What is Purgatory, and why do Catholics pray for the dead?
Purgatory is the final purification of the elect, entirely distinct from the punishment of the damned in hell.
All who die in God's grace and friendship, but are still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation. However, after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven, where nothing defiled can enter. Purgatory cleanses the soul of any remaining attachment to sin and temporal punishment due to forgiven sins.
Because the souls in purgatory are members of the Communion of Saints, our prayers, almsgiving and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can assist them. In the Old Testament Book of Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin, showing that praying for departed souls is holy and wholesome.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1030
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1031
- 2 Maccabees 12:46
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.