"Purgatory and Its Relevancy" by Mary Genevieve Sheehan
 

Date of Award

12-21-1965

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Theology

Abstract

In the present current of "renewal", with its upsurge of interest in theology, it may be questioned what relevance, if any, Purgatory holds for modern man. Is it a "living" article of faith or merely something that is not to be denied? For many Catholics is it not relegated to the custom of filling out lists of departed loved ones for the parish commemoration on All Souls Day? Some look askance at what seems an almost superstitious devotion to the dead among people who no longer give any outward profession of faith. Indeed, since the dogma of Purgatory is generally thought to be one whose knowledge is not strictly necessary for salvation, (although many may not reach this without passing through its reality) it might be better if it remain on the periphery of things and not enter too prominently into the consciousness of a Christian. Again, some hesitancy is caused with regard to Purgatory by the "personal act" theory of death, wherein a final, total option is made for or against God. In such a complete act of loving surrender and adherence, (or its opposite), what room is there for the notion of an intermediate state of expiation after death? Those who see Extreme Unction, received with good dispositions, ·as the "sacramental means of avoiding Purgatory", may also question and underestimate the significance of this state. What Guitton reflects seems to be true; "Purgatory leaves the majority of Christians indifferent."

Comments

Essay Submitted for Master in Theology Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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