Saturday, November 14, 2009

What St. Thomas Aquinas Said About Purgatory

There is a purgatory after this life...

those who deny purgatory speak against the justice of God."

~ Saint Thomas Aquinas ~
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In what source did you find that quote from Thomas Aquinos? It is not the complete quote. Nor is there any context.

I find nothing in the Gospels, nor in the New Testament that supports purgatory.

Is not Jesus the Perfect Lamb Sacrifice? When we die to the world and are borne to Him, born again, are we not made perfect in Spirit?

The explanations of purgatory minimize the Blood Sacrifice of Jesus. It says, His sacrifice was not enough to cleanse our sins. He needs more help from worldly people's prayers.

Maccabees is Old Testament and does not actually confirm, it only speculates and is used to poorly rationalize purgatory.

Purgatory is in conflict with teaching of Jesus and the Gospels.
Where does Jesus say or infer anything that might validate the claim.





March 26, 2014 at 10:39 PM
one grateful heart said...

Yes, Jesus' suffering and death was the perfect sacrifice and He is the only One whose sacrifice could open the gates of Heaven for repentant sinners. Without His sacrifice Heaven would be closed to us. With the help of God's grace we are all called to be perfect, but the sacrifice of Jesus does not make us perfect. It is up to God's children to cooperate with His grace to become as perfect as possible. Scripture is full of examples of imperfect humans, including the apostles. I don't know anyone who is perfect, including myself. Do you? We must make reparation for our sins either here on earth or in Purgatory. God is perfect in love and mercy, but also in justice. Jesus opened Heaven's gates, but we must repent and make reparation before we can enter. We must pay our debts before God.
I doubt if any Scripture or Saint quote would convince you of the reality of Purgatory. Purgatory makes perfect sense. It is another way God shows us His love and mercy. If only the perfect can enter Heaven, who could go there? Purgatory purifies our souls if needed so we can enter Heaven. Do you think a mass murderer who converts on his deathbed will fly into Heaven without delay and as quickly as God's most faithful servant? Does God's justice not allow for purification of our souls that have been stained by a lifetime of sins and if there has been little attempt to make reparation to God? I pray that God will open your heart and mind to the truth about Purgatory.

March 28, 2014 at 11:16 AM
one grateful heart said...

"Now there is no need to pray for the dead who are in Heaven, for they are in no need; nor again for those who are in Hell, because they cannot be loosed from sins. Therefore after this life, there are some not yet loosed from sins, who can be loosed therefrom; and the like have charity, without which sins cannot be loosed, for 'charity covereth all sins' [Prov. 10:12]. Hence they will not be consigned to everlasting death, since 'he that liveth and believeth in Me, shall not die for ever' [Jn. 11:26]: nor will they obtain glory without being cleansed, because nothing unclean shall obtain it, as stated in the last chapter of the Apocalypse (verse 14). Therefore some kind of cleansing remains after this life. Further, Gregory of Nyssa [De iis qui in fide dormiunt] says: 'If one who loves and believes in Christ,' has failed to wash away his sins in this life, 'he is set free after death by the fire of Purgatory.' Therefore there remains some kind of cleansing after this life. From the conclusions we have drawn above it is sufficiently clear that there is a Purgatory after this life. For if the debt of punishment is not paid in full after the stain of sin has been washed away by contrition, nor again are venial sins always removed when mortal sins are remitted, and if justice demands that sin be set in order by due punishment, it follows that one who after contrition for his fault and after being absolved, dies before making due satisfaction, is punished after this life. Wherefore those who deny Purgatory speak against the justice of God: for which reason such a statement is erroneous and contrary to faith. Hence Gregory of Nyssa, after the words quoted above, adds: 'This we preach, holding to the teaching of truth, and this is our belief; this the universal Church holds, by praying for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.' This cannot be understood except as referring to Purgatory: and whosoever resists the authority of the Church, incurs the note of heresy." - St. Thomas Aquinas ("Summa Theologica" 13th century A.D.)

March 28, 2014 at 11:19 AM

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