|
ANSWER TO QUIZ
Let’s start with the painful truth.
The only way to enter into the full glory and splendor of the Beatific Vision, seeing God face to face - is to be in perfect communion with Him, which means to be forgiven of every sin AND
to be purified of every attachment to sin.
This is a glorious invitation and a demanding endeavor!
Only when we are perfect in every way
will we be ready to enter into what saints
have called “Divine Union” or “Mystical Marriage.”
Consider: If you are attached to sin in your life,
even the smallest imperfection, that cannot
enter into God's presence.
He is all holy and pure love.
He wants you to be in union with Him,
but your sinful attachments cannot be present
with His pure Holiness and Goodness.
Purgation is the process of breaking every sinful habit
you have and detaching from all habitual sins
and imperfections so that you can be
attached to God and His holy will alone.
But how on Earth do you do this?
In the end, you don’t do it by yourself.
Instead, you allow God to come into your soul
and purify it of all sinful habits and attachments.
And that will hurt!
But it will be a purifying hurt and will be freeing.
Purgatory refers to the purification process
of all attachments we still have when we die.
Ideally, we go through this before death,
to enjoy Divine Union here and now, not only in Heaven.
But if we don't complete it on Earth, we complete it after death in Purgatory. It might sound gloomy, but it's a beautiful act of mercy when understood and embraced.
For more on this, read the book:
The Mystical Journey to Divine Union:
Spiritual Wisdom from Saint John of the Cross
by John Paul Thomas
| 
