Before I came into communion with the church, there were a handful of Catholic doctrines I found confusing and, frankly, odd. Purgatory was one of them. I couldn’t understand why anyone would believe that people who had entrusted themselves to salvation in
In the month of November, beginning with the twin feasts of All Saints and All Souls, Catholics mark a special devotion to the faithful departed. As we approach the end of the liturgical year, we contemplate our own end and pray for
As Catholics, we acknowledge the reality of purgatory and how it applies to our final acceptance into everlasting life in heaven. However, does this occur upon our first judgment day before Christ (who sentences us for an undetermined duration), and then once
A reader asks: “Many people have a hard time believing that anyone except a saint can go directly to heaven after death. When my dad passed away after being in a coma for a week, he raised his arms, smiled and left
A reader asks:: “I’m curious about the jump in the Apostles Creed from ‘born of the Virgin Mary’ to ‘suffered under Pontius Pilate.’ That jump excludes Jesus’s three-year ministry, which I believe was exceedingly important. There are different ways in which his
Father Patrick Briscoe, editor of Our Sunday Visitor, writes about a question many people have: how can hell exist if God is love? As he explains in his column, it’s about our choice to choose God or not: “The possibility that we
A reader asks: “Are the living who undertake the requirements of a plenary indulgence, and gain the plenary remission of temporal punishment, rare? If so, it would seem as if Holy Mother Church is saying, ‘I’ve got good news and bad news
A reader asks: “I’ve been reading about apparitions where Our Lady revealed to the children in Fátima and to Sister Mariana in Quito, Ecuador, that some souls spend the rest of time in purgatory, some bishops and religious for 80 to 100
A reader writes: “Many who might otherwise accept God’s punishment of sinners are still dismayed that hell is eternal. Why should one be punished eternally for sins committed over a brief time span, perhaps in just a moment? The punishment does not
Contributing editor Russell Shaw writes that while purgatory isn’t something we think of often, the upcoming feast of All Souls’ Day on November 2 is an opportune time to consider what the Church teaches and why. Shaw writes: “Besides natural concern for