My Broken Fiat
  • Blog
  • About / Contact Me
    • My 'Reversion'
    • Why "MyBrokenFiat?"
  • The Archive
  • Prayers
  • Blog
  • About / Contact Me
    • My 'Reversion'
    • Why "MyBrokenFiat?"
  • The Archive
  • Prayers

'Purgatory on Earth' as Divine Providence

9/22/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sharing isn't just caring, it's Divine Providence!
Okay, so I lied.  I'm a day late because when I wrote the "Do Animals Have Souls" entry, I'd forgotten that I'd be out and about for Vince's birthday.

Ah well.  I apologize.  Hope I didn't leave you too uncomfortably on the edge of your seats!

I've already gotten a couple e-mails asking me about this.  One, in particular, was slightly angry, accusing me of not understanding Catholic teaching because there is no such thing as "Purgatory on Earth."

Well, of COURSE you're not going to find that in the catechism.  I sorta-kinda-most-probably made that up.  However, the theology is all there in black and white.  This structured mercy is all explained through the Catholic understanding of Divine Providence (which I break down into cookie form here).

So just to quickly recap, Divine Providence is God's way of providing us with all the tools, equipment and practice necessary to make it through the jungle of life and into Heaven.  Humanity is able to dole out these gifts from God through the Golden Rule (loving others as Christ loves, thus always being willing to share everything with others).  However, since humanity is unable/unwilling to properly follow the Golden Rule at all times, we fall off the path towards Heaven and Purgatory is God's last-ditch effort to toss a life-line our way and pull us back on track.

Purgatory on earth is a gentle precursor to Purgatory of the Holy Souls.  An analogy is in order here...

One of my employees borrows $100 from me.  When it comes time to pay up, he's unable to pay save for a little at a time.  I accept his apology and promise to pay me back.

After a couple weeks of paying $10 at a time for odd jobs he'd been working, he gets thrown into jail for stealing.  He still owes me about $80, but now that he's in jail, he's got no way of paying me that $80 back.  He must rely on family and friends for the remaining $80.

That's kinda the difference between Purgatory on Earth and Purgatory in, well, Purgatory. 

While on earth, we're given the opportunity to pay back or "atone" for our misdeeds a little at a time through sacrifice, prayer and charitable acts of mercy.  Once we die (still having debts to pay) we go to Purgatory where we must rely on those we've left behind to fulfill our obligations to Divine Justice.

This again highlights why human euthanasia is a no-no.  Euthanasia cuts short our ablity to atone for our transgressions.  It also has the ability to cut short the blessings that suffering can, in fact, bestow upon those around us.

For example (true story alert), there was a wonderful woman who lived into her late 80s.  She suffered for three years with a terribly debilitating disease.  Her three sons, Ron, Eric and Joe, weren't really sure how to handle the prognosis... or how to handle each other.  The boys had been somewhat distant, content to live their own lives separate from one another save for the ocassional holiday dinner.  In fact, they didn't even like each other very much.  Their mother's illness, though, effected them all in a very profound way.

While their mother was quite possibly suffering physically to atone for past transgressions, her condition was not given solely for her benefit.  Through her suffering, her sons came together and got to know one another again.  They were forced to communicate regulalry, to console one another, to provide food, housing, even transportation for one another as they rotated shifts.  Ron and Eric, (and Joe and Eric) eventually reconciled their differences and became friends - true brothers.  I wish I could say the same for Ron and Joe, but not everyone takes advantage of the blessings granted through Divine Providence. 

In other words, even suffering is a blessing.  Even suffering is an opportunity to take part in the grace of love and reconciliation. 

I, myself, have been trying to practice this mindset more often... especially in traffic.  I'm a horrible road-rager.  I cannot stand when someone is driving 10 miles below the speed limit, yet instead of cutting them off and angrily waving some not-nice-things their way, I now chalk it up to Divine Providence.  I simply wonder why God chose to put that little inconvenience before me.  Was He forcing me to be three seconds too late to the scene of a horrific accident that I would have been a part of otherwise?  Was He giving me an opportunity to practice my least-utilized (almost non-existent) virtue, Patience?  Maybe He just wanted to back up traffic juuuuust enough so that an old lady way up the road could make it safely across the street.  Who knows? 

