The Bible speaks about heaven. It speaks about Hell (gehena). Does the Bible speak about Purgatory? The place or rather the state where souls of the dead are being purified, cleansed before entering heaven. The Christians always prayed for the dead. They strongly believe that souls of the dead people remain in Hades (in Latin language it is called Purgatory). The strong tradition of praying for the dead have been kept by the Jews. It can be read in the Second Book of Maccabees (2Macabi 12:42-43). The Jews believe the souls of the dead are in the place called ‘Sheol’. Bible speaks clearly that the souls of the dead are alive: King Saul have talked with the soul of the dead prophet Samuel (1Sm 28:7-20). On Mountain Tabor the Apostles witnessed resurrected Jesus speaking with Moses and the prophet Isaiah the ones who have died long ago (Mt 17:2-3). God is not the God of the dead but of the living (Lu 20:38).
Christ preached that everyone will be salted with fire (Mk 9:49). In order to understand Christ’s words better we have to look at the passage speaking about the judgment: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2Cor 5:10). There is a common conviction among some Christian denominations that every sin is equal, that the gravity of every sin is the same. John disproves such a claim. He points at two different kinds of sin; The mortal (deadly) sin and the venial one. In his First Letter he explains:“Every kind of evil is sin, but not all sins id deadly” (1Jn 5:17). There are souls of the dead however which are not crystal clean yet? There are souls which didn’t pay their debts to the full yet? Saint John warns the believers: nothing unclean will enter heaven (Rev 21:27). They have to undergo a cleansing process first. They have to be cleansed by a fire. The soul of a rich man suffering in fire bagged Abraham for a help (Lu 16:24). St Paul speaks about the purifying fire as well: each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire (1Cor 3:13-15). Those who didn’t straighten their lives before their death will be put into a prison to pay their debts to the last penny. Here are Christ’s words: : “while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison”. I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent” (Lu 12:58-59).
Can the souls suffering in the Purgatory be helped? Can we speed up their entry into heaven? Of course we can, as a matter of fact we are obliged to do so. There is a strong Tradition in the Catholic Church of praying for the dead. The most effective help is the Holy Eucharist said by a priest for the soul of the deceased. To pray the rosary is very powerful means also. Any kind of prayer can be said in order the help those in Purgatory.
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