Last night I had a ninth grader ask me if "you can go to hell after you're in purgatory". I explained to him that I am no expert on purgatory but I told him that our teachings reveal to us that our soul would not go to hell after we've reach purgatory.
After I got home I was thinking about it more and I'm thinking that I should have explained it to him in a more visual manner.
I see Purgatory as a place of cleansing. God created us in His image and likeness. God, to me, is like a bright shining jewel. So our souls, when they first enter our bodies, would be bright and shiny like jewels - but over time they become coated with debris from being human.
We have Reconciliation that frees us from our sins and cleanses us. At the time of our death our souls are not as bright and shiny as they were at our conception - mainly because of our human nature. So I look at Purgatory as a place that our soul would go to be plolished, to take that debris away, so that we can be bright and shiny again. We can't go to be with God in heaven until we are bright and shiny again - until our humanness is cleansed.
We can all set our sights to stay free of as much debris as possible.
God grant us the Grace to stay away from temptations that add debris to our soul. Lead all souls to heaven that are being polished in Purgatory. Amen
Mother Mary, Pray for us.
