I was born and raised as a Baptist. I have a feeling that's going to change. Thanks ,Father Meeks, for taking the time to explain what you believe and why.
I came to know Christ in a Fundamentalist Baptist church. Praise God for them who taught me to love scripture, listen to the Holy Spirit and to cherish and love my deep, abiding and personal relationship with Christ. I am forever in debt to them. Several years later, I came to the fullness of the Gospel in the Catholic Church. It was not an easy transition but one I continue in and continue to grow in. I'll pray for you. It is a tough path but worth every difficult step.
I've never heard a priest explain this, or any other theology so brilliantly, which makes me wonder about the Seminaries, or colleges training our priests? God bless you Fr Meeks you have a gift for teaching! ✌️🙏
Gentle yet succinct. Thank you Father for the solid teaching. You are gifted regardless of your lack of proper English accent for C.S. Lewis’ quotes. Your gift is far more superior. And I am eternally grateful for the blessing that you give and that you are.
Thank you Father for your wonderful podcasts. You are certainly a gift from God to all of us. As a cradle Catholic of 70+ years I have never heard an explanation of purgatory so clearly explained and backed up by using Isaiah and New Testament writings. Living in the Deep South using explanations from Maccabees does not suffice. I look forward to all your podcasts. You help me to live, learn and share our beautiful Faith. God Bess you and your family.
@@francishopkins44 You can press the three little dotes on the side of your comment with the option of editing the message. Just in case you are not aware.
Father Meeks, I am so glad that you decided to stay with us on RU-vid and present these interesting lessons pertaining to Apologetics. Wednesday is a special day now that I have your episodes to look forward to.
Please Pray for My Family and Me. We did k own a Benedictine Monk. Wish He was still alive . He knew of our situations . He was going to Help but they got to Him . Over two years now .
Thank you Father Meeks. I appreciate all of the information you provide. It is so important that our understanding of our Faith is critical to salvation 🙏🏻🕊✝️🕊🙏🏻
God bless you father, and thank you for not going away. I stole this, another preschool Purgatory Heaven's Hospital. It seems that we all need Heavens Hospital!
Dear Fr. Ed, Once again, you have managed to treat this topic with great clarity in a very concise and logical manner! I am looking forward to Part 2! Your podcasts have become an essential part of my weekly viewing and prayer life! I encourage others to share these widely with family, friends, and acquaintances. These are to good not the share!
Father - I’m doing the 90 Days for the souls in Purgatory Podcast with The Marian Fathers - tonight we prayed for those souls suffering from gluttony. I find Purgatory extremely frightening.🙏 looking forward to next week. Thank you!
Thank you Father! I enjoy how you speak, I am not good in english, but you speak so nice, that I understand everything. Could you please tell how our prayers help those who are in purgatory? It is said, that they can't help themselves anymore, so we need to pray to shorten their sufferings. My understanding suggests, that they don't love themselves, they want to suffer for their sins, and they choose to suffer. So how can I help? Maybe if they feel our love for them, it helps them to forgive themselves their sins? But why we? Why not the call from Heaven? Why are we sinners so important for their purification? I don't understand clearly. Forgive me God, that I don't pray for them enough, and please bless everyone who will pray for me, if I get there.Amen
There are some people whose lives are exemplary who clearly hunger and thirst after righteousness, yet because they see the atrocities and injustices of life cannot believe that God exists. As a protestant, I have always felt that purgatory was for them.
Praised be Jesus I am amazed how our 'brothers' from protestant and east orthodox churches can reject purgatory. Mt21 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,j” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. . It must be some place that soul will sped some time in waiting for entering heaven. God bless
I like Brandt Pitre's explanation of the parable of the wicked servants. One will be cut in two (go to hell), one beaten severely and one beaten less severely. The concept of being beaten is a reference to a purgation after death.
Father Meeks, how would an Anglican find a door into the understanding of becoming a Catholic. There are no Ordinariate Parishes in my area. Is The only path as a convert to Catholicism?
Not speaking for Fr Meeks, but for myself: to join an ordinariate parish doesn't mean you remain Anglican. The Ordinariate is a door into the Catholic Church in its fullness; Ordinariate parishes are Catholic parishes, not Anglican ones, but with a strong Anglican flavour. If you complete the sacraments of initiation within the Ordinariate, you'll be a Catholic as much as any other Catholic, and entitled to attend Catholic Mass wherever it is validly and licitly offered. (Conversely, any Catholic can attend Mass at an Ordinariate Church). Hope that helps. PS I don't think Fr Meeks responds to comments, at least not to date. I just realised that I didn't really answer your question given that there is no ordinariate parish near you. I guess you have to do some serious thinking and praying to seek the Lord's will for you. Given that to join the ordinariate is to become Catholic, would it be so difficult to join a regular Catholic church?
