While it would not be considered medical advice, if a patient is to be fully informed about potential future pain and suffering, it seems that some information on the realities of Purgatory and Hell might be a good idea to provide to patients.
While there are probably many, one of the contributing factors to problems in the world is the lack of consistent and forceful teaching on both the existence of Purgatory and the severe pain and suffering in Purgatory. In a defense of Catholic teaching on Purgatory, St. Robert Bellarmine explains the consequences of disbelief in Purgatory:
One that thinks there is no purgatory, but that all sins are abolished by death for those who die with faith, will easily say to himself: To what end do I labor in fasting, prayers, continence, almsgiving? Why do I cheat my heart of delights and pleasures? Seeing that in death I will have a few or many sins they will all be blotted out. But someone that thinks that apart from hell, the most bitter fire of Purgatory remains and whatever was not blotted out here by due works of penance are going to be washed away there, certainly he will go out more diligent and cautious. (On Purgatory, Pg. 104)
Summarizing, he wrote that the opinion suggesting that purgatory does not exist “makes men sluggish in avoiding sins and doing good works.” The results predicted by St. Robert Bellarmine are easy to observe. This is especially true among the apparently significantly increasing numbers of those who think they are “depressed” and that ending life on earth will take away such suffering.
Purgatory could be compared to (but worse than) the suffering of detachment of anatomy from the body, piece by piece, but without relief after each detachment.
The teaching of the Catholic Church is that even though one might “go to confession,” one has to be honestly sorry for their sins to have the sins forgiven. Additionally, even though sins are forgiven, there is still punishment which results from sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the “eternal punishment” of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the “temporal punishment” of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.
And:
1473 The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. […] Emphasis added
The Catechism states that “forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains.” It is an important teaching that is often ignored: there is punishment for sin, even if one has restored communion with God through honest repentance in the sacrament of penance. That temporal punishment can be accomplished during one’s life on earth, or it can be accomplished in Purgatory. Purgatory is part of the mercy of God; one who goes to Purgatory will eventually go to heaven, even if they are in Purgatory for many hundreds of years.
Another significant point which might be ignored when teaching the Faith is the severity of the pain and suffering in Purgatory. Current teaching on Purgatory seems to lead to a false understanding that purgatory is easy, like simply getting use to something new, and that God is feeding and nourishing the soul in Purgatory rather than purifying the soul “by fire.”
Instead, it seems that the understanding should be that Purgatory is severely painful – painful beyond what can even be imagined. Most Fathers of the Church have described Purgatory as being much worse pain than any suffering on earth. St. Robert Bellarmine quotes some of them:
The punishments of Purgatory are very severe, and no punishments of this life can be compared with these, as the Fathers constantly teach. Augustine says, commenting on Psalm 37 (38): “Although he will be saved by fire, still that fire will be more severe than whatever a man can suffer in this life.” St. Gregory says, commenting on Psalm 3: “That transitory fire I think more unbearable than every tribulation of the present life.” St. Bede, commenting on the same Psalm, says that no punishments of martyrs or thieves can be compared with those purgatorial punishments. St. Anselm holds the same thing (commenting on 1 Cor. 3) and St. Bernard in his sermon on the death of Humbert. (On Purgatory, pg. 208)
Similarly, St. Thomas Aquinas quotes St. Augustine and then explains why Purgatory is likely much worse pain than anything experienced during life on earth:
Augustine says in a sermon (xli De Sanctis): “This fire of Purgatory will be more severe than any pain that can be felt, seen or conceived in this world.”
Further, the more universal a pain is the greater it is. Now the whole separate soul is punished, since it is simple: which is not the case with the body. Therefore this, being the punishment of the separate soul, is greater than any pain suffered by the body.
