"Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me." — Job 19:21
These are the words that Holy Scripture places on the lips of Job in his suffering — and they are the very words, says Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P., that the Poor Souls in Purgatory address to their friends still on earth, "begging, imploring their help, in accents of the deepest anguish."
They are calling to us. Do we hear them?
A Doctrine Certain and Unchanging
The existence of Purgatory is not a matter of opinion, nor a pious custom that grew up in the Middle Ages. It is a defined dogma of the Catholic Faith — as certain as the existence of Heaven and Hell, as certain as the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as certain as any truth the Church has ever proclaimed.
Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P. — whose book Read Me or Rue It was approved and warmly recommended by His Eminence the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon — states it plainly:
"The existence of Purgatory is so certain that no Catholic has ever entertained a doubt of it. It was taught from the earliest days of the Church and was accepted with undoubting faith wherever the Gospel was preached. The doctrine is revealed in Holy Scripture and has been handed down by Tradition, taught by the infallible Church and believed by the millions and millions of faithful of all times."
Yet — and this is the painful truth he presses upon us — many Catholics live in practical ignorance of it:
"People do not realise what Purgatory is. They have no conception of its dreadful pains, and they have no idea of the long years that souls are detained in these awful fires. As a result, they take little or no care to avoid Purgatory themselves, and worse still, they cruelly neglect the Poor Souls who are already there and who depend entirely on them for help."
This page is written so that no reader who finishes it can honestly say they did not know.
What Is Purgatory?
Purgatory is the place and state of purification for all those who have died in the friendship of God, but without having fully satisfied for their sins. It is for the saved — not the damned. Every soul in Purgatory is certain of Heaven. Not one will be lost. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, beloved of God, burning with love for Him — and waiting, with unspeakable longing, to enter His presence.
Fr. O'Sullivan gives us the sharpest definition: "It is a prison of fire in which nearly all souls are plunged after death and in which they suffer the intensest pain."
He does not say this to frighten but to instruct — and he calls on the greatest Doctors of the Church to confirm it:
Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, teaches that "the fire of Purgatory is equal in intensity to the fire of Hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more dreadful than all the possible sufferings of this Earth."
Saint Augustine, greatest of the Holy Doctors, teaches that souls after death are "subjected to a fire more penetrating, more dreadful than anything we can see, or feel, or conceive in this life," adding: "Though this fire is destined to cleanse and purify the soul, still it is more acute than anything we could possibly endure on Earth."
Saint Cyril of Alexandria declares that "it would be preferable to suffer all the possible torments of Earth until the Judgment Day than to pass one day in Purgatory."
Why Are the Pains So Severe?
The fire of this world was made by God's goodness for our comfort. Even used as torment, it burns only the body of clay — and at worst, destroys it, so that the pain ceases. The fire of Purgatory was made by the justice of God to purify the soul itself — and the soul is "unspeakably more sensitive to pain." It never destroys what it burns. It "inflicts the keenest, most violent pain, but never kills the soul nor lessens its sensibility."
But there is a pain more severe still than the fire. Fr. O'Sullivan names it with great solemnity:
"The pain of loss or separation from God, which the souls also suffer in Purgatory, is far more severe. The soul separated from the body craves with all the intensity of its spiritual nature for God. It is consumed with an intense desire to fly to Him. Yet it is held back. No words can describe the anguish of this unsatisfied craving."
This is the heart of Purgatory: not merely burning, but longing. The soul, stripped of the flesh, sees God as He truly is — sees, at last and with perfect clarity, what it was always made for. It stretches toward Him with every fibre of its being. And it cannot yet reach Him. Something must first be burned away. Until it is gone, the soul waits in an agony of love that no earthly suffering can approach.
And yet — it is also, in a way beyond our earthly comprehension, the place of the deepest joy short of Heaven itself. To understand this, we must turn to the greatest mystic of Purgatory: Saint Catherine of Genoa. (See our page: The Suffering and the Joy →)
What Holy Scripture Teaches
The doctrine of Purgatory is rooted in the Word of God itself.
