Roadmap
Our Roadmap is as follows:
- Our thesis is that St. Caesarius of Arles’s Sermon 179 provides abundant evidence of a thoroughly Catholic understanding of Purgatory around the late 400s/early 500s. We will show this by:
- Providing some historical context; then
- Quoting relevant portions of Sermon 179 that show St. Caesarius believed in Purgatory; that he distinguished the punishments between mortal and venial sins, assigning them to Hell and Purgatory respectively; and that he believed venial sins could be redeemed by redemptive suffering and penance in this life, or by Purgatory in the next (if not yet redeemed).
- Finally, we will summarize the conclusions we believe can be reached from St. Caesarius’s Sermon 179.
Historical Context
St. Caesarius of Arles was a Church Father who was born around 470/471 in Burgundy, and died on August 27, 543 in Arles (both in modern day France). He was originally a monk, having entered the monastery at Lérins. He was later ordained as a deacon, then a priest, and on the death of his bishop was unanimously chosen to be his successor around 502/503. He governed the diocese of Arles for approximately 40 years, and became the foremost bishop in Gaul (modern day France). He played an important role in convening five important local church councils, including the Second Council of Orange in 529, which–under the authority of the Apostolic See (Rome)–condemned Semi-Pelagianism.
St. Caesarius was also a prolific preacher. Several hundred of his sermons survive to this day, and articulate a deeply Catholic understanding of the Christian faith.
St. Caesarius, Sermon 179 on Purgatory
On the topic of Purgatory, St. Caesarius’s sermon 179 presents a profoundly Catholic picture.1 Entitled, Admonition on the Gospel Text, “If a man’s work abides he will received reward; if his work burns he will lose his reward”, it opens by quoting the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians on a “fire” through which believers must pass (pgs. 449-50):
In the Gospel text which was read to us a little while ago, dearest brethren, we heard the Apostle say: “Other foundation no one can lay, but that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. But if anyone builds upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each will be made manifest, for the day of the Lord will declare it, since the day is to be revealed in fire. The fire will assay the quality of everyone’s work: if his work abides which he has built thereon, he will receive reward; if his work burns he will lose his reward, but himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
There are as many people who understand this text incorrectly, deceiving themselves with a false assurance. They believe that if they build serious sins upon the foundation of Christ, those very offenses can be purified by transitory flames and they themselves can later reach eternal life. This kind of understanding must be corrected, dearest brethren, because men deceive themselves when they flatter themselves in this way. For in that passing fire, of which the Apostle said “He himself will be saved, yet so as through fire,” not serious, but slight sins are purged. What is worse, not only greater sins, but even small ones, if they are very many, ruin a man. For this reason, even though not all sins are to be mentioned, at least some of them should be, whether more or less serious, lest anyone foolishly try to excuse himself by saying that he does not know which are lesser sins and which are serious offenses.
St. Caesarius is clear that this fire St. Paul speaks of will purge the believer of “slight sins,” not” serious” ones. We see here the Catholic distinction between mortal (deadly) and venial (minor) sins. Here too, St. Caesarius presents an entirely Catholic view of Purgatory, which the Church teaches cleanses us of venial sins and the temporal punishments we owe in reparation for them, whereas mortal sins must be dealt with through the Sacrament of Confession.
In §2, he lists “more serious sins” (mortal sins) listed by St. Paul that these temporary flames cannot purge: sacrilege, murder, adultery, false testimony, theft, robbery, pride, envy, avarice, anger (if continued a long time), drunkenness, and slander. Speaking about these mortal sins, he is clear that unless they are dealt with appropriately, the fires of Purgatory will not avail for their purification (pgs. 450-51):
If anyone knows that some of these sins have dominion over him, unless he does penance in a worthy manner, and for a long time, if he enjoys it, and further gives abundant alms and refrains from those same sins, he cannot be purged by that passing fire of which the Apostle spoke. Instead, eternal flames will torture him without any remedy.
In §3, he contrasts mortal sins that cannot be purged in Purgatory with a list of “slight offenses” that could be: eating and drinking more than one needs; speaking too much, or remaining silent when you should speak; provoking the poor; eating when others fast; rising too late for church; “knows his wife without the desire for children” (a contraceptive mentality); failing to visit those in prison or the sick; failing to “recall the discordant to harmony”; irritating his neighbor, wife, child, or servant more than he should; self-flattery; flattery of others (either willingly or “out of necessity”); eating excessively luxurious food while the poor are hungry; engaging in gossip (“idle stories”); carelessly taking an oath; cursing with the tongue; and rash suspicion of others.
