Purgatory

The subject is treated under these heads:

I. Catholic Doctrine

II. Errors

III. Proofs

IV. Duration and Nature

V. Succouring the Dead

VI. Indulgences

VII. Invocation of Souls

VIII. Utility of Prayer for the Departed

I. CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic

teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing

this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully

paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. The faith of the Church

concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by

the Council of Florence (Mansi, t. XXXI, col. 1031), and in the decree of the

Council of Trent which (Sess. XXV) defined: "Whereas the Catholic Church,

instructed by the Holy Ghost, has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient

tradition of the Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical

synod (Sess. VI, cap. XXX; Sess. XXII cap.ii, iii) that there is a purgatory, and

that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by

the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar; the Holy Synod enjoins on the Bishops that

they diligently endeavor to have the sound doctrine of the Fathers in Councils

regarding purgatory everywhere taught and preached, held and believed by the

faithful" (Denzinger, "Enchiridon", 983). Further than this the definitions of the

Church do not go, but the tradition of the Fathers and the Schoolmen must be

consulted to explain the teachings of the councils, and to make clear the belief

and the practices of the faithful.

Temporal Punishment

That temporal punishment is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been

pardoned by God, is clearly the teaching of Scripture. God indeed brought man

out of his first disobedience and gave him power to govern all things (Wis. x, 2),

but still condemned him "to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow" until he

returned unto dust. God forgave the incredulity of Moses and Aaron, but in

punishment kept them from the "land of promise" (Num., xx, 12). The Lord took

away the sin of David, but the life of the child was forfeited because David had

made God's enemies blaspheme His Holy Name (II Kings, xii, 13, 14). In the

New Testament as well as in the Old, almsgiving and fasting, and in general

penitential acts are the real fruits of repentance (Matt., iii, 8; Luke, xvii, 3; iii, 3).

The whole penitential system of the Church testifies that the voluntary

assumption of penitential works has always been part of true repentance and the

Council of Trent (Sess. XIV, can. xi) reminds the faithful that God does not

always remit the whole punishment due to sin together with the guilt. God

requires satisfaction, and will punish sin, and this doctrine involves as its

necessary consequence a belief that the sinner failing to do penance in this life

may be punished in another world, and so not be cast off eternally from God.

Venial Sins

All sins are not equal before God, nor dare anyone assert that the daily faults of

human frailty will be punished with the same severity that is meted out to serious

violation of God's law. On the other hand whosoever comes into God's presence

must be perfectly perfectly pure for in the strictest sense His "eyes are too pure,

to behold evil" (Hab., i, 13). For unrepented venial faults for the payment of

temporal punishment due to sin at time of death, the Church has always taught

the doctrine of purgatory.

So deep was this belief ingrained in our common humanity that it was accepted

by the Jews, and in at least a shadowy way by the pagans, long before the

coming of Christianity. ("Aeneid," VI, 735 sq.; Sophocles, "Antigone," 450 sq.).

II. ERRORS

Epiphanius (haer., lxxv, P.G., XLII, col. 513) complains that Acrius (fourth cent.)

taught that prayers for the dead were of no avail. In the Middle Ages, the doctrine

of purgatory was rejected by the Albigenses, Waldenses, and Hussites. St.

Bernard (Serm. lxvi in Cantic., P. L. CLXXXIII, col. 1098) states that the so-called

"Apostolici" denied purgatory and the utility of prayers for the departed. Much

discussion has arisen over the position the Greeks on the question of purgatory.

It would seem that the great difference of opinion not concerning the existence of

purgatory but concerning the nature of purgatorial fire; still St. Thomas proves the

existence of purgatory in his dissertation against the errors of the Greeks, and

the Council of Florence also thought necessary to affirm the belief of the Church

on the subject (Bellarmine, "De Purgatorio," lib. I, cap. i). The modern Orthodox

Church denies purgatory, but is rather inconsistent in its way of putting forth its

belief.

