Purgatory Gives You Peace
A dear friend once shared his fear with me: “My son used to go to church and pray, but now he wants nothing to do with God.” I promised him my prayers—and I realized again why purgatory matters.
Whether we misunderstand it or reject the word itself, purification after death is the only belief that fully holds together God’s mercy and His holiness. Scripture is clear: “Nothing unclean shall enter [heaven]” (Revelation 21:27).
God is both loving and just. We are called to love and obey Him, yet we all fall short. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Jesus warns that those who definitively reject God choose separation from Him: “The gate is wide… that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many” (Matthew 7:13). Yet Scripture also teaches that holiness is required before seeing God: “Strive for… the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is completely sufficient—but the soul must still be made ready for heaven. He does all the work, but the work still must be done. C.S. Lewis described this beautifully, comparing purgatory to changing into clean clothes before meeting a king: “Our souls demand Purgatory… that they are going to be made perfect” (Letters to Malcolm).
The Bible points to purification after death: “He himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). And “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” (Malachi 3:3). This is not hell. It is cleansing. Those in purgatory are not getting a second chance. They are assured of heaven. Their suffering is joyful because the outcome is certain.
The Church does not define how long purgatory lasts. Whether it is instant or extended, the truth remains: unless we die perfectly purified—like the Good Thief—God will cleanse us before we enter heaven. The word purgatory came later, just as the word Trinity did. Naming a truth does not invent it; it clarifies what Christians already believed.
So, if you have a loved one who once belonged to Christ but now lives in sin, God’s mercy does not end where your fear begins. Purgatory tells us that God finishes what He starts. Ask yourself: as you sit on your couch reading this, are you ready now—purified, cleansed of all your unrighteousness—to stand before Christ in heaven? No. You are not. And yes, we are saved by the merits of Christ—but we all still need a good shower now and then.
Scripture teaches that we can and should pray for the dead: “May the Lord grant him to find mercy on that Day” (2 Timothy 1:18) and “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:45). If any of you are squinting and thinking, “Maccabees?”—that’s one of the inspired books of the Bible that was taken out 500 years ago but still remains in the full canon available in Orthodox and Catholic Bibles. Don’t be deceived by the decisions of a man.
So what should we do for our loved ones, whether we name purgatory or not, and whether they are living or dead? Pray for them.
God knew your prayers before you ever spoke them, and He still commands you to offer them. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects.” (James 5:16). Purgatory does not take away hope—it gives it, by revealing a God who is perfectly just and perfectly merciful.
