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What does purgatory mean and who goes to purgatory after they die?
Purgatory means purification. A person in purgatory is on the path towards heaven, but in need of purification to get there.
Purgatory is so often misunderstood. Here are some key clarifications:
1) A person in purgatory is going to heaven. This person will never go to hell.
"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" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030).
2) A person in purgatory died in a state of grace. Purgatory does not take away sin with mercy. It is the mercy of God that purifies the soul to make it feel worthy of the presence of God.
"The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of [hell]" (CCC, 1031).
3) Our prayers help people in purgatory. The reason we can pray for the dead is to help them get to heaven. They feel our prayers. Like an athlete who is motivated by the cheers of her crowd of supporters, so too is a person in purgatory purified by the prayers of those who love them.
"This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God" (CCC, 1032).
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