My point is - GOD knows.  Catholics trust in Divine Providence as the driving force in every single thing that comes up throughout our lives.  We believe that God is not only interested, but active in our lives - fully vested in the creation He saw fit to bless into being.

Suffering, too, is part of that Divine Providence.  As a result, any attempt at shortening the timeframe God, Himself, has acknowledged as necessary for salvation translates to a sure ticket to Purgatory (at the very least... I shudder to think of what the alternative is!).




0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Top Rated Entries

    My Darkest Secret

    Do Animals Have Souls?

    10 Things a Parent of an SPD Kid Wants to Say

    Fun and Easy Lenten Crafts

    Tattoo Taboo

    Blessed Mother as Intercessor

    Loss of Life

    Women Priests II

    Animal Sacrifices

    Render Unto Caesar

    Veiling

    The Godparent Poem

    Broken Friendships

    Miscarriage Reflection

    NYT Anti-Catholic Ad

    Categories

    All
    180
    Abortion
    Adoption
    Adoration
    Adultery
    Agnosticism
    Angels
    Animals
    Annulment
    Apparitions
    Art
    Atheism
    Bahamas
    Baptism
    Blessed Mother
    Blessed-mother
    Blogging
    Books
    Boycott
    Breastfeeding
    Bullying
    Cafeteria Catholic
    Cafeteria Catholics
    Cats
    Ccd
    Celibacy
    Chaput
    Children
    Christmas
    Churches
    Confession
    Conscience
    Contests
    Contraception
    Cookies
    Corapi
    Crafts
    Creation
    Cross
    Defense Of Faith
    Depression
    Divine Mercy
    Divine Providence
    Divine-providence
    Divorce
    Dolan
    Donation
    Dreams
    Easter
    Education
    Eucharist
    Euthanasia
    Evangelization
    Family
    Feasts
    Food
    Forgiveness
    Free Will
    Friendship
    Fun
    Gaza
    Guest Post
    Hat Tip
    Health Care
    Heaven
    Hebrew
    Hhs
    Holy Week
    Homeschooling
    Homily
    Homosexuality
    Illumination
    Incarnation
    Incorruptibles
    Indulgences
    Infertility
    Inspiration
    Intentions
    Intercession
    Intercessions
    Interview
    Islam
    Jewelry
    Kidney
    Komen
    Language
    Lawsuit
    Lbm
    Lent
    Lightbulb Moments
    Liturgy
    Mandate
    Marriage
    Martyrs
    Mass
    Media
    Medjugorje
    Mercy
    Mexico
    Miracles
    Miscarriage
    Moderation
    Moses
    Motherhood
    Music
    Myla
    Nuns
    Old Testament
    Parenting
    Parishes
    Pedophilia
    Pentecost
    Persecution
    Personal
    Philadelphia
    Philly
    Pilgrimage
    Planned Parenthood
    Poetry
    Politics
    Poll
    Pope
    Prayer
    Pregnancy
    Priests
    Prophecy
    Propoganda
    Purgatory
    Question Box
    Quick Takes
    Random
    Recipes
    Reflections
    Relics
    Religious Freedom
    Reviews
    Ridiculous
    Rosary
    Sacrament
    Sacrifice
    Saint
    Saints
    Scandal
    School
    Science
    Seed
    Sewing
    Sexuality
    Sin
    Social Issues
    Social Issues
    SPD
    Spiritual Dryness
    St Anthonybd986ec1d5
    Steubenville
    Suffering
    Tattoos
    Terrorism
    TLM
    Triduum
    Trinity
    Trust
    Twa
    Vatican
    Veiling
    Veils
    Vincent
    Visionaries
    Wedding
    Women Priests

    Pages I Stalk

    A Woman's Place
    Dymphna's Road
    Real Catholic Love & Sex
    Having Left the Altar
    Fr. Z @ WDTPRS
    Spirit Daily
    These Stone Walls
    St. Joseph's Vanguard
    Catholic Sistas
    Catholic Icing
    Liturgical Time
    Traditional Latin Mass
    Shameless Popery
    Life Victorious
    Catholic Dads
    S'aint Easy
    Truth, Beauty and Goodness
    The Way Out There
    Written by the Finger of 
       God
    Little Catholic Bubble
    So You're a Church Musician
    There and Back Again
    Make It - Love It
    St. Monica's Bridge
    Seeking Renewal 
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    December 2010
    October 2010
    October 2005

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2020