I answer that, In Purgatory there will be a twofold pain; one will be the pain of loss, namely the delay of the divine vision, and the pain of sense, namely punishment by corporeal fire. With regard to both the least pain of Purgatory surpasses the greatest pain of this life. For the more a thing is desired the more painful is its absence. And since after this life the holy souls desire the Sovereign Good with the most intense longing — both because their longing is not held back by the weight of the body, and because, had there been no obstacle, they would already have gained the goal of enjoying the Sovereign Good — it follows that they grieve exceedingly for their delay. Again, since pain is not hurt, but the sense of hurt, the more sensitive a thing is, the greater the pain caused by that which hurts it: wherefore hurts inflicted on the more sensible parts cause the greatest pain. And, because all bodily sensation is from the soul, it follows of necessity that the soul feels the greatest pain when a hurt is inflicted on the soul itself. That the soul suffers pain from the bodily fire is at present taken for granted, for we shall treat of this matter further on [Cf. Supplement:70:3]. Therefore it follows that the pain of Purgatory, both of loss and of sense, surpasses all the pains of this life.
Thus, many of the saints have said that the pain of Purgatory is much worse than pains of this life.
Now, Purgatory is said to be a place where the soul goes after it is detached from the body at death, without the greatest consolation of the immediate “vision” of God in heaven. Thus, Purgatory could be compared to (but worse than) the suffering of detachment of anatomy from the body, piece by piece, but without relief after each detachment.
One might be able to learn about Purgatory in this way: consider the pain of having one’s skin, eyes, arms, legs, nose, ears, and other anatomy not only removed, but removed with the severe pain of such removal continual and unending (until one is released from Purgatory and given the immediate vision of God in heaven).
Then also consider additional pain with the above suffering: an insatiable desire to eat but never given any food, extreme thirst but never given any water, extreme tiredness but never sleeping, extreme anxiety with the desire to talk to someone for consolation but no mouth to talk with and no one around to talk to, an extreme desire to move around but no legs or arms to move, extreme heat with no way to cool down, the desire to breathe but no air to breathe and no lungs to breathe with, the desire for light but surrounded by complete darkness and no eyes to see with, and so on. Those desires are less severe suffering than the suffering resulting from the desire to be with God in heaven that is experienced in Purgatory.
As it is often health care professionals who discuss pain and suffering directly with those experiencing it, it seems that some of the information described above might be a good idea to provide to patients. For others who simply teach the Faith, a continuous, serious, and forceful teaching on the severe pain and suffering in Purgatory (and hell) is necessary.
Consider all of those previously described sufferings combined, some for hundreds of years (particularly for those who have authority over others – politicians, lawyers, law enforcement, priests, bishops, Popes, etc.). The suffering in Purgatory is likely worse than those sufferings.
Now, a logical but often overlooked conclusion which follows from the above teaching that Purgatory is worse suffering than any suffering during life on earth is this: a person who dies most likely does not “rest in peace” after death. Many people falsely believe that death causes a person’s suffering to end. That is likely false.
Instead, it is likely that pain and suffering after death increases in a seemingly almost infinite way for most people. Some people will experience the increase in pain in Purgatory while others experience it in hell. (How many people go to hell is another important point which cannot be discussed completely here. The statements of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 appear to imply that not only do “many” go to hell, but those “many” also go through life thinking that they are going to heaven, only to find out on Judgment Day that they are condemned to hell.)
Thus, the “depressed” or distressed person who falsely thinks the end of life would make them happy and at peace or the elderly minister who thinks they go straight to heaven after causing significant harm to souls they were given responsibility over are both likely incorrect in their views of pain and suffering after death.
Now, what should be done with such information? Even during friendly and casual conversation, people often harp on, or continually and forcefully warn about, many dangers that could result in severe pain and suffering. People casually harp on dangers from some foods, risky behaviors, sports, and so on. Learning in casual conversation that many headaches can be cured by drinking a full glass of water can be of utmost importance for some people. But the suffering from those things, while many of them could be severe, are nothing compared to those of Purgatory or hell.
And it is often health care professionals who discuss pain and suffering directly with those experiencing it. While it would not be considered medical advice, if a patient is to be fully informed about potential future pain and suffering, it seems that some of the information described above might be a good idea to provide to patients.
For others who simply teach the Faith, a continuous, serious, and forceful teaching on the severe pain and suffering in Purgatory (and hell) is necessary.
