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Q

I believe the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a reference to Purgatory. After his death the rich man is escorted to Hades. Note that Our Lord uses the term "Hades" and not "Gehenna" and that "Hades" commonly did not refer to Hell but instead the abode of the dead before the Resurrection. Next, note two aspects of the Rich Man's suffering. First he has a vision of Lazarus in Paradise. This is, in my humble opinion, not consistent with the visions of the Saints of Hell, where no light penetrates. The reprobates in Hell certainly do not see into Heaven. And next, the Rich Man feels compassion for his brothers on Earth.
This also is inconsistent with those in Hell. They have turned away from God completely and since He is the true source of compassion, they will necessarily have none. My conclusion is that Christ is describing a soul in Purgatory expiating his imperfect compassion. And yet I have read multiple accounts of this passage which consider the rich man in Hell. Can you give some further explanation regarding this passage?

A

The term “Hades” is Greek for The Netherworld; the Hebrew term is “Sheol”. Both mean abode of the dead. Revelation 20:13 indicates that the people in Hades have not yet faced the final judgment, so you’re correct in saying that it definitely is NOT Hell, which is eternal. Once the final judgment occurs, Hades, and those in Hades whose name is not in the book of life, will be cast into the pool of fire, which is eternal death (Rev. 20:14 & 2:11).

“Abraham’s bosom” refers to a place within Hades where the righteous souls of the Old Covenant are waiting for Christ to open the gates of heaven. The Rich Man went to a place of anguish within Hades that is permanently separated from the place where Lazarus is resting. You could be right about the Rich Man showing compassion for his brothers, or he could be perpetuating his own selfishness because the damnation of his entire family would increase his own misery and embarrassment—-scholars argue about that.

As an apologist, referring to a Biblical place that is neither Heaven nor Hell is very useful when discussing Purgatory. As far as I know, the Catholic Church does not teach that the story of Lazarus describes Purgatory, but your scriptural interpretation seems to be within bounds. The Second Vatican Council’s Dei Verbum, along with the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s Article III, both outline the parameters of how we can interpret Sacred Scripture. “This Rock Magazine” had a great article about interpreting Sacred Scripture in January 2001; here is a link to the article (I have the actual magazine article if you would like a scanned copy):

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0101bt.asp

As a side note, the story of Lazarus is fascinating to me because I don’t recall any other parable in which Jesus actually names a character. Also, Jesus doesn’t call the story a “parable”, as He does with many other parables in the Gospels (however, the preceding two parables in Luke are not called a “parable” either). The reason this is significant is because John’s Gospel actually describes a man named Lazarus who died and came back from the dead at Jesus’ command. Could Luke be giving us the “rest of the story”?