St. Augustine on the Faithful Departed saved through a Certain Purgatorial Fire

That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some more slowly and some more quickly in the greater or lesser degree in which they loved the good things that perish, through a certain purgatorial fire.

St. Augustine – Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Charity – c. 421 A.D.

St. Augustine on Purgatory, Prayers for the Departed, & the Sacrifice of the Mass

There is an ecclesiastical discipline, as the faithful know, when the names of the martyrs are read aloud in that place at the altar of God, where prayer is not offered for them. Prayer, however, is offered for other dead who are remembered. It is wrong to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought ourselves be commended. But by the prayers of the Holy Church, and by the salvific sacrifice, and by the alms which are given for their spirits, there is no doubt that the dead are aided, that the Lord might deal more mercifully with them than their sins would deserve. The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death.

St. Augustine – Sermons – c. 411 A.D.

St. Augustine on Purgatory and Temporal Punishment of Sin

Temporal punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by some after death, by ‘some both here and hereafter, but all of them before that last and strictest judgment. But not all who suffer temporal punishments after death will come to eternal punishments, which are to follow after that judgment.

St. Augustine – City of God – A.D. 419

Dr. Kenneth Howell on Purgatory and Salvation

The best treatise on Purgatory that I have ever read was by Catherine of Genoa. It’s a small treatise. She is from the 15th century. Catherine of Genoa says in her treatise on Purgatory that the pain of Purgatory is that you see the light of God’s face in the beatific vision and you’re not quite there yet, and the pain is that you long for it so much. The Feast of All Souls, of course, is for us as Christians on earth to pray for the beloved departed, and to pray for them because we have a holy obligation for our ancestors that they might reach the joy of heaven. But you know…for me as a former Protestant, the thing that makes these days very special, is that it makes me realize what salvation is. I used to think that salvation was accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, praying a prayer, and then everything would be secure. Well then I should live out a Christian life, but nevertheless, it was that decision to follow Christ that I made for him. But in fact, what salvation is…is a transformation process. From the day of my baptism when I was a baby, to the day of my death, I will always be in the process of transformation, as long as I, and we all cooperate with the love of God, which is given to us in the form of grace. That grace is the merits of Christ on the Cross, given to us because of our faith and good works. And as we give our lives to him, we are transformed, as Paul says, from glory to glory. And as we are transformed, more and more, we come close (to God). Now my goal is that before I die, my Purgatory will be done, so that I can go right into the presence of God.

Dr. Kenneth Howell