At the beginning of the Reformation there was some hesitation especially on

Luther's part (Leipzig Disputation) as to whether the doctrine should be retained,

but as the breach widened, the denial of purgatory by the Reformers became

universal, and Calvin termed the Catholic position "exitiale commentum quod

crucem Christi evacuat . . . quod fidem nostram labefacit et evertit" (Institutiones,

lib. III, cap. v, 6). Modern Protestants, while they avoid the name purgatory,

frequently teach the doctrine of "the middle state," and Martensen ("Christian

Dogmatics," Edinburgh, 1890, p. 457) writes: "As no soul leaves this present

existence in a fully complete and prepared state, we must suppose that there is

an intermediate state, a realm of progressive development, (?) in which souls are

prepared for the final judgment" (Farrar, "Mercy and Judgment," London, 1881,

cap. iii).

III. PROOFS

The Catholic doctrine of purgatory supposes the fact that some die with smaller

faults for which there was no true repentance, and also the fact that the temporal

penalty due to sin is it times not wholly paid in this life. The proofs for the

Catholic position, both in Scripture and in Tradition, are bound up also with the

practice of praying for the dead. For why pray for the dead, if there be no belief in

the power of prayer to afford solace to those who as yet are excluded from the

sight of God? So true is this position that prayers for the dead and the existence

of a place of purgation are mentioned in conjunction in the oldest passages of the

Fathers, who allege reasons for succouring departed souls. Those who have

opposed the doctrine of purgatory have confessed that prayers for the dead would

be an unanswerable argument if the modern doctrine of a "particular judgment"

had been received in the early ages. But one has only to read the testimonies

hereinafter alleged to feel sure that the Fathers speak, in the same breath, of

oblations for the dead and a place of purgation; and one has only to consult the

evidence found in the catacombs to feel equally sure that the Christian faith there

expressed embraced clearly a belief in judgment immediately after death. Wilpert

("Roma Sotteranea," I, 441) thus concludes chapt. xxi, "Che tale esaudimento",

etc.,

Intercession has been made for the soul of the dear one departed

and God has heard the prayer, and the soul has passed into a

place of light and refreshment." "Surely," Wilpert adds, "such

intercession would have no place were there question not of the

particular, but of the final judgment.

Some stress too has been laid upon the objection that the ancient Christians had

no clear conception of purgatory, and that they thought that the souls departed

remained in uncertainity of salvation to the last day; and consequently they

prayed that thoese who had gone before might in the final judgment escape even

the everlasting torments of hell. The earliest Christian traditions are clear as to

the particular judgment, and clearer still concerning a sharp distinction between

purgatory and hell. The passages alledged as referring to relief from hell cannot

offset the evidence given below (Bellarmine, "De Purgatorio," lib. II, cap. v).

Concerning the famous case of Trajan, which vexed the Doctors of the Middle

Ages, see Bellarmine, loc. Cit., cap. Viii.

Old Testament

The tradition of the Jews is put forth with precision and clearness in II

Maccabees. Judas, the commander of the forces of Israel, "making a gathering .

. . sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered

for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection

(For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have

seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead). And because he considered

that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may

be loosed from sins" (II Mach., xii, 43-46). At the time of the Maccabees the

leaders of the people of God had no hesitation in asserting the efficacy of prayers

offered for the dead, in order that those who had departed this life might find

pardon for their sins and the hope of eternal resurrection.

New Testament

There are several passages in the New Testament that point to a process of

purification after death. Thus, Jesus Christ declares (Matthew 12:32): "And

whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:

but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,

neither in this world, nor in the world to come." According to St. Isidore of Seville

(Deord. creatur., c. xiv, n. 6) these words prove that in the next life "some sins

wil be forgiven and purged away by a certain purifying fire." St. Augustine also

argues "that some sinners are not forgiven either in this world or in the next

would not be truly said unless there were other [sinners] who, though not forgiven

in this world, are forgiven in the world to come" (De Civ. Dei, XXI, xxiv). The same

interpretation is given by Gregory the Great (Dial., IV, xxxix); St. Bede

(commentary on this text); St. Bernard (Sermo lxvi in Cantic., n. 11) and other

eminent theological writers.

A further argument is supplied by St. Paul in I Cor., iii, 11-1,5: "For other

foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if

any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay

stubble: Every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare

it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of

what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall

receive a reward. If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall

be saved, yet so as by fire." While this passage presents considerable difficulty,

it is regarded by many of the Fathers and theologians as evidence for the

existence of an intermediate state in which the dross of lighter transgressions

will be burnt away, and the soul thus purified will be saved. This, according to

Bellarmine (De Purg., I, 5), is the interpretation commonly given by the Fathers

and theologians; and he cites to this eftect:

St. Ambrose (commentary on the text, and Sermo xx in Ps. cxvii),

St. Jerome, (Comm. in Amos, c. iv),

St. Augustine (Comm. in Ps. xxxvii),

St. Gregory (Dial., IV, xxxix), and

Origen (Hom. vi in Exod.).