The parable of the unforgiving or wicked servant in Matthew 18:23-35 eludes to purgatory, especially verses 32-35. The servant was handed over to the jailer, in Greek torturers, until he should pay all of his debt. The debt of mortal sin cannot be paid in hell and there are no torturers or debt in heaven.
I have a question. When we die and see the face of Jesus and he will send us to purgatory or Hell. So do we stay asleep until Jesus comes again ? I can’t recall but in mass we say something like until we wake up. So when we die do we just stay asleep until he comes back?
Well, knowing my own condition and past it would certainly be appropriate for me to go through a purification. But here's the thing. Contrary to all Christian doctrine that I know of, I Know ghosts exist. Could that be souls in Purgatory? I don't know. Just trying to make sense of everything.
Father, I am catholic and I have struggled with the concept of Purgatory for quite some time. Someone already mentioned the "Thief on the Cross" scenario in the comments. Why didn't Jesus or one of the new testament writers mention this additional hurdle to get into Heaven? Why did it take until the twelfth century for this concept to be developed? I thought one of the important concepts of apologetics was that writings should materialize within a couple of hundred years of an event in order to be considered believable? I would also ask if you could address the alleged buying and selling of indulgences that took place during the 13th century. Your explanation of Purgatory may have to be expanded beyond two parts. I don't think I am the only one who is confused about this topic. I'm not trying to trap you. I'm earnestly trying to find out the truth about this topic so I can explain it to other Catholic friends who have similar questions. I really appreciate you spending time on this topic.
Paul wrote the verse that Father quoted ( 1Cor3:15) . Also, St Augustine between yrs 392 and 418 quoted this same verse when he wrote the following: "In this life may you cleanse me and make me such that I have no need of the corrective fire which is for those who are saved, but as if by fire. For it is said, he shall be saved, but as if by fire.. and because he is saved, little is thought of that fire......" . I am reading about the early church fathers. I know why they say if you go back to the early church, you will become Catholic. No one can mistake the early church when there were no bibles, but bishops and priests and deacons who learned through apostolic succession from peter and apostles; no one can mistake it for anything but catholic. The liturgy, Holy Eucharist, infant baptism, other sacraments, prayers and Masses for the dead,etc.etc, etc. God bless you!
With reference to # 1 through 5 Father Meeks teachings are typically wonderful BUT the studio needs enhansements and the length needs to be extended as more teaching is appropriate . Robert Lockwood.
Father, do you have a P.O. Box or an email address. I would like to send you a letter with some of the questions I have. I was not raised Catholic but I believe that the Ordinariate might be the best fit for my Parish and Religious Order. We are Anglican/Old Catholic but we consider ourselves more Catholic than Anglican.
Did the thief on the cross ["Today you shall be with me in paradise"] go to purgatory? Are we not being sanctified in this present life by trials and tribulations, testings that we may come forth as gold? Was Joshua not taken out of his filthy clothes and clothed in clean linen [Zechariah ch.3]? Are we not clothed with the righteousness of Christ?
Someone once said "the closer you get to God the more you realize how sinful you are". [paraphrased]. When we are released from this body are we not released from the sinful nature? Did the apostles and martyrs go to purgatory? Best wishes.@@thomasmc7752
Fr Meeks Thank you for the excellent preaching of God's Word.However, I challenge the idea of purgatory. Having stumbled in the Catholic tradition for 55 years I was steeped in the Baltimore Catechism at the expense of God's Word.I have belatedly corrected this error. In your exegesis of the Catholic dogma on purgatory you stated correctly that the word purgatory does not appear in Scripture. Inspection of God's Word further reveals that the concept is not supported. Although there are many refutations let me simply point to Luke 12:43 the story of the thief on the cross where Jesus says to a guilty sinner (like moi) "Today you will be with Me in Paradise". What sweat words! Note Jesus did not say "You will be in purgatory". John 3:16 the euangelion says "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". He does not add that an indefinite purging is a prerequisite. Thank you Lord for paying the price that I could not pay.
I don't think 'the age to come' argument is a good one. Purgatory isn't an age. In fact, that statement of Jesus suggests that it will be possible to commit the unpardonable sin in the age to come, but even then it will not be forgiven. So then the question arises, What is the age to come? There are many who believe it is the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth spoken of in Revelation. But that's not part of Catholic teaching. So is the age to come just synonymous with heaven? If someone had committed the unpardonable sin in their life time, they wouldn't make it as far as purgatory, so there would be no need to say that it would not be forgiven there. I think I've just started rambling.
The age to come must mean simply the next phase of existence after earthly life. Judgment whether we make it to purgatory is made at this time. Its duration is likely to be undetermined but partly connected to the prayers and works of penance of the faithful on earth.
