done by their sins. And they cannot look away. The sufferings of purgatory go straight to the depths of the soul, and so they are quite intense.

However, the sufferings of purgatory are of the merciful justice of God. And so each soul suffers in proportion to his or her unrepentant venial sins and any temporal punishment still due for repented mortal or venial sins. Some souls suffer more, and other souls suffer less. The range of sufferings must be very large. Some persons die at an advanced age, having committed many sins and done little penance. Other souls die at a relatively young age, having committed far fewer sins and perhaps no mortal sins at all. With the billions of souls that undoubtedly pass through purgatory to Heaven, it must be the case that many spend relatively little time in purgatory and while there suffer far less than other souls. The sufferings of many souls in purgatory are undoubtedly severe. But the justice of God requires that other souls, who have far less temporal punishment due, suffer far less. And their sufferings can be fittingly described as moderate or even light.

Moreover, all the souls in purgatory know without doubt that they are in purgatory, for the particular judgment gave them knowledge from God, with absolute certitude, of the good and evil in their lives and of their death in a state of grace. God is no liar. He does not imprison souls in purgatory in ignorance as to their eternal destiny in Heaven. In fact, one of the sufferings of purgatory is that the soul is looking forward to Heaven, while yet unable to attain that happiness. So the sufferings of purgatory are ameliorated by the knowledge that Heaven will be the final result of their experiences in purgatory. Moreover, the sufferings of purgatory are ameliorated by the state of grace and by cooperation with actual graces. Thus the quality of the sufferings in purgatory, even the most intense of those sufferings, differs by kind from the sufferings of hell.

All the souls in hell, including those suffering least of all in the fringe of hell (the limbo of hell), know without doubt that they are in hell and will be there forever. For the particular judgment gave them knowledge from God, with absolute certitude, of the good and evil in their lives and of their death in a state of unrepentant actual mortal sin. All the souls in hell without any exception died in a state of unrepentant actual mortal sin. The souls in the limbo of hell are guilty of the unrepentant actual mortal sin of omission of failing to obtain sanctifying grace despite ample opportunity. So they too are guilty of unrepentant grave personal sin, and they too suffer much, though less than any others in hell. But none of the souls in hell have any kind of grace, neither the state of grace, nor any actual graces. None of the souls there love God or neighbor, nor do they have even an ordered love of self. So the quality of the sufferings in hell, even the least of those sufferings, differs by kind from the sufferings of purgatory.

The souls in hell cannot pray or love, for they have no graces whatsoever. But the souls in purgatory pray continually, for they are in a state of grace, and they love God and neighbor. They have the actual graces needed to consider the sins of their lives in the light of truth. The souls in purgatory do not gain any merit for their prayers and sufferings, because these efforts are applied to the temporal punishment due to them. What justice requires is not meritorious. However, the souls in purgatory can and do pray for us poor sinners on earth. For the punishments of purgatory are not mere pains, but penances for the purification and instruction of the soul. And part of the penance of the souls in purgatory is to pray for all those who were harmed by their sins. Similarly, we in this life should do penance by praying for all the persons harmed by our many sins and failings. The prayers of the souls in purgatory are effective because they are part of the one Body of Christ, joined to us in the love of God. Therefore, we also must pray for them.

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and
translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.