See also St. Thomas, "Contra Gentes,", IV, 91. For a discussion of the

exegetical problem, see Atzberger, "Die christliche Eschatologie", p. 275.

Tradition

This doctrine that many who have died are still in a place of purification and that

prayers avail to help the dead is part of the very earliest Christian tradition.

Tertullian "De corona militis" mentions prayers for the dead as an Apostolic

ordinance, and in "De Monogamia" (cap. x, P. L., II, col. 912) he advises a widow

"to pray for the soul of her husband, begging repose for him and participation in

the first resurrection"; he commands her also "to make oblations for him on the

anniversary of his demise," and charges her with infidelity if she neglect to

succour his soul. This settled custom of the Church is clear from St. Cyprian,

who (P. L. IV, col. 399) forbade the customary prayers for one who had violated

the ecclesiastical law. "Our predecessors prudently advised that no brother,

departing this life, should nominate any churchman as his executor; and should

he do it, that no oblation should be made for him, nor sacrifice offered for his

repose." Long before Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria had puzzled over the

question of the state or condition of the man who, reconciled to God on his

death-bed, had no time for the fulfilment of penance due his transgression. His

answer is: "the believer through discipline divests himself of his passions and

passes to the mansion which is better than the former one, passes to the

greatest torment, taking with him the characteristic of repentance for the faults

he may have committed after baptism. He is tortured then still more, not yet

attaining what he sees others have acquired. The greatest torments are assigned

to the beleiver, for God's righteousness is good, and His goodness righteous, and

though these punishments cease in the course of the expiation and purification of

each one, "yet" etc. (P. G. IX, col. 332).

In Origen the doctrine of purgatory is very clear. If a man depart this life with

lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and

prepares the soul for the kingdom of God, where nothing defiled may enter. "For if

on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious

stones (I Cor., 3); but also wood and hay and stubble,what do you expect when

the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with

your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on

account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for

your gold and silver and precious stones? Neither is this just. It remains then that

you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to

those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this

fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood,

and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our

transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works." (P. G., XIII,

col. 445, 448).

The Apostolic practice of praying for the dead which passed into the liturgy of the

Church, is as clear in the fourth century as it is in the twentieth. St. Cyril of

Jerusalem (Catechet. Mystog., V, 9, P.G., XXXIII, col. 1116) describing the

liturgy, writes: "Then we pray for the Holy Fathers and Bishops that are dead;

and in short for all those who have departed this life in our communion; believing

that the souls of those for whom prayers are offered receive very great relief, while

this holy and tremendous victim lies upon the altar." St. Gregory of Nyssa (P. G.,

XLVI, col. 524, 525) states that man's weaknesses are purged in this life by

prayer and wisdom, or are expiated in the next by a cleansing fire. "When he has

quitted his body and the difference between virtue and vice is known he cannot

approach God till the purging fire shall have cleansed the stains with which his

soul was infested. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter,

and the propensity to evil." About the same time the Apostolic Constitution gives

us the formularies used in succouring the dead. "Let us pray for our brethren who

sleep in Christ, that God who in his love for men has received the soul of the

depart one, may forgive him every fault, and in mercy and clemency receive him

into the bosom of Abraham, with those who in this life have pleased God" (P. G.

I, col. 1144). Nor can we pass over the use of the diptychs where the names of

the dead were inscribed; and this remembrance by name in the Sacred

Mysteries--(a practice that was from the Apostles) was considered by

Chrysostom as the best way of relieving the dead (In I Ad Cor., Hom. xli, n. 4,

G., LXI, col. 361, 362).

The teaching of the Fathers, and the formularies used in the Liturgy of the

Church, found expression in the early Christian monuments, particularly those

contained in the catacombs. On the tombs of the faithful were inscribed words of

hope, words of petition for peace and for rest; and as the anniversaries came

round the faithful gathered at the graves of the departed to make intercession for

those who had gone before. At the bottom this is nothing else than the faith

expressed by the Council of Trent (Sess. XXV, "De Purgatorio"), and to this faith

the inscriptions in the catacombs are surely witnesses.

