What Is Purgatory?

Heaven is so pure. A purity not of this world. Words cannot describe it. It’s a love not of this world. Nothing exists but love! To enter heaven, we must be cleansed of our impurities, therefore when we die many, many souls go to purgatory a temporary place for the atonement of our sins. This time of purgatory is called a period of purgation. The time a soul spends in purgatory can be anywhere from moment to thousands of years.

When we offer masses, prayers, sacrifices, works for the Holy Souls it shortens their time in purgatory!

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. 1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. 608

As a Catholic we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We see a priest and go to confession. Depending on the type of sin, the intent and the times committed we receive a penance appropriate to the sin.

John 20:21-23 21* Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 22* And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23* If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." [27] There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

Assume a glass of milk symbolizes our soul. Imagine your sin is chocolate syrup. Each time you sin add chocolate syrup to the milk. One drop turns the milk chocolate in color the more sins the darker chocolate. With sin our soul too becomes darkened.

Although we are forgiven for our sins and God is the God of Mercy although we perform penance, we still must be cleansed, purified before we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God is Holy and we are yet not Holy. Heaven is perfection so pure so clean not of this world.

We are forgiven our sins, but we still must be cleansed our souls are blacked with sin. As we take a bath to clean ourselves from the dirt and sweat of the day. We too must clean our souls we must be bathed by fire, which is purgatory.

You cannot deny the truth there is a heaven and a hell and that the bible mentions a fire of purification. 

This fire of purification is a place your soul goes after its life on earth before it can reach heaven.

The only way to purify the soul and cleanse it from its darkness is thru fires of purgatory. Once we are cleansed then we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:48

48* You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
As you can see below both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible refer to the fire, the burning. The Catholic Church calls this purgatory.

ISAIAH 4:4

4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:11-15

11* For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13* 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. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15* If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

MATTHEW 5:25

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother * shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults * his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell * of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25* Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

WISDOM 3:5-6

[5] Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself. [6] As gold in the furnace he hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them.