From the Old Testament: Judas Maccabaeus collected twelve thousand silver drachmas to have sacrifices offered for his fallen soldiers who had died in sin. The sacred author draws the conclusion directly: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." (2 Maccabees 12:46) If prayer for the dead were useless, Scripture would not call it holy and wholesome.
From the Gospels: Our Lord warns: "Thou shalt not come out from it until thou hast paid the last penny." (Matthew 5:26) And when He speaks of the sin against the Holy Spirit He says it "will not be forgiven either in this world or in the next" (Matthew 12:32) — implying that other sins can find forgiveness after death.
From Saint Paul: Writing of works tested by fire, he says the man whose works are burned up "will be saved, but only as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:15) This is neither Heaven nor Hell — it is Purgatory. And Paul prays for the dead man Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:18), which would be meaningless if prayer could not help the departed.
The Voice of the Fathers
The Church of the first centuries prayed for the dead without hesitation. Saint Augustine confirms this is "the practice of the universal Church handed down by the Fathers" — not a local custom, but the faith received from the Apostles. Saint Ambrose prayed publicly for the souls of the Emperor Theodosius and his own brother Satyrus. Pope Saint Gregory the Great taught: "Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them." Not one Father of the Church ever denied Purgatory or condemned prayer for the dead.
The Solemn Definition of the Church
The Church has defined this doctrine in three General Councils:
The Council of Florence (1439) declared that souls who die in God's grace but still imperfectly purified undergo purification after death, and are then received into Heaven.
The Council of Trent (1563) confirmed with full infallible authority:
"The Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils... that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar."
There is a Purgatory. The souls there are helped. The Mass helps them most of all.
What This Means for Us
The souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves. Their time of merit is over. They can pray for us — and they do, with great power — but they cannot shorten their own suffering. They depend entirely on us: on our Masses, our Rosaries, our works of penance, our indulgences offered for them.
"It is very possible that some of our own nearest and dearest ones are still suffering the excruciating pains of Purgatory and calling on us piteously for help and relief. Is it not dreadful that we are so hardened as not to think more about them, that we are so cruel as to deliberately forget them! For the dear Christ's sake, let us do all, but all, we can for them." — Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P.
Pray for them today. Do not wait. They are waiting for you.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.
Continue Reading:
➡ The Suffering and the Joy — Saint Catherine of Genoa's Treatise ➡ How Long? What Determines Our Time in Purgatory ➡ The Saints Who Witnessed Purgatory ➡ How to Help the Holy Souls — Mass, Rosary, Indulgences ➡ Purgatory Is Mercy — The Consoling Doctrine ➡ Prayers and Devotions for the Holy Souls
Sources: Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P., Read Me or Rue It (approved Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, 1936) · Holy Scripture, Douay-Rheims · Council of Florence (1439) · Council of Trent (1563), Session XXV · Saint Augustine, Sermons clxii · Saint Ambrose, Funeral Orations · Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Dialogues IV
What can be safely said is that the time souls spend in Purgatory, as a rule, is very much longer than people commonly imagine.
⛪ The Doctrine Of Purgatory
Fr. Hardon gives a thorough explanation of the Doctrine of Purgatory, including contrary views, biblical references, and quotes from the fathers on purgatory.
⛪ How To Argue the Existence of Purgatory
A defense of purgatory, including consideration of prayers for the dead and the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.
⛪ A Most Reasonable Doctrine
Fr. Buckley offers an explanation of the doctrine of Purgatory, how to atone for sins, and how to gain indulgences for the dead.
⛪ Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November
A short article explaining indulgences and practices we can do during the month of November for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
⛪ Purgatory: Service Shop for Heaven
In this article Fr. Anthony Zimmerman spells out the Catholic doctrine about Purgatory.