In the fourth century in the West, Ambrose insists in his commentary on St. Paul

(I Cor., iii) on the existence of purgatory, and in his masterly funeral oration (De

obitu Theodosii), thus prays for the soul of the departed emperor: "Give, O Lord,

rest to Thy servant Theodosius, that rest Thou hast prepared for Thy saints. . . . I

loved him, therefore will I follow him to the land of the living; I will not leave him till

by my prayers and lamentations he shall be admitted unto the holy mount of the

Lord, to which his deserts call him" (P. L., XVI, col. 1397). St. Augustine is

clearer even than his master. He describes two conditions of men; "some there

are who have departed this life, not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy,

nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness" etc., and in the

resurrection he says there will be some who "have gone through these pains, to

which the spirits of the dead are liable" (De Civ. Dei, XXI, 24). Thus at the close of

the fourth century not only (1) were prayers for the dead found in all the Liturgies,

but the Fathers asserted that such practice was from the Apostles themselves;

(2) those who were helped by the prayers of the faithful and by the celebration of

the Holy Mysteries were in a place of purgation; (3) from which when purified they

"were admitted unto the Holy Mount of the Lord". So clear is this patristic

Tradition that those who do not believe in purgatory have been unable to bring

any serious difficulties from the writings of the Fathers. The passages cited to

the contrary either do not touch the question at all, or are so lacking in clearness

that they cannot offset the perfectly open expression of the doctrine as found in

the very Fathers who are quoted as holding contrary opinions (Bellarmine "De

Purg.", lib. I, cap. xiii).

IV. DURATION AND NATURE

Duration

The very reasons assigned for the existence of purgatory make for its passing

character. We pray, we offer sacrifice for souls therein detained that "God in

mercy may forgive every fault and receive them into the bosom of Abraham"

(Const. Apost., P. G., I col. 1144); and Augustine (De Civ. Dei, lib. XXI, cap.xiii

and xvi) declares that the punishment of purgatory is temporary and will cease,

at least with the Last Judgment. "But temporary punishments are suffered by

some in this life only, by others after death, by others both noow and then; but all

of them before that last and strictest judgment."

Nature of Punishment

It is clear from the Liturgies and the Fathers above cited that the souls for whose

peace sacrifice was offered were shut out for the time being from the sight of

God. They were "not so good as to be entitled to eternal happiness". Still, for

them "death is the termination not of nature but of sin" (Ambrose, "De obitu

Theodos."); and this inability to sin makes them secure of final happiness. This

is the Catholic position proclaimed by Leo X in the Bull "Exurge Domine" which

condemned the errors of Luther.

Are the souls detained in purgatory conscious that their happiness is but

deferred for a time, or may they still be in doubt concerning their ultimate

salvation? The ancient Liturgies and the inscriptions of the catacombs speak of a

"sleep of peace", which would be impossible if there was any doubt of ultimate

salvation. Some of the Doctors of the Middle Ages thought uncertainity of

salvation one of the severe punishments of purgatory. (Bellarmine, "De Purgat."

lib. II, cap. iv); but this opinion finds no general credit among the theologians of

the medieval period, nor is it possible in the light of the belief in the particular

judgment. St. Bonaventure gives as the reason for this elimination of fear and of

uncertainty the intimate conviction that they can no longer sin (lib. IV, dist. xx,

p.1, a.1 q. iv): "Est evacuatio timoris propter confirniationem liberi arbitrii, qua

deinceps scit se peccare non posse" (Fear is cast out because of the

strengthening of the will by which the soul knows it can no longer sin), and St.

Thomas (dist. xxi, q. i, a.1) says: "nisi scirent se esse liberandas suffragia non

peterent" (unless they knew that they are to be delivered, they would not ask for

prayers).

Merit

In the Bull "Exurge Domine" Leo X condemns the proposition (n. 38) "Nec

probatum est ullis aut rationibus aut scripturis ipsas esse extra statum merendi

aut augendae caritatis" (There is no proof from reason or Scripture that they [the

souls in purgatory] cannot merit or increase in charity). For them "the night has

come in which no man can labour", and Christian tradition has always

considered that only in this life can man work unto the profit of his own soul. The

Doctors of the Middle Ages while agreeing that this life is the time for merit and

increase of grace, still some with St. Thomas seemed to question whether or not

there might be some non-essential reward which the souls in purgatory might

merit (IV, dist. xxi, q. i, a. 3). Bellarmine believes that in this matter St. Thomas

changed his opinion and refers to a statement of St. Thomas ("De Malo", q. vii, a.

