The Four Last Things (part IV of IV)

11-17-2024Letter from the PastorFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2:9) The place prepared for those who love God is Heaven. Every human, born and unborn, was created by love, for love or to say it another way, created by God for God. Understanding why you were made changes the way you see yourself and the world around you.

You and I were created by God to live with Him (and all the Angels and Saints) for all eternity in Heaven, where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more war, no more division, no more cancer, no more separation, no more abuse, only peace, joy, and goodness, multiplied by infinity. And this will be everlasting and forever and ever. Amen.

This world is not our home nor our destination. God and only God is the fulfillment of all our desires. Heaven is the ultimate fulfillment for those who have united their will to God's will and this complete union with God is eternal happiness. While it is tempting to find peace and joy here and only here, nothing will ever fill our desires like God does and will do. The fulfillment of what we long for is not a mere thing but a person and that person is the Lord - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Lord is the fulfillment of every hope, and every desire you or I have in this life reflects our ultimate desire for Him. Every worldly plea points the eternal desire that can only be found and fulfilled in God.

The love of God fills and fulfills us. It is our hope that our hearts will be fulfilled as we live in faith, trusting that God will make good on what He promises. God promises to those who love Him, to those who ask for Him, to those who direct their desires towards Him, a merciful and loving response in return. Sadly, Heaven, the ultimate union with God, has been reduced to a sort of caricature. For example, we will not become angels because angels are a higher kind of being than us. Nobody becomes and angel after death. Humans will remain humans and angel remain angels. Sacred Scripture points to the reality that, after the Resurrection, we will receive a glorified body. The Transfiguration of Our Lord reminds us of this glorification of our body after death. Just as Christ took His glorified body to Heaven, so will we also be raised up in the body but now united to God and united in the love of God with all those who share in His goodness forever. We were created to know God and to love Him and to serve Him and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

Last week, I spoke about how Hell is the opposite of what we are made for. An honest reflection about the reality of Hell should be a good reminder of what direction we ought not seek. God calls us to live not for our own selves and to not desire only for our own wants precisely because that leads one to Hell. Our Lord invites every person to seek more than one’s own wants and desires. Our Lord calls us to have a greater desire for our true home with God.

I should say little something about Purgatory even though is doesn’t quite fit in this reflection on Heaven. Purgatory is a challenging teaching for many people. Protestants rightly point out that the word “Purgatory” is not found in Sacred Scripture. I think the whole idea of Purgatory and purification can be difficult for Catholics because no one wants to believe that our deceased loved ones are undergoing some kind of suffering. After all, if Heaven is the presence of God, Purgatory has best been described by the Church as a state of being purified from our worldly imperfections before we pass into the presence of God.

When our sins are forgiven, we are no longer blocked from entering the presence of God, but we do carry with us in our souls the scars of those sins, scars that need to be healed entirely before passing into Heaven. In life, these imperfections make it easier to sin again, they erode at our virtue and make us fall more easily into temptation. I’ve heard the scar is like a hole left by a nail that has been removed from a plank of wood. When the nail is removed, it is easy to put another nail into it. In life, we can help prepare our hearts by prayer and pious acts so Our Lord can restore these imperfections. When we die, if we still need purification, but we have not turned completely away from God, then these imperfections are made whole, as it were, before we enter into His Divine Presence.

In summary, Purgatory is defined as a state of purification for those who die in God's friendship but still require cleansing to enter the happiness of heaven. It is a temporary condition where souls undergo purification from the effects of forgiven grave sins or from venial sins. The term "Purgatory" comes from the Latin word "purgare," meaning to make clean or to purify. The Church teaches that this purification is necessary for those who are not entirely free from venial faults or have not fully satisfied the punishment due to their sins. Souls in Purgatory are assured of their eternal salvation, but they must achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God. This state is not the punishment of the damned but rather more like a cleansing fire as we hear about in Sacred Scripture.

While Purgatory is not a permanent state, it is a process through which souls are purged of their imperfections. The doctrine of Purgatory has been developed through Church tradition and is supported by biblical texts, such as 2 Maccabees 12:38–46 and 1 Corinthians 3:11–15. Additionally, the faithful on earth can assist those in Purgatory through prayers and good works, reflecting the communion of saints.

This is why the Church offers to the sick person an indulgence at the hour of their death, and why the Last Rites include the Apostolic Pardon. The Apostolic Pardon is a special form of absolution ultimately granted by the Pope or a bishop through the priest, which provides forgiveness of sins and the remission of temporal punishment due to sin. It is typically given in the context of the sacrament of Penance, particularly for those who are in danger of death. The Apostolic Pardon is rooted in the Church's authority to forgive sins, as established by Christ, who entrusted this power to the Apostles and their successors.

Prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great
"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home, and within my family. Amen."

God Bless,

Fr. Don Kline