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2,000 Days in Purgatory

Question:

A preacher once told us that an act of fornication attracts a sentence of 2,000 days in purgatory. How true is this?

Answer:

This sounds a bit off, frankly, since of itself an act of fornication, if it were fully deliberate, would mean eternal loss, not just purgatory. Purgatory for fornication makes sense only once one has repented of the sin. Then there may be some purification depending on the demands of justice. It does make sense, though, that the temporal punishment due to a sin would be related to its gravity or seriousness as sin, and so “2,000 days in purgatory” might make some sense from this point of view.

St. Thomas, however, says that some defects are not so grave but are deeply rooted and so might require a milder but much longer purification; whereas others are more grave but, being from sudden passion, might require a harsher but shorter purification. So the duration of one’s purgatory does not necessarily relate to the seriousness of the sin, but rather to the degree of attachment in one’s soul.

“Charity covers a multitude of sins,” the Apostle tells us, and the Savior says of the sinful woman that she was forgiven because she loved much. Thus it is important to pray lovingly for the departed, so as to merit through love to receive help ourselves when we enter there, by God’s mercy.

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