Purgatory

Inspired by something Peter Kreeftwrote (Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven-- But Never Dreamed of Asking), I have tended to think of Purgatory (and, by extension, Hell) as being the same place as Heaven: being in God’s Presence.

How we experience it is determined by how we live now. Few, if any, of us will experience it as complete joy, even though we should. Catholics of an older sort expect to experience an initial discomfort in His Presence that will gradually be removed, as if by fire (1 Cor. 3:15).

What provoked this was a short piece by Albertus Minimus. And I’m in the mood to think about Purgatory and Marriage: Lorna returned last night from Ohio. My enforced bachelorhood is over, for now. And I’m glad. I’ll take this Purgatory to that of the single life.