What happens to God’s people when they close their eyes for the last time? The scriptures teach that nothing unclean will enter the presence of God (Isaiah 6:5-7; Revelation 21:27), and yet how many of us really end our lives spiritually spotless, with our souls ready to meet our maker? When the prophet Isaiah is taken up in a vision to God (Is. 6:5-7), he has to be cleansed with a fiery coal before engaging with the Lord. Thankfully, the scriptures also reveal a spiritual cleansing for believers after death that Catholics call “purgatory”. Sure, you won’t find the word “purgatory” in the Bible. You also won’t find the words rapture, trinity, Adventist, or altar call in there either. To purge (root of purgatory) just means to cleanse and you will find the idea of cleansing throughout the scriptures.
In the New Testament, St. Paul describes a cleansing we experience after death. In 1 Corinthians 3, he says Christians are spiritual temples with Christ as our foundation. He warns us, though, about how we build on that foundation in our spiritual lives: “Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble —each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done...If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (I Cor. 3:12-13, 15) We know this fire isn’t Hell, because those who have built on Christ will be saved, but only through this cleansing fire. Wait, doesn't Paul also say “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Doesn’t that mean there can’t be a purgatory? What Paul actually says is that he “would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (II Cor. 5:8) Paul simply expresses his longing to be with the Lord, but that longing doesn’t exclude a spiritual cleansing as he approaches the Lord’s presence. In fact, throughout the scriptures God is described as a “refiner’s fire” (Mal. 3:2) and a “consuming fire”(Heb. 12:29). The closer you get to a refiner’s fire, the more you are refined and cleansed.
For Catholics, purgatory isn’t the third option for those who aren’t bad enough for Hell or good enough for Heaven. Purgatory is that experience of the redeemed soul drawing closer to the refining and consuming fire of God. As our souls approach his holiness and purity all the hay in our spiritual temples (our sin and selfishness) is burned away, while the gold (deeds of love and holiness) is refined. This pro-cess of cleansing and growth in God is one we begin in this life (II Cor. 3:18) and continue after death, as we’re changed from “glory to glory”.
If you’d like to clean out the hay in your spiritual temple, and start polishing the gold, visit your local Catholic Church. Forget what you may have heard about the Catholic Church and come and see for your-self. Remember: before there were divisions and denominations, before conservatives and liberals, there was simply Catholicism.