Purgatory is often frightening. Yet in the Catholic tradition, it is above all a place of healing and purification. The sanctuary at Montligeon, dedicated to praying for the dead, offers a chance to rediscover this.
What happens at the moment of death? Accordint to the Church, judgment takes place when the soul separates from the body. This encourages us to learn to love and forgive right now.
Since purgatory is a preparatory stage to paradise, it would seem that we spend a certain amount of time there. But the most pressing question is: how much?
Purgatory belongs to the Catholic faith. However, aspects of it can be found in other cultures and religions, which affirm that purification is necessary after death.
In a most touching testimony, Sylvia and Franck share how their lives changed entirely once they encountered God in their life. And, furthermore, how they discovered the potency of praying for the souls in purgatory.
Christians believe in the resurrection of the body and in life everlasting. Indeed, the deceased are well alive in heaven. Faced with death, one might doubt such a reality, especially so as most often demise is experienced as a breach in relationships. In such a context, after we die, will we see our loved ones?