Stubborn as a Lutheran

Hello Sister! I love your blog! I am a cradle Catholic, life long friends with a cradle Lutheran. She is very devout in her faith. Lately she has been bugging me about Purgatory - specifically, that it doesn't exist. Her reasoning? Jesus said on the cross to the man crucified next to him (the good one) "TODAY you will be with me in Paradise". Not tomorrow, nor the next day, or after you get out of purgatory; TODAY. Implying that there was no passing go, no stopping for gas, just zooming right into Heaven without a pesky stop in Purgatory. How can I respond to her? I can't use "it's a sacred mystery" because she's Lutheran and won't buy it.

Not everyone goes to Purgatory!  Some people go straight to Heaven. Martyrs, for example, go straight to Heaven. Children under the age of seven go straight to Heaven. Very holy people go straight to Heaven. And anyone Jesus says is going straight to Heaven, goes straight to Heaven. So if Jesus said this guy will go to Heaven that day, that's that. It doesn't mean Purgatory doesn't exist.

Ironically, before Jesus died on the cross, no one went to Heaven, let alone Purgatory. Everyone went to the Limbo of the Fathers, because the gates of Heaven were not open. 

There's nothing mysterious about it.

I wouldn't hold my breath with your Lutheran friend arguing over Purgatory, however. The belief that Purgatory does not exist is at the very heart of the Lutheran faith. There would have been no reason for Martin Luther (who was a Catholic priest) to break with the Church. Luther was rightfully angry that the Church was selling indulgences and said so. He actually wasn't trying to leave the Church or found a new religion. 

The Church got mad back and booted him out. THEN he started the Lutheran sect. Too bad, because right after that, the Church reformed in a little thing called the Reformation.  

As far a Purgatory is concerned, Luther threw the baby out with the bathwater. Selling indulgences was wrong, but that doesn't mean Purgatory does not exist.

The argument about Purgatory  goes like this:
1. Where in the Bible is Purgatory mentioned?
Answer: It's not mentioned. Not by name. There is this passage from Maccabees, however, that mentions praying for the dead. That begs the question, if there is only Heaven and Hell, why should we pray for the dead? Everyone is already where they are going, permanently. So if the Bible asks us to pray for the dead, where are these people? There must be some place where the dead need our prayers. We gave that place a name.

2. Maccabees is not in my Bible! 
Response: No, it's not in your Bible because Martin Luther took it upon himself to remove it. Apparently, he knew better than 1500 years of doctrine and dogma, which books should be included in the Bible, a matter that was settle in the 4th century. Your Bible has had some pretty major overhauls, as a matter of fact. Words have been changed to support Luther's arguments.  For example, what did the angels say to the shepherds on the night that Christ was born?  Luther changed it to read "Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men".  What it actually says was "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth Peace to Men of Good Will." Quite a difference.

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So which church would we like to follow, the one founded by Jesus when He was alive on Earth, or the one based on the the one founded by Jesus was alive on earth with changes made by Martin Luther, ex-priest?  It seems a simple choice to me. But then....I'm me.

Which reminds me! Here's an item we have that will remind you try not to end up in Purgatory.

The Dark Light

There's something that has been puzzling me and I would love to hear how the church would explain the following: you can read numerous stories of after death experiences from all types of people (faith, agnostics, atheists...) having similar experiences: a bright light, feeling of extreme peace, seeing loved ones who had gone before them... Everyone mentions how they didn't want to come back, but was told it wasn't their time. Where does purgatory fit into this? Purgatory is described as a burning, purifying, suffering place to be. Can all these people be going straight to heaven? I hope you can address this one day. Thanks! Keep up the great work!

The experiences I've read about are similar, but not alike. Some people claim to have met Jesus, for example.

And please remember that not one of these people died. So there was no opportunity to go to Purgatory. The other thing that these stories all have in common is that they all say they wanted to stay, but were told they couldn't stay.

I'll tell you my very favorite story. I heard it on the car radio one evening during a long drive. There was a lady who had died several times and been "brought back".  She was a "frequent flyer" due to some rare illness she had.  She had been to the bright light, the peaceful place and shaken hands with Grandma more than once.

But she didn't always go there. On some occasions she went the other way. On one such journey she found herself on a high catwalk over a vast desert. In the desert, there were countless, endless people, digging pointless holes in the sand that filled in over and over again.

She she said that she was made aware that she was only being shown this and would not be staying. But she was also made aware...and this is that part that stuck with me...that any of these people could leave at any time. They just didn't.

Whatever that means about the afterlife or Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, what truly struck me about it was that this is so often how we live our lives. We so often create our own misery. We could leave. But we just don't.

