Secondly, heaven is being prepared by God for “those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified” (CCC, no. 1023). It is seeing God face to face, the deepest longing for each one of us. Once we die in a state of perfect purity, our Church teaches us that we will immediately enter heaven without going through a purification process in purgatory. When we are already in heaven, we become “saints” gazing on the face of God forever.
Thirdly, purgatory is not a teaching invented by the Church. A proof of this is that this practice of praying for the souls in purgatory is mentioned in the Scripture (cf. 2 Macc 12:46). The Book of Maccabees was written two centuries before Christ was born in Bethlehem. These souls in purgatory did not die in a state of mortal sins. Let us be clear that they are destined for eternal life. The reason why they are not yet in heaven is that they need to be perfectly purified. This purification process is so dependent on the prayers of the pilgrim Church and on God’s mercy.