My gf went to Catholic grade-school. In second or third grade she raised her hand and asked the Sister why little babies had to go to Limbo. She had literally lost sleep over this. Sister toddled over to her, smiled, then out of nowhere her right hand darted out and smacked the lil girl across the face, knocking her right outa her seat. She had a split lip and an understanding that questions were not appreciated.
(bolding mine)
“The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire”
The guys on Web of Faith refer to it as a place where any lingering connections to life on earth are resolved and sins purified.
The distinction between the judgment of each person, and The Last Judgment:
I. THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT
1021 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ.592 The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul–a destiny which can be different for some and for others.593
1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification594 or immediately,595 – or immediate and everlasting damnation.596
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V. THE LAST JUDGMENT
1038 The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust,"623 will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man’s] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment."624 Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him. . . . Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. . . . And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."625
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1042 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed:
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1045 For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been "in the nature of sacrament."636 Those who are united with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, “the holy city” of God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."637 She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly community.638 The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion.
Oops. To my defense, I posted this morning after an involuntary sleepless night. But please allow me to screw up from time to time, you know that I’m not a native speaker ;).
Anyway, thanks Nava and all the others for your input here, it has been a very illuminating thread for me so far. I don’t want to steer the thread away from GQ territory, but allow to me to note that I’m fascinated by what I learned, but find it utterly strange although I was raised in the Catholic tradition (though only lame-ass mainstream liberal German Catholic, but at least I used to be an altar boy ;)). I’m just not wired for religion, but have always found it fascinating. I would love to discuss religious matters with a devout and well-informed believer from time to time, but I just don’t know any in real life, that’s why I ask these kind of questions sometimes here.