One Protestant I was interacting with, stated: "God will certainly remove the filth of the flesh prior to the resurrection of our bodies." Precisely, and THAT is what purgatory is; no Protestant should have the slightest objection to it. The big beef is (or should be) about merely how long this "removal of filth" takes. Big wow. Why all the stink about this, then? Obviously, human beings want to avoid suffering as much as possible, so the Protestant view (as so often) is very appealing to our flesh and our selfishness. Instant heaven, instant glorification at death, instant salvation, instant eternal security, instant expert on the Bible and the spiritual life (because "now I am SAVED!!!!!"). Etc.

Very enticing, especially for spoiled, gluttonous, fast-food, "gimme everything right now," self-obsessed Americans. Who wants to suffer more? Ah, but the only slight problem with this natural desire is that the Bible talks constantly of suffering as a means of attaining to holiness and wisdom. How quickly we forget the book of Job and all of St. Paul's intense sufferings (and he says to "imitate" him).

Even in the glorious, fabulous passage of Romans 8, where Paul is all excited about the Holy Spirit and how He helps us overcome all obstacles, what does he also say? He is going along, talking like a good "born again," sanctified, set-free, "filled with the Holy Go" evangelical Protestant, and then suddenly (unless one ignores this part, as I did in my Protestant days) he becomes a morbid, masochistic, crucifix-clutching Catholic and takes away everyone's fun and peaches and cream:

. . . if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [yippeeeeee!!!!!!!], PROVIDED we SUFFER WITH him IN ORDER that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:17; RSV)

The souls in purgatory are spirits without bodies, so the suffering is a spiritual, "mental" chastisement from God (a very common biblical theme) in order to purify us and make us holy, not physical torture. It will involve an anguish at our sin and sorrow and contrition over it, and the painful desire to attain to that holiness which God has ultimately called us to.

But the suffering is accompanied also by great joy and hope (greater, in fact, than any in this life), because the soul in purgatory is already saved by virtue of being there (that's where the real "eternal security" can be had, at long last). He or she is being prepared -- made fit -- for heaven.

We see many things like this in this life. Childbirth would be a close parallel. I've seen four of them myself, and I don't enjoy the process at all (I know, ladies, no caustic remarks please; you know what I mean!), but I marveled at how my wife went through this tremendous agony, yet had a peace and joy even during the suffering, and an ecstatic joy upon the birth and seeing her child, immediately forgetting what had just gone on (as Jesus said).

THAT is how WE will feel after emerging from purgatory finally clean and gazing upon our Lord's beautiful and glorious face. There won't be a moment's thought then as to whether the preparatory suffering was worth it or not (Rom 8:18). And we will understand even more fully in purgatory why it was necessary, and wonder how we could ever have been so silly to have ever denied the necessity of it.

Dave Armstrong