+- Luckymodena (http://lucky.myftp.org:8181/forum)
+-- Forum: Life Voyage : Life, experience and sharing (/forumdisplay.php?fid=10)
+--- Forum: Scripture readings (/forumdisplay.php?fid=12)
+--- Thread: HOMEABOUT CSCSCRIPTURE REFLECTIONTESTIMONIESSERVICESRETREATSEVENTSRESOURCESCONTACTCat (/showthread.php?tid=2221)
HOMEABOUT CSCSCRIPTURE REFLECTIONTESTIMONIESSERVICESRETREATSEVENTSRESOURCESCONTACTCat - stephenkhoo - 11-02-2013 08:26 AM
SOULS ARE PURIFIED IN THE LOVE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: WIS 3:1-9; ROM 5:1-15; JN 6:37-40http://www.universalis.com/20131102/mass.htmAs we come to the end of both the liturgical and calendar year, we cannot but ponder on the end, be it of our life on earth, or the Second Coming of Christ. Naturally, we want to know the state of our departed loved ones. For those who have accepted Christ and lived a life of grace, we know that that they are in heaven. We call them saints because they reflected the life of Christ in them. For those who have outrightly rejected Christ and remained completely closed to His grace, then their destiny is in hell, a decision that is irrevocable.But what about those who, at their deathbed had accepted Christ but could not totally surrender themselves to Him, or did not live a life of grace? There are those who say their sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ. Regardless of their sins, they have been forgiven by the grace of Christ, so long as they believed in Christ as their Saviour, even implicitly. But such a theological position would make light of sins and fail to take into account the necessary cooperation of man with grace. The God of mercy would have been proclaimed at the expense of justice. At the other extreme, there are those who hold the view that such souls are condemned to hell, because they failed to live a life of grace, even if they had accepted Christ implicitly. This is too simplistic a position because it implies that acceptance of Christ is a simple yes or no. On the contrary our love for Christ is seldom an absolute Yes or a No. Although we have accepted Christ, most of us still hover between obeying His will and seeking out our own will. The fact is that most of us would not be able to arrive at a complete surrender to the Lord, even at our death. Is there then, another chance for us to repent of our sins and accept Christ? A negative response would suggest that God is unreasonable, cruel and vindictive. We would have proclaimed the God of justice at the expense of His mercy.The response of the Church to this existential reality is one of extreme compassion, without denying either the gravity of one’s decision for Christ or the power of grace. In the doctrine of purgatory, the Church holds that as heaven is meant for those who have been purified to become like Christ, those souls that still require much grace to let go of their sins and earthly attachments continue their purification even after death. This state of purification is called “purgatory”. The latter is more a state than a place.This doctrine however has been grossly misunderstood in many quarters. Evangelical Protestants argue that this doctrine is not founded on scripture. Some Catholics hold the view that souls in purgatory are punished by having to undergo a milder form of hell fire. It is important therefore to see this doctrine in the light of scripture and the tradition of the Church. Admittedly, the primary scriptural basis for the doctrine of purgatory is found in 2 Mc 12:42-45 where Judas Maccabeus offered prayers and sin offerings in atonement for the sins of the dead warriors who were to rise again. Of course, we also have other implicit scripture texts that speak of purgation. We have texts that speak of the necessity of being purified before we can see God (1 Cor 3:12-15; Mt 12: 32). There are also secondary texts that underscore the importance of the need to make a full reparation for our sins (1 Cor 15:29; Lk 12:59; Mt 5:8; Rev 21:27). Nevertheless, praying for the dead has always been a practice of the Church since the post-Apostolic time of both the Greek and Latin Patristic Fathers, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist.What is significant about the doctrine of purgatory is that it underscores both the gravity of sin and as well as the power of forgiveness. The doctrine of purgatory seeks to preserve the doctrine of grace and God’s love for us without mitigating the seriousness of what sin can do to God and to us.From the outset, the doctrine teaches us that we should not doubt God’s love and mercy for us. God will always love us and will never change His mind in loving us. He will not condemn us for He is love. St John tells us that it is the Father’s will to draw all to Him so that that we will be saved and that no one who has been given to Him will be lost. The doctrine of purgatory is really a message of certain hope in salvation in Christ, so long as we are receptive to His love.However, this hope of God’s love and mercy respects our freedom to reject His love. Rejection is therefore never on the part of God but on the part of man. Those who are unable to love Him perfectly on earth are still given another chance to perfect that love in purgatory. That some sins could be forgiven in the next world is implied in Jesus’ statement that “Whoever says anything against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever says anything against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come.” (Mt 12:32) But they would be saved through fire or purification, as implied in St Paul’s words, “If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:12-15) This possibility of being saved even after death manifests God’s long-suffering and patient love for us all. At the same time it leaves the possibility of a total rejection of Him by man. No one is forced to love God. Hence, this doctrine takes into consideration the interplay between sin and freedom.From this perspective, this doctrine truly accords recognition to the integral structure of humanity. The fact is that man is not a robot. He needs time to come to terms with himself. He cannot be hurried into a decision. The mind and heart need time to act integrally. Although we should never doubt God’s love and forgiveness, we might be unable to surrender to His will due to our lack of faith and resolve. In some ways we are still under the bondage of sin and attachments to the world, even as we seek to give ourselves to Jesus. Love is a process and a purifying process too. Even in human love, we progress in stages, from eros to oblative and then agape love.The pain of purgatory from this perspective must therefore be seen positively. It must not be seen as a punishment of God, or as literal fire. Rather, it is the tension of wanting God on the one hand and yet unable to let go of one’s attachments to the world, to hurts, anger and unforgiveness on the other. So they are joyful to know that they are safe in God’s hands, but are yet unable to surrender themselves completely to God’s mercy and love. This struggle causes the souls in purgatory great pain. How then can they overcome the last hurdle to let go completely so that they can be in God?Only love can do that! This process can be made easier if we give them our support and encouragement to let go of this earth and depend solely on God’s merciful love and grace. Our prayer is that God will continue to pour forth His love on them in the Spirit (Rom 5:5) so that they can place all their hope in Him. As Catholics, we know that our prayers would be heard because they come from the body of Christ, of which Christ is the Head and our chief intercessor and advocate before the throne of God’s mercy. As members of the body of Christ and the communion of saints, we can help each other, regardless of whether we are on earth or in purgatory or in heaven. By showing our love for them and our solidarity with them, the souls can find strength to be totally receptive to God’s forgiving love and mercy.By extension, even for us all on this earth, we too are undergoing purification in love both for God and for our fellowmen. We are living in “a state of purgatory.” Just as we render support to the souls struggling to overcome their sins of selfishness, attachment and hurts, we too must support each other as well by being not only tolerant of each other’s weaknesses but by being forgiving and encouraging. Through our acceptance and compassion for each other in our human frailties, we too find strength and consolation to grow in love for ourselves and in turn for others. So instead of condemning each other when we fail in love, let us give each other hope that with God’s love in Christ and through us, we will one day be perfected in our love for God and fellowmen. In this way, when the time comes for us to depart from this earth, we can immediately be received by the Father into His heavenly kingdom and share in the Trinitarian life of God.- See more at: http://www.csctr.net/reflections/#sthash.oUpNpx3F.dpuf