Please exercise patience and remember that, at least for me, repetition is not persuasive. I KNOW that you think that the RCC church is a human institution with human traditions. I disagree. Your saying it over and over again will not change my mind.
As to the question of debt and stain: I distinguished between the two. Consequently a whole artillery barrage of citations about debt being cancelled will not do to address the question of stain (and chain but that's for later) unless you show me there is no distinction, which you have not yet done.
But it sounds like you do not distinguish between the two. I agree the debt is paid. The relationship is restored. If it were not, in our scheme, our "subject" would be in hell, not Purgatory.
Here's the problem I'd like you -- NOT to agree (not yet, anyway) with -- but to give some sign of understanding what I'm saying.
So John Doe apologizes to God for his sins and his estrangement from God. He accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. The relationship is restored. This is always a tear-bringing miracle.
The next morning he trips over the cat on his way out the door and in his anger lets fly a mighty blasphemous oath and drop kicks the cat into next week. (This is NOT part of my life experience -- I don't kick that well.)
What do you say of this? Was his conversion phony? I would say not necessarily. Is his sin forgiven? I would say, Yes - at least in principle. God still loves him, still holds him in His heart, etc. Is it a sin? Fer shur!
What if John Doe is an especially irascible man, (and if he has an especially stupid cat)? This may actually be a habitual occurrence in his life. Is that possible?
Sure, I think the moment when one finally makes one's own personal assent to God is accompanied by some instant changes. And for some people, Sergeant York comes to mind if the stories are true), it seems they are radical life-changing alterations. But for others, the habits of cussing and cat-kicking are so automatic that they hardly know they're doing them. It will take time to become aware and to stop doing those things.
One of the first steps for many smokers or over-eaters is to become aware of when they light up or snack. There was once this hysterically funny (to us, not to the judge) young man in court.He used the f-word the way you or I might say "uh". I'm serious! I was quietly exploding with laughter (hard to do in uniform -- I had to face the wall) but out of the corner of my eye I could see the judge's eyebrows climbing over the top of her head!
This guy had no clue that you don't use that kind of language in front of a lady judge (or anywhere else, come to think of it) and probably even if he HAD a clue, could hardly stop himself. It was so obviously habitual,an unconscious habit.
Now God could save that young man, of course. And God would bear with him as he slowly, slowly turned away from filthy talk. God would help him in all the ways God helps us.
So this guy, on his way downstairs He makes his appeal to Christ. He steps out of the court building and is hit by a bus. Does he join the heavenly chorus, and while they're singing, is his part, "I'm effing talking about AH effing LAY effing LOO effing YAH! Effing A, know whut I mean?"
I would venture to say, probably not.
So how does THAT change happen in him? How does the habit of profanity and filthy talk get shed from Him?
And, skipping about ninety gazillion steps, I'd say that Purgatory is our answer to that question.
Others here use a language of debt. I personally prefer a therapeutic analogy, herewith:
I had a feed mixer. It broke. I had to hand mix about 300 lbs of feed per day for months. I can't reckon how many scoops of grain that involved. Part of the problem was that one medication, a coccidiostat, is so strong that I essentially had to mix about a cup evenly through some 150 gallons of feed. LOTs of scooping.
Because I have not exercised as I ought, the muscles supporting my shoulder were not as they should be, and I damaged my shoulder. I had to go to therapy. The therapy involved infusions of cortisone, exercises, and what I can only call torture. This LOVELY and pleasant young lady would come and, as it seemed, try to rip my arm out of the socket. In all different ways! (I finally realized that while I was being all stoic, she was watching my face, and stopping when I looked like I was in all the agony I could bear. I quit being as stoic.)
So finally, my shoulder was all better.
The analogy is that I had been living a life of sin, and one particular sin repeated finally damaged me so much that I became aware of the agony.
"The decrees of the Lord are just, and righteous altogether." That is, God gives is commands, not because he, as it were, likes green better than purple, but because He loves us, and sin is bad for us. There's not just a debt against him for disobedience, there are the effects in ourselves of our sinfulness, the damage it does to us. The wrath of God is not arbitrary, it's organic, the sin is its own punishment. (This is made very clear in Dante, BTW)
So, when I say to myself, Ow! That is like turning to Jesus. When I go to the Physical Therapy Shoppe that is the healthiest thing I can do when I'm in that state. By analogy I AM Saved. I am saved into the ways of righteousness and healing. But the mode of righteousness and healing at that point is to have medication, exercise, and torture. And now I can enjoy, even after my surgery, doing exercises with dumbbells (no personal remarks please) to stay strong. Just as I am reading my Bible, praying, and, when I can going to Mass and other services with my brethren.
Part of the problem in communication is our fault, in that we use the language of payment and penalty for what I would rather call the "organic" inevitable consequences of sin. So from MY POV it was a blessing that I could go to physical therapy. But, because I "had to" one could describe it as a "penalty" or "price" of my misuse of my body.
Similarly, as I approached this surgery, I knew I would suffer some pain. I wanted God to accept my suffering as an offering. SO I went to confession.
Wow! I saw your hackles rise from here!
See, you think of that as some kind of strange thing, I guess. But for me I got to discuss with a wise, good, and loving friend those things I have done which trouble me in my access to God. (ME, not HIM. God is fine. I tie myself up in knots sometimes though.) I wanted to clear the decks for battle and to make sure I was in good shape for the coming struggle. This wasn't a penalty, not at all. It was a GIFT, and that's how I experienced it. Sure, it had moments where it was like a painfully rough massage, but I left invigorated and strong and ready to cling ever more closely to my loving Lord as we dealt with my silly fears and pains.
Please remember. I am not hoping to persuade you that I am right here. I am trying to convey a concept of purgatory which will help you understand, whether or not you agree, with the distinction between debt and stain, or with how we can think of Purgatory not as a lessening of God's love but as a gift of that love to us.
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Amen. It took me until my early thirties to understand this interpretation of sin and God's commands. When we speak of "God the Father", I believe this is what it means.