What are the 9 levels of purgatory?

A Visitor's Guide to Dante's Nine Circles of Hell
  • First Circle: Limbo. The first circle is home to the unbaptized and virtuous pagans. ...
  • Second Circle: Lust. ...
  • Third Circle: Gluttony. ...
  • Fourth Circle: Greed. ...
  • Fifth Circle: Anger. ...
  • Sixth Circle: Heresy. ...
  • Seventh Circle: Violence. ...
  • Eighth Circle: Fraud.
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What are the stages of Purgatory?

First, he imagines Purgatory as being divided up into seven terraces, each one corresponding to a vice (in the order that Dante sees them: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice and Prodigality, Gluttony and Lust).
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What is at the top of Purgatory?

The final terrace of Purgatory is that of Lust.
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What are the realms of Purgatory?

Seven terraces of Purgatory. After passing through the gate of Purgatory proper, Virgil guides the pilgrim Dante through the mountain's seven terraces. These correspond to the seven deadly sins or "seven roots of sinfulness": Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice (and Prodigality), Gluttony, and Lust.
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Who guards the gates of Purgatory?

As the warden or guardian of the mountain of Purgatory, Cato performs a role somewhat similar to that of Charon in Hell.
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Dante's Purgatorio



Can souls in Purgatory see us?

Visitations from Purgatory

When, according to God's will, spiritual beings such as angels appear, they must take on an appearance that is perceivable to our sense of sight. In a similar way, the souls of the deceased have been permitted to appear to mankind.
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How long do we stay in Purgatory?

A Spanish theologian from the late Middle Ages once argued that the average Christian spends 1000 to 2000 years in purgatory (according to Stephen Greenblatt's Hamlet in Purgatory). But there's no official take on the average sentence.
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What kind of punishment is in purgatory?

purgatory, the condition, process, or place of purification or temporary punishment in which, according to medieval Christian and Roman Catholic belief, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for heaven.
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Does everyone go to purgatory before heaven?

The Catholic Church holds that "all who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified" undergo a process of purification, which the Church calls purgatory, "so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven".
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Who is the purgatory lady?

Susan Tassone, often referred to as “The Purgatory Lady,” is an award-winning, best-selling author of 11 books including: "St.
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How hard is purgatory?

Purgatory offers an impressive vertical drop of 2,028 feet situated across 1,360 acres of skiable terrain. With an annual snowfall of 260 inches, the terrain is divided into 20% beginner, 45% intermediate and 35% advanced to expert that can be accessed via 12 lifts.
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How long do you pray for someone in purgatory?

Two effective ways to pray for the souls in purgatory are praying the Divine Mercy chaplet for them and remembering them in your Rosary intentions. The Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosary require a time commitment of approximately 10 and 20 minutes.
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What is the 8th sphere of heaven?

Dante's nine spheres of Heaven are the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile.
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When did the Catholic Church get rid of purgatory?

The sale of indulgences for time off in Purgatory fueled the Protestant Reformation in 1517, which in turn sparked a series of wars between European Christians. In 1563, Catholics formally outlawed the sale of indulgences.
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Is there a purgatory according to the Bible?

Roman Catholic Christians who believe in purgatory interpret passages such as 2 Maccabees 12:41–46, 2 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 12:32, Luke 23:43, 1 Corinthians 3:11–3:15 and Hebrews 12:29 as support for prayer for purgatorial souls who are believed to be within an active interim state for the dead undergoing purifying ...
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What are the seven circles of heaven?

In Dante's paradise, the nine circles of heaven are an allegory for the angelic hierarchy using the planets of our solar system as names including, in order, “the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and the Primum Mobile.” Q: What exactly is meant by Dante's journey?
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Is it possible to skip purgatory?

The Seventh Means of avoiding Purgatory is Extreme Unction: God Himself has given us a Sacrament, the end of which is to take us directly to Heaven. This Sacrament is Extreme Unction, which according to St. Thomas and St.
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Can you avoid purgatory?

We can avoid Purgatory living a holy life, staying away from sin, confessing our sins regularly, having the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace and practicing works of Mercy, especially having a devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
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Can you go to heaven without being baptized?

While Jesus told Nicodemus, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5), he did not set baptism as a hindrance to salvation but just the opposite. We so often judge things by human standards, but God is not restrained by our standards.
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How many souls are released from purgatory?

According to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly.
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How is a soul purified in purgatory?

What happens in Purgatory? The Holy Souls in Purgatory undergo purification suffering of love. The purifying suffering of love is called “satispassion.” Since the Holy Souls can't be purified by their own efforts, they atone for their sins by undergoing purifying suffering which re-establishes holiness and justice.
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Why do they call it purgatory?

Purgatory comes from a Late Latin verb meaning "to cleanse" — purge shares the same root. In Roman Catholic doctrine, souls atoned for past sins in purgatory before entering heaven. In fact, for centuries, purgatory was often regarded as an actual physical place.
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What is the only unforgivable sin?

One eternal or unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), also known as the sin unto death, is specified in several passages of the Synoptic Gospels, including Mark 3:28–29, Matthew 12:31–32, and Luke 12:10, as well as other New Testament passages including Hebrews 6:4–6, Hebrews 10:26–31, and 1 John 5:16.
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What is the prayer to release souls from purgatory?

Amen. "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home, and within my family. Amen."
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What happens when you pray for souls in purgatory?

Our prayers and good works on behalf of the souls in Purgatory help them be cleansed more quickly from their venial sins and the left-over temporal punishment due to sin. Once in Heaven with Our Lord, they also remember us gratefully and pray for us in return.
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