Catholics know that those who die in a state of grace, in friendship with God and fully purified, They will have Heaven as their destination. These souls will forever enjoy the presence of God, in the company of saints and saints Virgin Mary.
They also know that Hell is the destination of those who die in mortal sin, without having repented and without obtaining the sin Mercy of God. Hell has been described as “a state of eternal suffering and definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the Church.”
The gospels of Matthew and Luke and the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians describe it that intermediate state which appears as the antechamber of Heaven for those who died in sins less serious than capital ones.
In other words, this is where souls that have been purified imperfectly and need purification to obtain the sanctity that Heaven demands.
What is the name of what lies between Heaven and Hell?
Purgatory is what lies between Heaven and Hell. And which Dante Alighieri immortalized in the Divine Comedy as the seven circles of Purgatory. / Painting by Domenico di Michelino on Dante and his work.It is called the intermediate state between Hell and Heaven Purgatorydescribed by an article in ACI Prensa, the Catholic news agency, as “a temporary purification process “which only some people go through after their earthly life.”
According to the catechism, the article adds, “those souls who die in the grace and friendship of God, but imperfectly purified, go to Purgatory.”
Although Purgatory is sometimes described as a “purifying fire“, “is completely different from the punishment of the condemned.”
Purgatory. Painting by the artist Cristóbal Rojas (1858-1890), Venezuela.The Catechism explains that «the Church has formulated the doctrine of faith regarding Purgatory, especially in the Councils of Florence and Trent.
He adds that «this teaching is also supported by prayer practice for the deceased. The Church always honors the memory of the deceased and offers suffrages, such as the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that they, once purified, can reach the beatific vision of God.
According to Catholic tradition, Saint Faustina Kowalska, religious of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, guided by her guardian angel, was able to see the Purgatory, Heaven and Hell in 1936.
“The Virgin of Carmen and the Souls of Purgatory.” / Painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.One night, according to Saint Faustina Kowalska, her guardian angel asked her to follow her to a place full of fire and souls who suffered from feeling abandoned by God. She also saw the Virgin Mary visit those souls. Before leaving Purgatory, the voice of the Lord tells him: “My mercy does not want this, but my justice asks for it”.
Source: Clarin
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