A Homily for Friday of the First Week of Lent
Friday, February 27, 2026
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8; Matthew 5:20-26
Audio Recording
“Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Those are sobering words. Jesus is describing someone imprisoned until a debt is fully repaid. And if you stop to think about it, that raises an important question: how can someone in prison pay off a debt if they cannot work, cannot earn anything, and cannot free themselves? The obvious answer is that they cannot. Their release depends entirely on something outside themselves. And this helps us understand what the Church teaches about Purgatory.
Purgatory is not a second chance, and it is not a place where souls decide their eternal fate. That decision is made in this life. Purgatory is for those who die in God’s grace and friendship, who are saved, but who are not yet perfectly purified. Scripture tells us that nothing unclean can enter Heaven. God is perfect holiness and perfect love, and any lingering effects of sin must be removed before the soul can enter fully into His presence.
The suffering of Purgatory is often described as the flames of purgation. These are not flames of destruction, but flames of mercy. They purify the soul, burning away every attachment to sin and every imperfection. This purification is painful, not because God is cruel, but because the soul now sees clearly and longs completely for Him. Yet at the same time, the soul has peace and hope, because it knows with certainty that Heaven awaits.
This is very different from the suffering of those who die in mortal sin. Those souls have freely rejected God’s grace. Their suffering is not purification, but loss — the eternal loss of the One they were created to love. The souls in Purgatory suffer while moving toward God, filled with hope. The souls in Hell suffer knowing they have chosen to be separated from Him. That difference changes everything.
When Jesus speaks of remaining imprisoned until the last penny is paid, He reminds us that sin has consequences. Even when sin is forgiven, its effects remain. And like the debtor in today’s Gospel, the souls in Purgatory cannot free themselves. They depend entirely on God’s mercy. His mercy purifies them, heals them, and prepares them for Heaven.
What This Means for Us Today
This reminds us to take sin seriously, but also to trust deeply in God’s mercy. Through Confession, prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, God purifies us even now. Lent is a time to cooperate with His grace and allow Him to cleanse our hearts.
It should also remind us to pray for the souls in Purgatory. They cannot help themselves, but we can help them through our prayers and sacrifices, and especially through the Holy Mass. This is a profound act of charity and love.
God, in His mercy, does not wait until after death to begin this work of purification. He begins it now, in this life, if we allow Him. Every act of repentance, every sincere Confession, every act of charity, every time we surrender our pride, our anger, or our attachments, His grace is already purifying us.
Lent is a privileged time for this healing work. Like Purgatory, it is not about punishment, but preparation. It is the loving work of a Father preparing His children to see Him face to face. And the more we open our hearts to His mercy now, the more we are transformed now, and the more ready we will be to enter, with joy and peace, into the eternal embrace for which we were created.
God bless you.