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Communion of Saints

Communion of Saints. I – Purgatory: temporary suffering that cleanses the soul and makes it worthy to see God . 1 ) Prayer for one another does not end with death 2 ) Souls in Purgatory need our prayers 3 ) Represent the second part of the communion of saints

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Communion of Saints

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  1. Communion of Saints I – Purgatory: temporary suffering that cleanses the soul and makes it worthy to see God. 1) Prayer for one another does not end with death 2) Souls in Purgatory need our prayers 3) Represent the second part of the communion of saints 4) Church Penitent or Church Suffering

  2. Communion of Saints II – Death: There are three immediate possibilities for the soul at the moment of death 1) Hell - where one willfully chooses self over God forever. 2) Heaven – love God perfectly and have no trace of sin left on our souls 3) Purgatory a) state of grace b) venial sin remains c) some punishment due to sin remains

  3. Communion of Saints III – Souls in Purgatory: The state of the soul (Matthew 22:2-12) 1) Soul not only needs to be cleansed, but wants to be cleansed 2) Soul has knowledge that they are not yet prepared to be in the full presence of God 3) Teaching is consoling 4) God in his mercy gives us a chance to make up for venial sin and punishment due to sin a) The principle suffering is not seeing God b) Even though the soul suffers they are filled with peace c) They no longer fear for their salvation d) They have knowledge that they are being made fully ready for heaven

  4. Communion of Saints 5) The Soul in Purgatory needs the Church a) The soul is unable to do anything to shorten their time b) They depend on the Church Militant to help them c) Prayers, especially the Mass, charitable acts d) offer our own sufferings on their behalf

  5. Communion of Saints IV – Praying for the Dead (2 Macc. 12:45) 1) God reveals to us that our prayers can help those who have died 2) Constant belief of the early Christians and is part of Tradition 3) Early Christian tombs bear inscriptions for us to pray for the dead 4) So important the Church marks a feast in her liturgy: All Souls Day on November 2

  6. Communion of Saints "The Fathers in general are clear in their affirmation of the existence of purgatory. This is not to deny that some time was needed to formulate a clear and definitive idea of the purification to take place in the other world, for varying eschatological views prevented in the early centuries a uniform presentation of its nature. The witness of the Fathers to the fact of such purification after death, therefore, is beyond doubt; their explanation of the purifying process has as much validity as the reasons advanced by each one. One thing is certain: the primitive Church never accepted the belief that in each and every instance the eternal beatitude of the just began immediately after death....In addition, prayers and other good works were offered for the departed souls as a matter of common practice. There can be no doubt, then, that the widespread belief of the early Church, as shown by many of the Fathers (see Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Ephraem, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Caesarius of Arles, and Gregory the Great...) and as evidenced by the liturgy, demanded the existence of a state after death in which the souls of the just would be fully purified from any remains of sin before entering heaven." (NCE, volume 11, page 1035-6)

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