Fire up your imagination for a moment and imagine you are standing on a busy street corner with a handful of rosaries. Most people pass by hurriedly, but a stranger…
Whenever good-hearted theological debate ensues among my non-Catholic Christian friends and I, I’ve noticed that the topic of Purgatory inevitably seems to arise. It appears to be a crowd favorite — a topic of much wonder and equal controversy.
Interestingly, and despite the fact Purgatory is a prized topic of friendly ecumenical quarrel, very few Protestants actually seem to know what the doctrine actually is that they are saying “no” to. Full of assumptions they often object without pause only to find after careful correction that their true understanding of Purgatory was, in fact, lacking..
All too often, however, we Catholics are no better in understanding this same doctrine to which we say “yes”.
This is a problem that can easily be corrected.
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