About these, he observes (pgs. 451-52):
There is no doubt that these actions and similar ones belong to the slight offenses which, as I already said, can scarcely be counted. From these sins, not only all the Christian people, but even all the saints sometimes cannot be free, and they never will be. Although we do not believe that the soul is killed by these sins [i.e. they are not mortal], still they make it ugly by filling it with some kind of blisters and, as it were, a horrible scab. For this reason they allow the soul to come to the embraces of that heavenly spouse only with difficulty or with great confusion, for it is written concerning Him: “He prepared for Himself the Church not having spot or wrinkle” (Eph. 5:27).
Thus, we see that St. Caesarius has clearly differentiated mortal from venial sins, and asserts that only venial sins can be cleansed in Purgatory. These sins, he says, cause real damage to the soul, and thus are not to be regarded lightly simply because they are not mortal.
In the next section (§4), he then lays out how these venial sins can be “redeemed.” In short, we see that St. Caesarius clearly believes these and other sins incur a temporal punishment for which we owe satisfaction. This satisfaction can take the form of various forms of penance, as well as humbly bearing the suffering God allows us to experience as punishment for these sins, which is the core of Catholic teaching about “redemptive suffering”2 (pg. 452):
Therefore, they may continuously be redeemed by constant prayer, frequent fasting, more abundant almsgiving, and the forgiveness of those who sin against us. Otherwise, perhaps when they are collected and form a great heap, they may bury us. Whatever remains of these sins and is not redeemed by us will have to be purged in that fire of which the Apostle said: “It is to be revealed in fire, and if his work burns he will lose his reward” (1 Cor. 3:13, 15). As long as we live in this world, we ourselves exhaust ourselves in penance, or at least with the will and permission of God. We are afflicted with many tribulations because of those sins. If we are further grateful to God, we are set free. This happens as often as a husband or wife or child dies, or if our substance, which we love more than is necessary, is taken away—although we should love Christ more than that same possession, and if need be, should prefer to lose our substance rather than to deny Christ. Still, as I already said, because we love it more than we should, we cannot lose it either in life or in death without great sorrow. And still, if like good children, we give thanks to God who like a kind father permits it to be taken away, and admit with true humility that we suffer less than we deserve, in this way the sins themselves are purged in this world. Moreover, that fire of purgatory will find nothing in the future life, or at least very little, to burn away. But if we neither give thanks to God in tribulation nor redeem our own sins by good works, we will have to stay in that fire of purgatory as long as those above-mentioned slight sins are consumed like wood and hay and straw.
In §5, he warns about treating the prospect of Purgatory for one’s sins casually, urging repentance of mortal sins to avoid Hell, and doing good works to experience as little (if any) of Purgatory’s flames as possible (pgs. 452-53):
Perhaps someone may say: It makes no difference to me how long I will have to stay as long as I pass on to eternal life. Let no one say this, dearest brethren, because that fire of purgatory will be more difficult than any punishment in this world can be seen or imagined or felt. Since it is written concerning the day of judgment, “One day will be as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8), how does anyone know whether he is going to pass through that fire days or months or perhaps even years? Moreover, if a man is unwilling to put even one finger into the fire, why should he not fear that it might then be necessary to be tortured both in soul and body for a considerable time? For this reason, let each one labor with all his strength to avoid serious sins, and to redeem his slight offenses by good works in such a way that either very little or nothing of them may be seen to remain for that fire to consume. If those who commit serious sins refuse to correct them during life by the healing remedy of repentance, they will not be able to come to that fire of which the Apostle says: “But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). As was already said, they are going to hear instead that hard and irrevocable sentence: “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41). Therefore, those who desire to be freed from that eternal punishment and from the fire of purgatory should not commit serious sins. If they have already committed them, they should perform fruitful penance, not ceasing to redeem by good works also those small and even daily offenses.
In §6, he lists the ways we can redeem our sins by good works (pg. 453):
I now wish to explain more fully to you by what works slight offenses may be redeemed. As often as we visit the sick, look into prison, recall the discordant to harmony, fast on the days appointed by the Church, wash the feet of guests, attend vigils rather frequently, give alms to the poor who pass before our door, and forgive our enemies as often as they ask it, by these and similar works slight offenses are redeemed every day.
