If you get to Purgatory you know that you are going to heaven. It is a waiting place where souls wait to be moved to heaven. This is one of the reasons that Catholics pray for the dead.
Have you had a grandfather, grandmother, mother, father die?
If you said even one prayer for them, maybe you were the one who got them to heaven. The souls in Purgatory and do nothing for themselves, only wait and long for their days in heaven.
Oops.
The souls in Purgatory can do nothing for themselves, only wait and long for their days in heaven.
Heb: 9:27 … and it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
Don’t see a purgatory anywhere in this verse
“Have you had a grandfather, grandmother, mother, father die?”
One of the reasons that I have always been interested in the concept of purgatory is that an interesting thing happened to my mother after my grandfather died. (Now, the only thing I am about to tell you and everyone reading is that this is what she told me. I am not saying that I believe one way or the other on this...because I am undecided on what to make of this.)
Anyway, my grandfather (her father, whom we both loved greatly and who was the greatest influence on my life) died when I was a senior in high school. The entire family (and especially us) were badly shaken by the fall. I mean, my mother adored and loved her father almost to a fault.
Anyway (and I learned this a couple of months into this), she told me that she had been having dreams since his death. He was suffering greatly he said and begged her to get him out of “this place.” She had these dreams regularly (as I recall it had been at least once a week and I think it was multiple times). I think that she told me because she could no longer bear “the burden” of having to live with such a thing alone.
Needless to say, this was deeply disturbing to me, but I tried to forget it. I did, however, pray on his behalf. He was a very good man to us and I couldn’t stand the thought of him suffering because my initial view was that she was dreaming that he was in hell. I, of course, tried to talk myself out of thinking such a horrendous thing. Anyway, I prayed for him (I don’t recall how many times) even if I believed that it was of no use...I still prayed.
Some time later....within 3 months I guess, I asked her again about the dreams. She told me that she had not had a dream in a couple of weeks (not sure on the timing) or so. She said that she dreamed that he said, (paraphrasing) “I’ve made it to heaven [and don’t worry about me]” or something of that nature.
My mind immediately snapped to the idea of Purgatory.
So, while I don’t always trust dreams and visions as the truth, I have always had an open mind about this issue. Further, if the Apocrypha is canonical, there may actually be scriptural basis.
I would say, however, that he was a very good man (religious , but not overtly so) and extremely ethical so far as I knew. If the dreams were true, he spent 3-6 months in Purgatory. (I’m not saying the dreams were true and I will refuse to issue an opinion on such matters because of my ignorance. I am saying that I simply do not know.)