By Fr John Flader
I have always thought that it is not easy to go straight to heaven when we die, but recently a friend argued, based on the Summa Theologica of St Thomas Aquinas, that the Anointing of the Sick removes all our temporal punishment and, in any case, there is a plenary indulgence at the moment of death for those who prayed habitually. Is this true?
We recall that in order to enter heaven the soul must be perfectly purified. The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of “that holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). And Our Lord uses the parable of the wedding garment, without which no one will be allowed into the wedding banquet of heaven (cf. Mt 22:1-14).
Traditionally the Church teaches that we must be purified of three realities in order to go to heaven: temporal punishment remaining for our sins, bad habits and attachments caused by sin and any lack of sorrow for venial sins. It is clear that someone with any of these on their soul is not worthy of heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030).
For this reason the Church has, from the beginning, prayed and offered Masses for the faithful departed, no matter how holy they were. The prayers of the funeral Mass always ask God to have mercy on the person’s soul and to take them to heaven. They do not assume that the person is already in heaven. And the Church dedicates the month of November to praying especially for the souls in Purgatory, following the commemoration of All Souls on November 2. So it is clear that the Church herself does not assume that practically everyone goes straight to heaven.
What does St Thomas say about the effects of the Anointing of the Sick? He deals with the question in the Supplement to his Summa Theologiae, where he speaks of three consequences of sin which are healed in some way by the sacrament. The first is the guilt, or stain, of sin and this is taken away by the sacrament, at least as regards venial sins. Mortal sins must first be confessed before receiving the sacrament. The second consequence is temporal punishment, and St Thomas says that the Anointing “diminishes the debt of temporal punishment”. It diminishes the debt, but it does not take it away completely. The third consequence is what St Thomas calls the “remnants of sin” and these too are diminished. By remnants he means “a certain spiritual debility in the mind” such that when it is removed “the mind is not so easily prone to sin” (cf. STh, Suppl., q. 30, art 1).
As is clear, St Thomas in no way suggests that all the effects of sin, especially temporal punishment, are removed so that the soul would be able to go immediately to heaven after receiving the Anointing of the Sick. Baptism does remove all the temporal punishment but the Anointing does not.
As regards the plenary indulgence granted by the Church at the moment of death, this too must be understood properly. As we know, a plenary indulgence removes all the temporal punishment owing for our sins and the Church, as you say, grants a plenary indulgence at the moment of death to all those who “are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime” (Pope Paul VI, Apost. Const. Indulgentiarum doctrina, n. 18). Does this mean that since most Catholics have been in the habit of praying during their life, they will receive the plenary indulgence and go straight to heaven?
Not necessarily. First, they must be “properly disposed”, meaning they must be in the state of grace and they must reject all attachment to sin, even venial sin. This may be difficult to do as it requires a great love for God and with it an abhorrence of sin, even the slightest sins. But even if the plenary indulgence does take away all the temporal punishment owing for their sins, the person may still not be sorry for all their venial sins or they may still have bad habits and attachments caused by sin. Any of these would prevent their immediate entry into heaven.
So while we can hope that many people do go straight to heaven, we should take nothing for granted and should always pray and have Masses said for those who have died, no matter how good they were. It is better to offer prayers and Masses for someone who does not need them than to leave the person in Purgatory without anyone to pray for them.