Thus, combing what he says in §4 and §6, we see that St. Caesarius teaches we can “redeem” lighter sins by the following methods (in the order mentioned by him):
- Prayer
- Fasting
- Almsgiving
- Forgiving others
- Humbly accepting our suffering
- Visiting the sick
- Visiting prisoners in prison
- Recalling discordant people to harmony
- Fasting on the fast days appointed by the Church
- Washing the feet of guests
- Attending vigils (prayer and psalms during the night)
- Almsgiving to the poor (alms are mentioned in §4 as well)
- Forgiving our enemies (mentioned in §4 as well)
These and “similar works” are the means by which “slight offenses are redeemed every day,” and according to St. Caesarius, the more we do them prior to death, the less punishment (if any) we will endure in Purgatory.
In §7, he contrasts the penance required for venial sins (which can be purged in Purgatory) and the penance required for mortal sins (pg. 454):
This alone, however, does not suffice for serious sins. Tears and crying and groaning must be added, as also continuous fasting which is extended over a long time, and the gift of even more abundant alms than we are able to bestow. Of our own accord withdrawing from communion with the Church, and continuing for a long time in grief and sadness, we should also perform public penance, because it is just for a man to redeem himself by the building up of many things, since he ruined himself by the destructive power of many things.
With the stakes laid out so clearly, St. Caesarius then proceeds in §8 to summarize how a good Christian approaches the moral life in light of the fires of both Purgatory and Hell (pg. 455):
All the saints who faithfully serve God, striving to take time for reading and prayer and to persevere in good works, do not build serious sins or slight offenses, that is, wood, hay, and straw upon the foundation of Christ, but rather good works, that is, gold, silver, and precious stones. Such souls will pass without any violence through that fire of which the Apostle said: “It is to be revealed in fire” (1 Cor. 3:13).
However, souls which are ready to commit slight offenses, even though they do not commit serious sins, if they are careless in redeeming them, they are not going to come to eternal life because of the fact that they believed in Christ and did not commit serious sins. Through the justice and mercy of God, as was already said, they must first be purified by the bitterest tribulations in this world, or through the goodness of God, they may free themselves by abundant almsgiving and kind forgiveness of enemies. Otherwise, they will have to be tortured for a long time by that fire of which the Apostle spoke, in order that they may reach eternal life without spot or wrinkle. Souls which have committed either murder or sacrilege or adultery or other sins like these [mortal sins], as was already said, if they have not been helped by worthy penance, will not deserve to reach life by passing through the fire of purgatory, but they will be thrown to death in the eternal fire.
In §9, he concludes the sermon with stern warnings about the necessity of penance for mortal sins, and redemption of lighter sins to avoid Purgatory through good works (pgs. 455-56):
Therefore, as often as you hear in the Gospel text, “If anyone builds upon the foundation of Christ gold, silver, precious stones” (cf. 1 Cor. 3:12), accept it with reference to the saints and perfect Christians, who, like purified gold, will merit to reach eternal rewards. However, those who build upon it wood, hay, and straw understand, as was often said, as good Christians who, nevertheless, are careless in purging themselves of slight offenses. If divine justice has not purged such sins through many tribulations, and no one has redeemed them by an abundance of alms, not without great grief will there be fulfilled in them what the Apostle said: “If his work burns he will lose his reward; he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Let no one deceive himself, as was already said above, in thinking that this can happen in the case of serious [mortal] sins, too, if they have remained uncured.
For this reason, let us labor as much as we can with God’s help, as I have often said, so that we may be able to avoid serious sins, and so that we may redeem the slight offenses without which we cannot live, by continually loving our enemies and an abundance of alms: with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Conclusion
In short, what we see in St. Caesarius of Arles’s Sermon 179 is an exceptionally Catholic view of Purgatory. This is all the more remarkable because he lived in the first half of the first millennium–long before the “Great Schism” of 1054, and even longer before the rise of protestantism in the 16th century. Whatever Purgatory may be, one cannot claim it is a medieval invention after reading Church Fathers like St. Caesarius.
In summary, he teaches the following about Purgatory and its relation to sin in Sermon 179:
- The fire St. Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 refers to the fire of Purgatory, which does not cleanse us of mortal sins, but only venial sins.
- The cleansing of Purgatory comes after death, and is only for those who are otherwise in a state of grace and on their way to Heaven.
- While venial sins are not mortal, they nonetheless damage the soul, and should not be treated casually. Absent good works from us, these venial sins must be cleansed in Purgatory, a painful experience that can be mostly or completely avoided.
- The cleansing of Purgatory is a painful experience that can be mostly or completely avoided to the extent we redeem our venial sins and the punishment we owe for them through good works and humbly bearing our sufferings.