I'm not talking about packing up the kids and taking them to a shelter. Or checking into rehab or telling the boss what he can do with his job, although certainly all of these things apply. 

I'm really talking about how we are aware that if we changed our thinking, had a different attitude, dropped what we were doing to become more compassionate, more understanding, more loving, not only would our lives improve, so would the lives of everyone around us.

But we just don't.

You will have to change your thinking when you're in Purgatory, however. 

I think of Purgatory the way I think of obese people who have to get their stomachs stapled. They don't lose weight because they have their stomachs stapled. They lose weight because after they have their stomachs stapled they have to eat the way they should have been eating in the first place. They just didn't. Clearly they can, because once they have to, they do.

I'm not pointing fingers. I fully expect to be in Purgatory, because try as I might to stay on a sin free diet, I just don't.

So don't go counting our Purgatory because people who didn't die, didn't go there. Some people did.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Sister, can you help me sort out some things regarding the Hereafter? On the one hand, we've got Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, with the assumption that people go to one or the other of these places when they die. On the other hand, we've got the Last Judgement, when Christ will come and sort everybody out to the place they're supposed to go for the rest of eternity. My understanding is that "everybody" means both the living-on-earth and the already-dead-on-earth-but-whose-souls-are-living-someplace-else-now. Am I wrong? Will Christ only sort out the quick and not the dead? Or am I just confused all the way around? Because I don't get how people can now be in heaven or hell AND have Christ later make a last judgement on their souls when the end times come.

It's not rocket science.

Here you go, into the afterlife.

1. You are a saint, or die the death of a martyr.  Straight to Heaven with you.  We'll be asking for you intercession and congratulations on your canonization!

2. You are normal.  You're not a bad person. You're fairly decent. You try hard.  But you've never been able to forgive Aunt Minnie for totaling your car that New Year's Eve in 1982.  You have worn your skirts too short until someone pulled you aside and explained to you that you're 52 and no one is interested in your thighs.  You feel entitled to some paper clips and legal pads from work because heaven knows they don't pay you enough. You're jealous of your sister.  You don't even know why.
Purgatory for you, my dear. We don't know for how long.  We'll pray for your fast release.  Watch for St. Patrick.  Some believe he delivers a few souls every Saturday. You might want to shoot for a Friday passing.

3.  You are Hitler.  Straight to Hell with you.

(Now....we never say that anyone is in Hell for sure. Even Hitler.  In his final moments, he may have realized what he did wrong and been deeply sorry and asked Jesus for forgiveness.  Short of that, straight to Hell.)

So that's that.  But....

4. You're still alive when the Mayan calendar gives out and here comes Jesus.  You've lived until Judgment day.  Scary!  There's no time left for Purgatory, so Jesus is going to have to make a snap assessment.  Heaven or Hell for you?

So, you might want to check your hemline now, because we both know the Mayans have no clue when Judgment day will actually occur.  You will be so chagrined if the ground opens up and swallows you, as you watch Aunt Minnie get shot up to Heaven because she was so very sorry about your car and she never touched another drop.

The Last Judgment is for people who are alive to experience it. Everyone else is already where they are going or about to go.  Heaven and Hell are permanent.  Purgatory is a guarantee of an eventual trip to Heaven.

Does this help?  Because otherwise you can do what I do when I don't understand what God is planning.  Chalk it up to  "It's a Sacred Mystery"  which is "Catholic" for "just let it go."

Angels and Demons

Sister, I have a question for you: Do angels and demons, or the devil share any characteristics with God? I ask because we talk about the devil tempting us or about a guardian angel watching over us...So does that mean that they can be in many places at once and see into our hearts and know things we can't know? Thank you and thank you for your great work for the Church!

We all share characteristics with God.  We are made in His image and likeness. I don't believe that notion has gone out any windows.  Angels and devils certainly share characteristics.  God made them, too.  All devils were once angels.

In our attempt to understand the supernatural, which is beyond our understanding, we picture angels and devils as beings like us except the good ones have wings and halos and the bad ones have horns and tails wings.  The unfortunate down side of this characterization is that it makes devils look more powerful than angels.  They are so often giant and red, with massive horns and long fingernails, while angels are sweet faced Swedish looking types.  I think that is by artistic design to remind us, if not scare the devil out of us, about what we're up against.

But always remember who won the battle in the first place.  The angels won.  That should tell us who to back.  That's why I never understood these silly people who want to be Satanists and worship the devil and all that nonsense.  I understand how people make the mistake of following earthly evil, like say, Hitler, because of their misguided notions and fears.  But why would anyone want to follow the thing that lost the battle and the power in the first place in the pursuit of power on earth with the full understanding that after that's over, it all adds up to eternity in Hell?  Because if you are a follower of Satan, you do believe in an afterlife and Hell, or you couldn't believe in Satan in the first place.  So, really, how dumb can you get?