11). Whatever may be the mind of the Angelic Doctor, theologians agree that no

merit is possible in purgatory, and if objection be urged that the souls there merit

by their prayers, Bellarmine says that such prayers avail with God because of

merit already acquired "Solum impetrant ex meritis praeteritis quomodo nunc

sancti orando) pro nobis impetrant licet non merendo" (They avail only in virtue of

past merits as those who are now saints intercede for us not by merit but by

prayer). (loc. cit. II, cap. iii).

Purgatorial Fire

At the Council of Florence, Bessarion argued against the existence of real

purgatorial fire, and the Greeks were assured that the Roman Church had never

issued any dogmatic decree on tlils subject. In the West the belief in the

existence of real fire is common. Augustine in Ps. 37 n. 3, speaks of the pain

which purgatorial fire causes as more severe than anything a man can suffer in

this life, "gravior erit ignis quam quidquid potest homo pati in hac vita" (P. L., col.

397). Gregory the Great speaks of those who after this life "will expiate their

faults by purgatorial flames," and he adds "'that the pain be more intolerable than

any one can suffer in this life" (Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1). Following in the footsteps of

Gregory, St. Thomas teaches (IV, dist. xxi, q. i, a.1) that besides the separation

of the soul from the sight of God, there is the other punishment from fire. "Una

poena damni, in quantum scilicet retardantur a divina visione; alia sensus

secundum quod ab igne punientur", and St. Bonaventure not only agrees with St.

Thomas but adds (IV, dist. xx, p.1, a.1, q. ii) that this punishment by fire is more

severe than any punishment which comes to men in this life; "Gravior est omni

temporali poena. quam modo sustinet anima carni conjuncta". How this fire

affects the souls of the departed the Doctors do not know, and in such matters it

is well to heed the warning of the Council of Trent when it commands the bishops

"to exclude from their preaching difficult and subtle questions which tend not to

edification', and from the discussion of which there is no increase either in piety

or devotion" (Sess. XXV, "De Purgatorio").

V. SUCCOURING THE DEAD

Scripture and the Fathers command prayers and oblations for the departed, and

the Council of Trent (Sess. XXV, "De Purgatorio") in virtue of this tradition not

only asserts the existence of purgatory, but adds "that the souls therein detained

are aided by the suffrages of the faithful and principally by the acceptable

sacrifice of the altar." That those on earth are still in communion with the souls in

purgatory is the earliest Christian teaching, and that the living aid the dead by

their prayers and works of satisfaction is clear from the tradition above alleged.

That the Holy Sacrifice was offered for the departed was received Catholic

Tradition even in the days of Tertullian and Cyprian, and that the souls of the

dead, were aided particularly "while the sacred victim lay upon the altar" is the

expression of Cyril of Jerusalem quoted above. Augustine (Serm.. clxii, n. 2)

says that the "prayers and alms of the faithful, the Holy Sacrifice of the altar aid

the faithful departed and move the Lord to deal with them in mercy and kindness,

and," he adds, "this is the practice of the universal Church handed down by the

Fathers." Whether our works of satisfaction performed on behalf of the dead avail

purely out of God's benevolence and mercy, or whether God obliges himself in

justice to accept our vicarious atonement, is not a settled question. Suarez

thinks that the acceptance is one of justice, and alleges the common practice of

the Church which joins together the living and the dead without any

discrimination (De poenit., disp. xlviii, 6, n. 4).

VI. INDULGENCES

The Council of Trent (Sess. XXV) defined that indulgences are "most salutary for

Christian people" and that their "use is to be retained in the Church". It is the

common teaching of Catholic theologians that

indulgences may be applied to the souls detained in purgatory; and

that indulgences are available for them "by way of suffrage" (per modum

suffragii).

