Our Gospel reading gives us one of the more precise allusions of purgatory that we can find in Scripture. The way I have heard it explained is through a simple question. Before I go into the question, perhaps a bit more context is warranted.
If you go back and read the rest of the discourse occurring throughout Luke, chapter 12, we see a pattern of warnings; such as, we must be prepared for when the Son of Man comes and that our life will be demanded of us.
There is a very eschatological tone and context to our reading today. Eschatology is the finality of the human end: death, judgement, heaven, and hell. It is through that tone and context that we must discern the meaning of this prison Jesus speaks of in our reading.
It is pretty evident to me that the judge is Jesus on the judgement seat, who we must all face at the end of our mortal life…the time of our particular judgement.
There is much speculation out there about the opponent and the constable. I won’t go there today, but rather focus on the question I mentioned earlier.
What is this prison Jesus refers to? It cannot be heaven. It cannot be hell. After all, there is no payment (or suffering) in heaven and there is no release from hell. The only real answer to the question is that it refers to the reality we know of as purgatory.
There are many lies and misconceptions spread about purgatory, particularly in non-Catholic circles, but even by some well-intentioned Catholics. Ultimately the Church has never said purgatory is a place. The Church has simply said it is the “final purification of the elect”. This final purification occurs during the transition from our mortal life into eternity.
Some of you have heard me talk about how my brothers and I played a lot of baseball growing up, which meant a lot of broken windows. Our parents generally forgave us right away, but the forgiveness did not somehow fix the broken window. Something else had to happen.
Take a moment to consider what would happen if I sinned in such a way that caused you personal harm. Jesus may forgive me for my sin, but His forgiveness does not resolve the hurt and the pain you would likely continue to feel as a result of my sin. Justice demands atonement.
Remember Saint Paul said in his letter to the Romans that we all fall short of the glory of God. At the same time, Jesus says in the Gospels that we will be glorified like the angels in heaven. In order for both these statements to be true, something must happen between the point of death and the point that we are in heaven.
Jesus must purify us during that transition into eternity. We die short of the glory of God, in transition we are purified of anything not of God, then, there we are, in a glorified state in heaven.
We must remember that the only way any one of us will get into heaven is to be fully conformed to Christ, or as it says in Revelation, “nothing unclean will ever enter it”.
Think of the person that was found at the banquet without a wedding garment in the Gospel of Matthew. The King found him and removed him from the party.
When we die, we are like that person. We are dirty from working in the vineyard…our clothes are a ragged mess. We have attachments to the world and the flesh, we have guilt and remorse, and we owe justice for the broken windows in our lives.
After we die, Jesus bathes us in the fires of His Divine Mercy, and gives us wedding garments so we can enter into the heavenly banquet of the Lamb’s Supper. Through the purgative fires of Divine Mercy, attachments are broken, guilt and remorse healed, and justice and atonement fulfilled. That is purgatory.
That is an important perspective to remember as we pray for those that have gone before us in faith as they transition into eternity.
Jesus said to Saint Faustina, “Today bring to Me the souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.”
This is exactly what we do for our deceased loved ones in every Mass we offer for them. We are heeding the request of Jesus Christ Himself in the most excellent way possible by offering His Body, His Blood, His Soul, and His Divinity for the repose of their souls.
As we prepare to enter into the special time of the year to pray for the repose of the souls in purgatory in a more formal way, I invite you to join us for the Mass of Remembrance on November 8th, and also to gain a plenary indulgence for a holy soul in purgatory by visiting a cemetery during the first week of November.
Through the Mass and the sacramental life, we get to participate in the work of Jesus Christ to repair the broken windows in the lives of our deceased loved ones, helping them pay the last penny and enter into the beatific vision…the fulfillment of all His statutes.
Thanks be to God!






