On 1/3/07, David Savage <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So did I. But I was wrong. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory >
Just to expand slightly (if I accurately recall my days as a Catholic schoolboy), purgatory is where one goes to "purge" (get it?) one's venial sins from one's soul. One can only be in heaven if one's soul has been cleansed of all sin. The more venial sins on one's soul, the longer one spends in purgatory. Of course, one can get time off if one has indulgences made on one's behalf (modern indulgences, unlike the ones that pissed off Martin Luther, are prayers made on behalf of another). Purgatory was described as a heaven-like place - the only thing that makes a soul "sad" in purgatory is the absence of God. It frightens me that I remember this... cheers, frank, recovering catholic -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