(1) Augustine (De Civ. Dei, XX, ix) declares that the souls of the faithful departed

are not separated from the Church, which is the kingdom of Christ, and for this

reason the prayers and works of the living are helpful to the dead. "If therefore",

argues Bellarmine (De indulgentiis, xiv) "we can offer our prayers and our

satisfactions in behalf of those detained in purgatory, because we are members

of the great body of Christ, why may not the Vicar of Christ apply to the same

souls the superabundant satisfaction of Christ and his saints--of which he is the

dispenser?" This is the doctrine of St. Thomas (IV, Sent., dist. xlv, q. ii, a. 3, q.

2) who asserts that indulgences avail principally for the person who performs the

work for which the indulgence is given, if they but secondarily may avail even for

the dead, if the form in which the indulgence is granted be so worded as to be

capable of such interpretation, and he adds "nor is there any reason why the

Church may not dispose of its treasure of merits in favour of the dead, as it

surely dispenses it in favour of the living".

(2) St. Bonaventure (IV, Sent., dist. xx, p. 2, q. v) agrees with St. Thomas, but

adds that such "relaxation cannot be after the manner of absolution as in the

case of the living but only as suffrage (Haec non tenet modum judicii, sed potius

suffragii). This opinion of St. Bonaventure, that the Church through its Supreme

Pastor does not absolve juridically the souls in purgatory from the punishment

due their sins, is the teaching of the Doctors. They point out (Gratian, 24 q. ii, 2,

can.1) that in case of those who have departed this life judgment is reserved to

God; they allege the authority of Gelasius (Ep. ad Fausturn; Ep. ad. Episcopos

Dardaniae) in support of their contention (Gratian ibid.), and they also insist that

the Roman Pontiffs, when they grant indulgences that are applicable to the dead,

add the restriction "per modum suffragii et deprecationis". This phrase is found in

the Bull of Sixtus IV "Romani Pontificis provida diligentia", 27 Nov. 1447.

The phrase "per modum suffragi et deprecationis" has been variously interpreted

by theologians (Bellarmine, "De indulgentiis", p.137). Bellarmine himself says:

"The true opinion is that indulgences avail as suffrage, because they avail not

after the fashion of a juridical absolution 'quia non prosunt per modum juridicae

absolutionis'." But according to the same author the suffrages of the faithful avail

at times "per modum meriti congrui" (by way of merit), at times "per modum

impetrationis" (by way of supplication) at times "per modum satisfactionis" (by

way of satisfaction); but when there is question of applying an indulgence to one

in purgatory it is only "per modum suffragii satisfactorii" and for this reason "the

pope does not absolve the soul in purgatory from the punishment due his sin, but

offers to God from the treasure of the Church whatever may be necessary for the

cancelling of this punishment".

If the question be further asked whether such satisfaction is accepted by God out

of mercy and benevolence, or "ex justitia", theologians are not in accord--some

holding one opinion, others the other. Bellarmine after canvassing both sides (pp.

137, 138) does not dare to set aside "either opinion, but is inclined to think that

the former is more reasonable while he pronounces the latter in harmony with

piety ("admodum pia").

Condition

That an indulgence may avail for those in purgatory several conditions are

required:

The indulgence must be granted by the pope.

There must be a sufficient reason for granting, the indulgence, and this

reason must be something pertaing to the glory of God and the utility of

the Church, not merely the utility accruing to the souls in purgatory.

The pious work enjoined must be as in the case of indulgences for the

living.

If the state of grace be not among the required works, in all probability the person

performing the work may gain the indulgence for the dead, even though he

himself be not in friendship with God (Bellarmine, loc. cit., p. 139). Suarez (De

Poenit., disp. Iiii, s. 4, n. 5 and 6) puts this categorically when he says: "Status

gratiae solum requiritur ad tollendum obicem indulgentiae" (the state of grace is

required only to remove some hindrance to the indulgence), and in the case of

the holy souls there can be no hindrance. This teaching is bound up with the

doctrine of the Communion of Saints, and the monuments of the catacombs

represent the saints and martyrs as interceding with God for the dead. The

prayers too of the early liturgies speak of Mary and of the saints interceding for

those who have passed from this life. Augustine believes that burial in a basilica

dedicated to a holy martyr is of value to the dead, for those who recall the

memory of him who has suffered will recommend to the martyr's prayers the soul

of him who has departed this life (Bellarmine, lib. II, xv). In the same place

Bellarmine accuses Dominicus A Soto of rashness, because he denied this

doctrine.

VII. INVOCATION OF SOULS

Do the souls in purgatory pray for us? May we call upon them in our needs?

