Q. 1374. {410} What is the judgment called which all men have to undergo on the last day?  A. The judgment which all men have to undergo on the last day is called the General Judgment.

Q. 1375.  Will the sentence given at the particular judgment be changed at the general judgment?  A. The sentence given at the particular judgment will not be changed at the general judgment, but it will be repeated and made public to all.

Q. 1376. {411} Why does Christ judge men immediately after death?  A. Christ judges men immediately after death to reward or punish them according to their deeds.

Q. 1377.  How may we daily prepare for our judgment?  A. We may daily prepare for our judgment by a good examination of conscience, in which we will discover our sins and learn to fear the punishment they deserve.

Q. 1378. {412} What are the rewards or punishments appointed for men’s souls after the Particular Judgment?  A. The rewards or punishments appointed for men’s souls after the Particular Judgment are Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.

Q. 1379. {413} What is Hell?  A. Hell is a state to which the wicked are condemned, and in which they are deprived of the sight of God for all eternity, and are in dreadful torments.

Q. 1380.  Will the damned suffer in both mind and body?  A. The damned will suffer in both mind and body, because both mind and body had a share in their sins.  The mind suffers the “pain of loss” in which it is tortured by the thought of having lost God forever, and the body suffers the “pain of sense” by which it is tortured in all its members and senses.

Q. 1381. {414} What is Purgatory?  A. Purgatory is the state in which those suffer for a time who die guilty of venial sins, or without having satisfied for the punishment due to their sins.

Q. 1382.  Why is this state called Purgatory?  A. This state is called Purgatory because in it the souls are purged or purified from all their stains; and it is not, therefore, a permanent or lasting state for the soul.

Q. 1383.  Are the souls in Purgatory sure of their salvation?  A. The souls in Purgatory are sure of their salvation, and they will enter heaven as soon as they are completely purified and made worthy to enjoy that presence of God which is called the Beatific Vision.

Q. 1384.  Do we know what souls are in Purgatory, and how long they have to remain there?  A. We do not know what souls are in Purgatory nor how long they have to remain there; hence we continue to pray for all persons who have died apparently in the true faith and free from mortal sin.  They are called the faithful departed.

Q. 1385. {415} Can the faithful on earth help the souls in Purgatory?  A. The faithful on earth can help the souls in Purgatory by their prayers, fasts, alms, deeds; by indulgences, and by having Masses said for them.

Q. 1386.  Since God loves the souls in Purgatory, why does He punish them?  A. Though God loves the souls in Purgatory, He punishes them because His holiness requires that nothing defiled may enter heaven and His justice requires that everyone be punished or rewarded according to what he deserves.