The Hope of Being a Catholic

An addition to my last blog (six months ago).
Growing up Catholic I was always aware of Heaven and those christians who had gone on before. We have the hope of the resurrection, so our EXPECTATION is that we will see them again. The Church is more than we can physically see.Since we are all one Body of Christ, we are connected to each other by the Holy Spirit. Our deceased loved ones do not cease being part of the church just because they have gone on before us. They are STILL part of the Church and remain ‘on the church membership rolls’. We join hands with them spiritually as part of the mystical Body of Christ. So I have a hope that someday I will see my parents again.
My twenty years in fundamentalism left me no such hope.
Since my parents never 'prayed the sinner's prayer' 'asked Jesus into their heart' and remained Catholic, I had only the grim 'reality' that they were probably in Hell.
In fundamentalism, being Catholic earns one an instant ticket to Hell.
When somebody dies, its as if they cease to exist. They are spoken of in the past tense, they were alive once, but now they are dead, gone, they cease to exist. If it was someone who was an enemy, there is a strange and sick satisfaction in ‘knowing’ their enemies are ‘burning in Hell’. It gives them a feeling of ‘justice’. If it was a loved one, they weep because they 'know' they are in Hell because they remained Catholic. Little children are told grandma and grandpa are 'burning in Hell.' Since fundamentalism allows no belief in puratory, there is no alternative. In fundamentalism, we miss our loved ones without a promise of ever seeing them again. We wept differently.
That is not 'hope'.
There is an incredible freedom and joy in not having that fear again. Catholics have the wonderful truth of Purgatory. Many think Purgatory is a way to avoid or ignore the realities of Hell. Purgatory is not necessarily a punishment but a final purification process. Some of us die with flaws on our souls that need to be removed before we can enter Heaven. Purgatory is Heaven's bath tub.
Knowing that, we have the promise that we will see loved ones again. We can look into the face of a child and tell them, yes, you will see grandma and grandpa again.
I still miss my parents. Sometimes when I hear or see something that reminds me of when I was a little child, tears come to my eyes.
But now as a Catholic, those become tears of joy.