Reflection for Sunday November 8th, 2026

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Purgatory: Therapy of Divine Love

Purgation is a process of purification. Many of us grew up with a Catechism which told us that purgatory is a place or state of punishment, where some souls suffer for a time before they go to heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994, paints a very different picture.

“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.

The old Catechism spoke of punishment and suffering. The new Catechism speaks of assured salvation and a therapy of purification.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

A gradual therapy

The purification of mind and heart is a gradual process. Dante described purgatory as climbing up step by step, beginning with the eradication of pride, until the soul is enraptured by love. As one gradually ascends towards God, the cataracts of selfishness, lust, anger, injustice etc. are cleansed from the eye of the soul. The journey to God is completed when the soul is completely cleansed. One of the beatitudes of God’s kingdom states, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” A person is then like a mirror, receiving and returning a perfect reflection of God. As we heard from Saint John, “we shall see him as he really is.” This is called the beatific vision.
“I shall be filled when I awake with the sight of your glory, O Lord” (Psalm 16:15).

Suffering in Purgatory

Is there suffering in purgatory? Yes, but not physical pain or burning in fire. Psychotherapy or physiotherapy will cause a stab of pain when the injured part is touched, but this is a step towards healing. “The truth will set you free.” It is the pain you feel when you recognise how much you have hurt others, or when you have allowed selfishness to govern your life, or when you realise how much God loves you and how poorly you have loved in return. That’s the pain of love which is beautiful because it only comes in the vision of divine love.

The happiness of Purification

Next question: are the souls in purgatory happy? Yes, intensely happy. As the Catechism says, they are assured of salvation, coming ever closer to the clear vision of God’s glory which “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, even beyond our imagination” (St. Paul). Not for one moment would they return to this lesser level of life. Would the butterfly return to its former existence as a slimy grub?

Can we help them

Many people pray for the most forgotten souls in purgatory. But there are no forgotten souls. Listen carefully to the prayers at Mass: the entire Church remembers in prayer all who have passed from this life. “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins.”