The Mercy of Purgatory
Br. Isaac Augustine Morales, O.P.
很少有Doctrine，比天主教的煉獄教義，更容易被誤解。最常見的錯誤觀念之一是，這一學說否定了救贖的功效，要求儘管基督在十字架上死亡，我們仍會受到懲罰。為了更好地了解煉獄的真實本質，我們可以求助於 John Henry Newman， 一位十九世紀早期的英國聖公會牧師，在他生命的早期, 他不相信這個Doctrine。
在他還是聖公會牧師的時候，Newman 在希伯來書12:14的基礎上講道“Holiness Necessary for Future Blessedness"，Hebrews 12:14, which says, “Strive for peace with all, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”在講道中，紐曼試圖解釋為什麼聖潔是享受永生的先決條件。簡而言之，他給出的答案是這樣的：“一個不聖潔的人進入天堂，他在那裡不會"幸福" /suffered ;因此允許他進入是沒有憐憫的。”紐曼是什麼意思？
很多人都認為天堂是一個你可以隨心所欲的地方。但是，紐曼指出，聖經描繪了一幅不同的畫面：我們將在那裡，在永恆中，敬拜主。因此，他認為天堂就像一座教堂：“... 沒有這個世界的語言......在這裡，我們只能，並全然聆聽上帝的聲音。”對於在這個世界上拒絕上帝的人，進入天堂會更像是進入地獄：“在上帝的這殿裡，他不會聽到他關心的主題，也沒有任何能激發他的希望和恐懼，他的同情和能量的東西。”如果我們這輩子沒有品味上帝的事，我們也不會準備好，在下一個階段，在永恆中享受它們。因此，根據紐曼，成聖growth in holiness 是為天堂的喜樂 joys of heaven,做好準備。對於那些沒準備好的人來說, 天堂不僅不完美，甚至如同地獄。
習慣需要時間來發展，我們無法在一夜之間做好準備。由此引出了（late-in-life conversions) 的難題：一個人幾乎一輩子棄絕上帝，並陷入惡習,（late-in-life conversions)，如何享受永生？紐曼當時的回答：“它立刻就會發生，即使聖經沒有明白地告訴我們。沒有人能夠準備好，也就是說，在短時間內成為聖潔; - 至少我們看不出它是怎麼可能的。"在他的英國國教時代，紐曼不相信煉獄的教義，所以他看不出任何方式讓一個人通過臨終轉變進入永生。
如果我們遵循紐曼的邏輯，我們就會看到煉獄的真實含義：那實在是上帝憐憫的另一面。煉獄並不是一個虐待狂的酷刑室，除了基督在十字架上的死亡之外，還有一種懲罰。相反，煉獄是最後的準備， 讓我們得以在永恆中享受與上帝同在的永生。在煉獄中，我們將徹底清除我們以自我為中心的傾向, 並重新塑造，以便我們能夠進入永無止境的愛的交流，這是三位一體的內心生活(inner life of the Blessed Trinity)。這個過程將是痛苦的，因為即使在這一生中，擺脫我們的罪惡也是痛苦的，但最終結果將遠遠超過痛苦。
…, 我們感謝上帝，在他的憐憫中，他不會拒絕我們。即使是最頑固的罪人，如果他悔改，也可以希望 永生，in the presence of of the One Who made us for Himself, and in Whom our hearts will ultimately find their rest。

The Mercy of Purgatory
Few doctrines are more widely misunderstood than the Catholic teaching on purgatory. One of the most common misconceptions is that this doctrine denies the efficacy of the redemption by requiring that we be punished despite Christ’s death on the cross. We can get a better sense of the true nature of purgatory with a little help from an early nineteenth-century Anglican curate who early in his life didn’t even believe in the doctrine.
Long before he was reconciled with the Catholic Church, Blessed John Henry Newman preached a sermon titled “Holiness Necessary for Future Blessedness” based on Hebrews 12:14, which says, “Strive for peace with all, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” In the sermon Newman sought to explain why it is that holiness is a precondition for enjoying eternal life. The answer he gave, in a nutshell, is this: “Even supposing a man of unholy life were suffered to enter heaven, he would not be happy there; so that it would be no mercy to permit him to enter.” What does Newman mean?
Many people are under the impression that heaven is a place where you can do whatever you want. But Scripture, Newman points out, paints a different picture: there we will spend eternity worshiping the Lord. Thus, he suggests that heaven is like a church: “For in a place of public worship no language of this world is heard… Here we hear solely and entirely of God.” For the person who rejects God in this world, entering heaven would be more like hell: “In this house of God, he would hear only of that one subject which he cared little or nothing about, and nothing at all of those things which excited his hopes and fears, his sympathies and energies.” If we don’t have a taste for the things of God in this life, we won’t be prepared to enjoy them for all eternity in the next. And so, according to Newman, the purpose of growth in holiness is to prepare ourselves for the joys of heaven—joys that would be hell to those who would enter unprepared.
Because habits take time to develop, it would seem that one cannot prepare himself for heaven overnight. This leads Newman to the difficult question of late-in-life conversions: how can someone who has lived his whole life alienated from God and set in vicious habits hope to enjoy eternal life? Newman’s answer is stark: “It follows at once, even though Scripture did not plainly tell us so, that no one is able to prepare himself for heaven, that is, make himself holy, in a short time; – at least we do not see how it is possible.” In his Anglican days, Newman did not believe in the doctrine of purgatory, and so he could not see any way for a person to enter eternal life by means of a deathbed conversion.
If we follow Newman’s logic, we will see purgatory for what it really is: another aspect of God’s mercy. Purgatory is not a sadistic post-mortem torture chamber, a punishment in addition to Christ’s death on the cross. Rather, purgatory is a final preparation to enjoy life in God’s presence for all eternity. In purgatory we will be completely purged of our self-centered tendencies and refashioned so that we can enter into the never-ending exchange of love that is the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. The process will be painful because ridding ourselves of our sins, even in this life, is painful, but the end result will far outweigh the pain.
Needless to say, we should all strive now with the help of God’s grace to prepare ourselves to enter eternal life. It is true—despite the Anglican Newman’s hesitancy—that someone can have a late-in-life conversion and be received directly into heaven (perhaps, for instance, through the reception of baptism upon one’s deathbed). Nonetheless, for more “typical” cases, if we don’t manage to strip ourselves completely of our vices in this life, we can thank God that in His mercy He will not turn us away. Even the most hardened sinner, provided he repents, can hope to spend eternity joyfully in the presence of the One Who made us for Himself, and in Whom our hearts will ultimately find their rest.
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About Author: Br. Isaac Augustine Morales, O.P.

Br. Isaac Morales was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He received a BSE in civil engineering from Duke University, an MTS with a concentration in biblical studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD in New Testament from Duke University. Before joining the Order of Preachers, he worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Theology at Marquette University. On DominicanFriars.org