Good question. Bustedhalo has the answer in a "multimedia presentation." Oh, and the Muzak was supposed to be a backdrop for someone who was "waiting," as one does in Purgatory.
James Martin, SJ
What the H--- is Purgatory?
Show Comments ()
3
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
16 years 1 month ago
Purgatory, in my view, is where the saved who don't quite have their attitudes together go to lose such vices as anger and lust. Let us hope that everyone who is angry or at all impure is not damned, or there are none in Heaven (certainly no bloggers at any rate).
16 years 1 month ago
Excellent, Father. But more to the point, it's very timely, given the recent resurgence in interest on the matter of indulgences and also given that we are still in Lent, awkwardly journeying towards Easter and our risen Lord. I particularly enjoyed the "waiting room" symbol. In my CCD classes, I tell my students Purgatory is like flying to a faraway city (Heaven) only instead of a direct flight, we have to lay over in Dallas (or Atlanta, Newark, etc.) switch planes, go through security again, sprint to another concourse, and then...wait. The food is lousy, the seats are painful, it smells of diesel and pet carriers. This makes you yearn more for your destination, and it also helps you realize what you should have done earlier to avoid this situation. (So it's not a perfect metaphor. But it takes an 8th grader confirmandi as far as he needs to go.) AMDG,
16 years 1 month ago
Your video implies that Purgatory features Muzak and back issues of America Magazine. Are you *sure* that's Purgatory??
The latest from america
The influence of the Synod on Synodality for the conclave—and what the result of the conclave might mean for the future of synodality
The role of the pope is in a process of conversion from worldly monarch to world’s priest.
At the Synod on Synodality, the cardinals were ‘converted’ to working together in a new way. As they join their brothers in the conclave, they face a referendum on—and resistance to—their work.
“In a time when the globalized economic and political order is crumbling—especially exposed during the Trump era—the church may well be one of the last stubborn institutions that still holds a truly global character.”