Purgatory...fact or fiction?

f you aren't Catholic, you probably have no idea about Purgatory.  As a matter of fact, if you ARE Catholic, you may be in the same boat.  Purgatory is not a made-up notion.  It is biblical.  Because God is perfect, we must be perfect to enter Heaven.  See REVELATION 21:27:  "...nothing unclean will enter it (heaven)."  Therefore,  to enter Heaven at the time of our death, we must die in a state of perfect grace.  That is hard to do.   

When someone sins, they can be forgiven, but they still must make reparation for the sin.  For instance, if you broke your neighbor's window with a baseball, your neighbor can forgive you if you say you are sorry.  However, you still must replace the window because of your actions.  In the same way, God forgives our sins, but we still have to repair the damage our sins have caused to our souls.  The way we repair, or make reparation for our sins, is Purgatory. 

There are several Bible passages relating to Purgatory: 1 Peter 4:6; 1 Cor 3:15; 2 Maccabees 12:44-46 and 2 Tim 1:16-18.  The main points to be remembered are that Purgatory is not a second chance place for souls who die in an unrepented state of mortal sin.  It is a place of purification and reparation.  Anyone in Purgatory will one day be in Heaven.  Once the remnants of sin have been purged from their souls, they will enter Heaven perfect, as God is perfect.

So, Purgatory is God's merciful gift to us.  We rejoice in knowing that God wants us in Heaven as much as we want to be there with Him.  We must strive in this life to rid our attachments to sin and die in as perfect a state of grace as possible.  But, the good news is, we have Purgatory to assist us on our way to our heavenly reward.