The Fiery Imagery of Purgatory
Recently, a listener to our C.S. Lewis podcast reached out to us. She had just begun RCIA with her family and they were quite taken aback when the priest described Purgatory in the following way:
“Purgatory is a place of fire and burning. However, there will be hope there because you will know you’re getting out someday.”
RCIA Class
It seemed to her that this would make the work of Christ incomplete. After the class, her daughter exclaimed:
“How do they expect anyone to convert if you’re still going to Hell? Because that’s exactly what Purgatory sounds like!”
When they got home, they did some googling and found several other sources that said Purgatory would be the same fire of hell, but with the hope of one day escaping.
Since my co-host and I had spoken about Purgatory on the podcast, she sent us a message expressing her consternation. I too once balked at the fire imagery I saw in some artistic depictions of Purgatory (such as in the altarpiece above), so I thought it would be a good idea to turn my answer into a blog post…
