A reader has a question about purgatory

He writes:

I’ve read some of your stuff and listened to your journey from Protestant to Catholicism.

Pleased to meet you!

I myself am a non-denominational Christian and a youth pastor. My heart is for the One Universal Church to come together so that there is less division within Christianity.

That is so beautiful. You give me great hope! That doesn’t happen without the Holy Spirit being at work in your life.

But, something that is really hard to reconcile is the concept of purgatory, especially for my background and my understanding of Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross for our salvation.

That’s a common struggle. The good news is that Purgatory is quite reconcilable with both common sense and the witness of Scripture.

Can you kinda help me understand your view of why believers should be praying for the dead to help them “get saved”? Or just your overall idea of the purgatory.

For the basic story on Purgatory, go here:

As to the concept of prayer to the saints, go here:

Please let me know if you have any further questions. Bear in mind that Catholics do not believe (and scripture does not teach) “Once saved, always saved”. Christ’s work is finished. Our work of applying that salvation to our lives is not finished till we die. That’s why Jesus commands us to “abide in me” and warns that we can throw away the gift of salvation and wind up being burned in the fire if we do not remain in him (John 15).

Hope that helps!