I digress.

What was the question?  Oh, yes!  the characteristics of God.

We don't know what angels and devils actually look like.  When angels appear in the Bible, they look just like us, but they are able to come and go supernaturally.  Tobias travels all over with his friend, Raphael, who happens to be an archangel.  They seem to all appear as young men (who are created in God's likeness). Abraham has some angels over for lunch.

When the devil comes to tempt Jesus in the desert, we really don't get a description of him.  We never see the demons that afflict humans through possession, we just see the ugly results.  The devil in the desert rather seems to be walking around talking to Jesus like a person, but the devil does show Jesus visions of how great it would be if Jesus would give up all the God stuff and follow Satan instead. Jesus, who has a brain in His head, says no.  That certainly would have been a coup for the devil, to have the Second Person in the Holy Trinity on his side.

But the devil is always a loser.

My point is that angels and devils, though we have seen them in rather human form, are not humans.  Angels are not human beings who have died and gone to Heaven and devils are not human beings who have died and gone to Hell.  If an angel "doesn't have his wings", he's just not that kind of angel, despite what SzuSzu's teacher said.  Angels don't even need wings to travel around, as Tobias and Abraham can attest.

As beings that God created, we assume they, too, have some of His characteristics.  What your question actually refers to is their supernatural powers, like bi-location and what geeks call 'shape-shifting', like taking on human form.  I'm not sure if they can 'see into our hearts'.  I wouldn't put it past them.  There are humans who have those powers, like Padre Pio (who could also bi-locate).

Just keep in mind that these gifts, like the gift of life itself, come from God.  The devil shows us that we always have a choice in how to use our gifts.

After the Fall

Not too long ago we were talking about fallen angels. We have a little clean up work to do on the subject.

But before we launch into that, how is everyone enjoying fall and the start of a new school year and season? I thoroughly enjoy the change of seasons, even though nothing much has changed yet. Apples are arriving at the farmer's market, at least. I am an "apple a day" girl from way back. Years ago, I would have also enjoyed the arrival of Halloween decorations and maybe even scraped up a dollar to spend on some fake cobwebs for the end of next month. I think the Halloween decorations have been at Walgreen's since the Fourth of July. I like my seasons seasonal and I do not approve.

What was I talking about. Oh, yes, the dreary world of the devil. Here we go:

On the topic of fallen angels, I was just wondering if it is true that we have all been assigned a fallen angel, much like we're assigned a guardian angel in that it always stays by your side, but instead of protecting you it is always tempting you?

You have too much time on your hands. Maybe you want to do some volunteer work or add some rosaries to your day.

No. Contrary to popular belief, God is not mean. God wants you to go to Heaven. He wants you to be a better person and to protect your soul. He sent us His Son and and whole Church and a big book to follow along. He set up a whole road map of what to think about each day to bring us closer to Him (which doesn't involve wondering if He's working over time to trip you up). He gave you your own personal angel. Sending each person their own personal temptor is just not in God's repertoire.

Don't confuse what people refer to as 'personal demons' to be quite so literal. Just because it's hard for me to resist a big piece of chocolate cake doesn't mean there is a little red thing with an arrow on his tail standing there with the plate.

Although, I think I like red cake even better than chocolate cake....still, no demon.

Now I want red cake. I'll offer it up.

Hi Sister,I really enjoy your blog. after reading your entry on demons I wanted to ask you a question that has always bothered me: why didn't God destroy the fallen angels like he destroyed the evil in Sodom and Gomorrah? Just wondering if the Church teaches anything about this. Thanks for any help you can give.Your faithful reader

You know, I never thought about this ever in my life. Here is why: God hasn't ever destroyed any of his immortal creations. Has He? I can't recall Him doing that. Maybe my desire for red cake with cream cheese frosting is clouding my memory banks. Once He has created a soul, that soul is eternal.

I suppose He could destroy it. He could have destroyed Adam and Eve and just started all over again, too. Destroying immortal souls doesn't seem to be part of His repetoire either.

To me, if you'll bear with me, the question is how disappointed God must be so much of the time because He doesn't do that and why He didn't just erase the chalkboard and start over in the hope of having what He set out to do, because we are just so very....disappointing so much of the time.

Until we aren't. And then we are so thrillingly merciful and loving against such long odds.

Whenever you feel like the world is a terrible place full of nastiness and temptation and red cake, spend a little time with the saints. You'll feel so much better and have a glimmer of understanding as to why God sticks it out with all of us.