Dear Woodrow,

Actually we shouldn't assume that the souls of our loved ones go to Heaven upon death. The souls of those who die in a state of friendship with God — theologians call this a state of grace — either go to Heaven immediately, or, before they enter Heaven, they enter a state of purification from sins they've committed during their life on Earth. (We call this Purgatory). These could be sins that they've repented of, but still remain attached to; they are minor (or venial) sins they haven't repented of however not everyone dies in a state of friendship with God.

These souls descend immediately into the state of eternal separation from God and perpetually regret what we call, Hell. Since God looks at the hearts of our loved ones, and indeed all men, and we see only the externals, we cannot judge based on what we see and know whether our loved ones, who have died, are in Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. Only God can judge, and that judgment is hidden from us (except in the case of canonized saints) until the Last Day.

All the souls of those who have died throughout the ages now await the Last Day in Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory, without their bodies (except for Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which now have glorified resurrected bodies). On the Last Day, all men will be reunited with their bodies; the righteous ones in Heaven will receive a glorified body, and the wicked in Hell will receive bodies suitable to their condition. We call this the Resurrection. Then the judgment of God will be revealed to all, and what was hidden, will be brought to light as God lays bare the secrets of the heart (See Matthew 10:26, Luke 12:2-3, Romans 2:16, Ecclesiastes 12:14). This is the General Judgment.

It is important not to assume that our loved ones are in Heaven, because if they are in Purgatory, they can be helped by our prayers for them, so we should never give up praying for our departed loved ones. Imagine how forlorn and forsaken they would feel if they were in Purgatory with no one praying for them for any kind of relief! It's also important that we not rule out Hell as a destination, because it is a real possibility, both for them and for us. It's a sobering thought that we can choose to go to Hell by choosing sin over our relationship with God.

Anytime we deliberately and knowingly choose to commit a serious sin, including sexual sins that are so popular and taken for granted today (such as sexual activity outside of the spousal bond of a husband and wife), we cut ourselves off from friendship with God and choose Hell over Heaven. If we die in that state of rejecting God, then our destiny forever is Hell. And Jesus said:

Jesus Himself said that it was hard to get to Heaven, and few are those who find it! A very good reason not to assume that all our loved ones go to Heaven.

Eric

Woodrow,

That is not at all the conclusion you should draw from what I said.

My apologies if I was not clear. The closest conclusion you could draw from what I said is that we cannot on earth know (with infallible certainty) the eternal fate of such people. It is not that no one born before the formal canonization process cannot be in Heaven, but that we cannot infallibly know they are in Heaven. In point of fact, there is a feast day, All Saints (November 1st), where we honor all those who are in Heaven but never got formally canonized on Earth plus all those we honor as saints, who were never formally canonized (such as the Apostles), for whom we have a moral certitude that they are in Heaven.

Your loved ones may in fact be in Heaven. They may in fact be in Purgatory on their way to Heaven. They may in fact be in Hell. You and I will face the same possibilities.

My point is we cannot say for sure (that is, assume) that our deceased loved ones are in Heaven. We can certainly hope that they are, and pray for them, but we cannot infallibly know their fate short of canonization.

Eric

I did not say,

a request for intercession (for whatever reason) should only be directed to members of the Holy Family or to those for whom we have moral certitude that they are in Heaven.

You do not need to be infallibly (or morally) certain that a person is in Heaven in order to pray to them. My point was not to address whether you could pray to them or address them through the Communion of Saints (a topic I did not broach); rather, my point was that your original premise that, We assume that the souls of our loved ones go to Heaven upon death is mistaken. The implications of this are that we should pray for our deceased loved ones (thus assuming they are in Purgatory, not Heaven) and that we ought not exclude the possibility that some people, potentially even ourselves, go to Hell.

If we assume everyone goes directly to Heaven, then we assume we are going directly to Heaven, which means we assume there are no consequences for our sin, which means that we develop a cavalier attitude about sin, thus endangering our souls and our relationship with God. Being aware that some go to Hell gives us a more sober attitude about sin and its dangers.

Eric

Dear Woodrow,

I don't understand your response to Eric.

Maybe I'm missing something. Eric explained there are two judgments:

1. one personal, our Particular Judgment (immediately upon death) and
2. one public judgment (Judgment Day at the end of history).

All disembodied souls anticipate reunification with their bodies on the last day, which, for the saved, will be glorified.

It isn't prudent to make a judgment as to where someone's soul is after death. This is for God to judge. If a Christian judges their relative is in Heaven, this would negate him praying for his relative. Souls in Purgatory need our prayers; souls in Heaven (or Hell) do not.

P.S. Purgatory is not Limbo. They are very different.

Paul

No offense at all.

Peace,

Paul

Dear Woodrow,

I just wanted to add a bit to what both Eric and Paul have said.

The best way to think of Purgatory is as the Holy Hospital of Heaven.

Souls in Purgatory are saved souls, saved by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Purgatory has nothing to do with salvation but has everything to do with personal holiness. (Revelation 21:27)

This web posting will give you a good analogy:

• What is Purgatory, why does it only apply to Catholics, and what is the Scriptural basis for this?
  

I have another website dedicated to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory; I also have a FREE Purgatory Prayer program for those interested in praying for the Holy Souls on a regular basis. Check it out if you are interested:

• Helpers of the Holy Souls

Limbo was never a Church teaching in the Catholic Church but rather a theological opinion of where unbaptized babies go after they pass from this Earthly life to Eternal Life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope St. John Paul II closed the issue by saying:

I hope this helps,

Mike