November 2 is All Souls’ Day when we pray for our beloved dead whom we entrust to the loving and merciful embrace of the Lord. It is also an appropriate occasion to remember our understanding of the final purification we undergo when we die. This experience of purification is commonly called Purgatory. Purgatory can be best summed up in the description found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 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. (CCC 1030) The Church gives the name “Purgatory” to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. (CCC 1031) This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore Judas Maccabeus made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin.” From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may obtain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. (CCC 1032) God is perfect love. As St. John says: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love... Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. (1 Jn 4) We can only enter the presence of pure love when our love also is pure. The sad reality for most of us is that we are not, to use John’s words, “like Jesus.” In many ways, our lives fall short of being Christ-like. Jesus tells us to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). It is comforting to know that those assured of eternal salvation are not lost because we die imperfect. Instead, God in His mercy purifies us from our sins and prepares us to stand in His perfect presence. Our prayers assist those who are in Purgatory. Our ancient Creed states that we believe in a “communion of Saints.” “Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others … We must therefore believe that there exists a communion of good in the Church” (CCC 947). Our prayers for our beloved dead assist them as they are prepared by God for Heaven. As we pray for our beloved dead, let us also ask God to help us on our journey of life, mindful that we too are called to root out sin in our own lives because we too must one day give an accounting of our lives before God. In the Gospel Jesus teaches: Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. (Mt 5:25-26) Jesus is not speaking of Hell, because Hell is eternal. There is no release. Instead, Jesus is speaking of Purgatory. Now is the time for us to become the person God has created us to be. How blessed we are that Jesus has taught us that this world is not the whole story, it is only the beginning. God has planned salvation for all who turn to Him. What a joyous day it will be when this salvation becomes a reality, when purified, our bodies will rise from the dead to a new life beyond our imagining. Allow me to close with a meditation I read years ago from Fr. Charles Arminjon: So, if God has not resolved to cast His work back into nothingness forever. If this earth, sanctified by the footsteps of Christ, is destined, once radiant and renewed, to remain forever, then man must rise again in a future life to reconquer its scepter and kingship. Hence, once more, that death means not ruin but restoration. If God has decreed that our earthly abode shall one day be dissolved, it is not for the purpose of despoiling us of it, but to render it subtle, immortal, serene. His aim may be compared with that of an architect, says St. John Chrysostom, who has the inhabitants leave his house for a short period, in order to have him return with greater glory to that same house, now rebuilt in greater splendor. (Fr. Charles Arminjon)