St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church
Apologetics Class
How do we defend Purgatory?
I. Is it scriptural?
A. The word “purgatory” is not found in scripture (and neither are the words “trinity” and “incarnation”)
B. The concept of a state of purification is scriptural, regardless of the name by which we address it
II. Where is it referenced in the Bible?
A. Matthew 12:32 – “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
1. Implies that there are some sins that can be forgiven in the “age to come”
2. There is no need for sins to be forgiven in heaven, and there is no forgiveness in hell
B. 1 Corinthians 3:15 – “But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.”
1. Can’t be speaking of hell, since nobody is saved there
2. Can’t be speaking of heaven, where there is no suffering
C. 1 Peter 3:18-20 – “For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.”
and
1 Peter 4:6 – “For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead that, though condemned in the flesh in human estimation, they might live in the spirit in the estimation of God.”
1. The prison – it isn’t clear what St. Peter intended to communicate when he used this word
2. It isn’t heaven (which isn’t a prison), and it can’t be hell (since people aren’t saved in hell), is probably not purgatory (which is for the purification of those who are already saved), and doesn’t seem like the limbo of the Fathers (those who died in friendship with God, but before Jesus came)
3. The point isn’t that this place refers specifically to purgatory, but that there are places for souls other than heaven and hell, leaving open the possibility of a state called “purgatory”
D. 2 Maccabees 12:42b-46 – “The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”
1. This is the clearest reference to purgatory in all of scripture, but since it comes from the Deuterocanonical book of 2 Maccabees, it isn’t likely that our non-Catholic brothers will accept a defense of the doctrine of purgatory based on this passage
2. We already learned, from our lessons on the canon of scripture, that the Church has accepted this book since at least the councils that took place near the year 400 AD
3. Whether non-Catholics accept this book as scriptural or not, it gives us a window into the religious attitudes of Jews who lived during the time it was written
4. It could be that Luther removed 2 Maccabees (along with the other 6 Deuterocanonical books) because of his “justification by faith alone” perspective (which returns us to the question of authority we answered in the lessons on the canon of scripture)
5. Two points are made by this passage:
a. It proves that there is a distinction between mortal and venial sin (they sinned by wearing pagan amulets, yet died “in godliness”)
b. It proves the existence of a middle state where venial sins can be forgiven (it isn’t possible to aide those in heaven or hell with our prayers, so this must be something else)
6. This passage is an explicit reference to the doctrine of purgatory – an intermediate state for those souls who loved God but died with the guilt of mortal sin, and can be aided by the prayers of the faithful on earth
III. Purgatory and the Early Church[1]
A. “And after the exhibition, Tryphaena again received her [Thecla]. For her daughter Falconilla had died, and said to her in a dream: ‘Mother, you shall have this stranger Thecla in my place, in order that she may pray concerning me, and that I may be transferred to the place of the righteous’” (Acts of Paul and Thecla [A.D. 160]).
B. “The citizen of a prominent city, I erected this while I lived, that I might have a resting place for my body. Abercius is my name, a disciple of the chaste Shepherd who feeds his sheep on the mountains and in the fields, who has great eyes surveying everywhere, who taught me the faithful writings of life. Standing by, I, Abercius, ordered this to be inscribed: Truly, I was in my seventy-second year. May everyone who is in accord with this and who understands it pray for Abercius” (Epitaph of Abercius [A.D. 190]).
C. “We offer sacrifices for the dead on their birthday anniversaries [the date of death—birth into eternal life]” (Tertullian, The Crown 3:3 [A.D. 211]).
D. “A woman, after the death of her husband . . . prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice” (Tertullian, Monogamy 10:1–2 [A.D. 216]).
E. “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them” (St. John Chrysostum, Homilies on First Corinthians 41:5 [A.D. 392]).
F. “There is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the faithful know, when the names of the martyrs are read aloud in that place at the altar of God, where prayer is not offered for them. Prayer, however, is offered for other dead who are remembered. It is wrong to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought ourselves be commended” (Augustine, Sermons 159:1 [A.D. 411]).
G. “Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment” (Augustine, The City of God 21:13 [A.D. 419]).
IV. Are there any New Testament passages that refer to prayers and works for the benefit of the dead?
A. 2 Timothy 1:16, 18a – “May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me new heart and was not ashamed of my chains … May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day.” – Onesiphorus had died before this letter was written
B. 1 Corinthians 15:29 – “Otherwise, what will people accomplish by having themselves baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they having themselves baptized for them?”
1. St. Paul isn’t approving or condemning the practice of baptizing for the dead
2. There is no use to engage in this practice if there is no benefit for the dead person whom they’re seeking to help in this manner
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[1] All references in this section come from a Catholic Answers paper entitled “The Roots of Purgatory” (http://www.catholic.com/library/Roots_of_Purgatory.asp)