There is no decision of the Church on this subject, nor have the theologians

pronounced with definiteness concerning the invocation of the souls in purgatory

and their intercession for the living. In the ancient liturgies there are no prayers of

the Church directed to those who are still in purgatory. On the tombs of the early

Christians nothing is more common than a prayer or a supplication asking the

departed to intercede with God for surviving friends, but these inscriptions seem

always to suppose that the departed one is already with God. St. Thomas

(II-II:83:11) denies that the souls in purgatory pray for the living, and states they

are not in a position to pray for us, rather we must make intercession for them.

Despite the authority of St. Thomas, many renowned theologians hold that the

souls in purgatory really pray for us, and that we may invoke their aid. Bellarmine

(De Purgatorio, lib. II, xv,) says the reason alleged by St. Thomas is not at all

convincing, and holds that in virtue of their greater love of God and their union

with Him their prayers may have great intercessory power, for they are really

superior to us in love of God, and in intimacy of union with Him. Suarez (De

poenit., disp. xlvii, s. 2, n. 9) goes farther and asserts "that the souls in purgatory

are holy, are dear to God, love us with a true love and are mindful of our wants;

that they know in a general way our necessities and our dangers, and how great

is our need of Divine help and divine grace".

When there is question of invoking the prayers of those in purgatory, Bellarmine

(loc. cit.) says it is superfluous, ordinarily speaking, for they are ignorant of our

circumstances and condition. This is at variance with the opinion of Suarez, who

admits knowledge at least in a general way, also with the opinions of many

modern theologians who point to the practice now common with almost all the

faithful of addressing their prayers and petitions for help to those who are still in a

place of purgation. Scavini (Theol. Moral., XI, n. l74) sees no reason why the

souls detained in purgatory may not pray for us, even as we pray for one another.

He asserts that this practice has become common at Rome, and that it has the

great name of St. Alphonsus in its favour. St. Alphonsus in his work the "Great

Means of Salvation", chap. I, III, 2, after quoting Sylvius, Gotti, Lessius, and

Medina as favourable to his opinion, concludes: "so the souls in purgatory, being

beloved by God and confirmed in grace, have absolutely no impediment to

prevent them from praying for us. Still the Church does not invoke them or

implore their intercession, because ordinarily they have no cognizance of our

prayers. But we may piously believe that God makes our prayers known to

them". He alleges also the authority of St. Catharine of Bologna who "whenever

she desired any favour had recourse to the souls in purgatory, and was

immediately heard".

VIII. UTILITY OF PRAYER FOR THE DEPARTED

It is the traditional faith of Catholics that the souls in purgatory are not separated

from the Church, and that the love which is the bond of union between the

Church's members should embrace those who have departed this life in God's

grace. Hence, since our prayers and our sacrifices can help those who are still

waiting in purgatory, the saints have not hesistated to warn us that we have a

real duty toward those who are still in purgatorial expiation. Holy Church through

the Congregation of Indulgences, 18 December 1885, has bestowed a special

blessing on the so-called "heroic act" in virtue of which "a member of the Church

militant ofters to God for the souls in purgatory all the satisfactory works which

he will perform during his lifetime, and also all the suffrages which may accrue to

him after his death" (Heroic Act, vol. VII, 292). The practice of devotion to the

dead is also consoling to humanity and eminently worthy of a religion which

seconds all the purest feelings of the human heart. "Sweet", says Cardinal

Wiseman (lecture XI), "is the consolation of the dying man, who, conscious of

imperfection, believes that there are others to make intercession for him, when

his own time for merit has expired; soothing to the afflicted survivors the thought

that they possess powerful means of relieving their friend. In the first moments of

grief, this sentiment will often overpower religious prejudice, cast down the

unbeliever on his knees beside the remains of his friend and snatch from him an

unconscious prayer for rest; it is an impulse of nature which for the moment,

aided by the analogies of revealed truth, seizes at once upon this consoling

belief. But it is only a flitting and melancholy light, while the Catholic feeling,

cheering though with solemn dimness, resembles the unfailing lamp, which the

piety of the ancients is said to have hung before the sepulchres of their dead."

Edward J. Hanna

Transcribed by William G. Bilton, Ph.D.

In memory of Father George P. O'Neill

Former pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, Buffalo, N.Y.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII

Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org