CHAPTER ONE:
WHAT IS PURGATORY.
It is a prison of fire in which almost all saved souls are submerged after death and in which they suffer the most intense pain.
Here is what the greatest doctors of the church tell us about Purgatory.
So pitiful is their suffering that a minute of that horrible fire seems to be a century.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, the prince of theologians, says that the fire of Purgatory is equal in intensity to the fire of hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more terrifying than all possible suffering on this earth! Saint Augustine, the greatest of all holy doctors, teaches that in order to be purified of their faults prior to being accepted in Heaven, souls after death are subjected to a more penetrating and more terrible fire than anyone can see, feel or conceive in this life.
Although this fire is meant to cleanse and purify the soul, says the Holy Doctor, it is still sharper than anything we can withstand on Earth.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria does not hesitate to say that "it would be preferable to suffer all possible torments on Earth until the last day than to spend a single day in Purgatory".
Another great Saint says: Our fire, compared to the fire of Purgatory, is a cool breeze."
Other holy writers speak in identical terms of that horrible fire.
HOW IS IT THAT THE PENALTIES OF PURGATORY ARE SO SEVERE?
1. The fire that we see on Earth was made by the goodness of God for our comfort and well-being. Sometimes it is used as torment, and it is the most terrible thing we can imagine.
2. The fire of Purgatory, on the other hand, is made by the Justice of God to punish and purify us and is, therefore, incomparably more severe.
3. Our fire, at most, burns to consume our body; made of matter, on the contrary, the fire of Purgatory acts on the spiritual soul, which is inexplicably more sensitive to sorrow.
4. The more intense the fire, the faster it destroys its victim; which consequently ceases to suffer; because the fire of Purgatory inflicts the sharpest and most violent pain, but never kills or annihilates the soul or takes away its sensitivity.
5. As severe as the fire of Purgatory is, it is the pain of separation from God, which the soul also suffers in Purgatory, and this is the most severe pain. The soul separated from the body yearns with all the intensity of its spiritual nature to be with God. She is consumed with an intense desire to fly to Him. She is still held back, and there are no words to describe the anguish of that unsatisfied aspiration.
What madness, then, is it for an intelligent being like the human being to deny any precaution to avoid such a frightful event.
It's childish to say that it can't be like that, that we can't understand it, that it's better not to think or talk about it. The fact is, whether we believe it or not, all the sorrows of Purgatory are beyond anything we can imagine or conceive. These are the words of Saint Augustine.
Chapter 2: Can this all be true?
The existence of Purgatory is so certain that no Catholic has ever had a doubt about it. It was taught from the earliest times by the Church and was accepted with undoubted faith when the Word of God was preached. The doctrine is revealed in Holy Scripture and believed by millions and millions of believers of all times.
Still, as we have pointed out, the ideas of some are so vague and superficial on this very important subject, that they are like people who close their eyes and deliberately walk on the edge of a precipice.
They would do well to remember that the best way to shorten our stay in Purgatory - or even avoid it - is to have a clear idea of it, and to think about it well and adopt the remedies that God offers us to avoid it. Not thinking about it is fatal. It is digging the pit for themselves, and preparing for themselves a terrifying, long and rigorous Purgatory.
The Polish Prince:
There was a Polish prince, who, for a political reason, was exiled from his native country, and having come to France, he bought a beautiful castle there. Unfortunately, he lost the Faith of his childhood and was currently busy writing a book against God and the existence of eternal life.
Taking a walk one night in his garden, he came across a woman who was crying bitterly. She asked the reason for her grief.
Oh prince, she replied, I am the wife of John Marie, your butler, who passed away two days ago! He was a good husband and devoted servant to her Highness. His illness was long and I spent all my savings on doctors, and now I have no money to go and offer Masses for his soul."
The prince, touched by the grief of this woman, said a few words to her, and although he no longer believed in eternal life, he gave her some gold coins to offer a Mass for her late husband. Some time later, also at night, the Prince was in her study working feverishly on her book.
He heard a loud knock on the door, and without looking up from his writings, he invited whoever was going to come in. The door opened and a man walked in and stood in front of his desk.
Looking up, what was the Prince's surprise to see Jean Marie, his dead butler, looking at him with a sweet smile.
Prince, he told him, "I come to thank you for the Masses that, with your help, my wife was able to order for my soul. Thanks to the Saving Blood of Christ, offered for me, I am now going to Heaven, but God has allowed me to come here and thank him for his generous alms".
Then, he solemnly added "Prince, there is a God, an afterlife, a Heaven and a Hell." Saying this, he disappeared.
The Prince fell to his knees and recited a fervent Creed ("I believe in God the Father Almighty...")
SAN ANTONINO AND HIS FRIEND.
What follows is a narrative of a different kind, but no less instructive. Saint Antoninus, the illustrious Archbishop of Florence, relates that a pious gentleman friend of his had died. Several Masses were paid for by his soul. The Saint was greatly distressed when, after a long period of time, the soul of the deceased appeared to him, suffering greatly.
"Oh my dear friend" exclaimed the Archbishop, are you still in Purgatory, you, what did you lead such a pious and devout life???"
The poor sufferer replied: "That's right, and I will have to stay here for a long time, because in my life on earth I was negligent in offering suffrages for the souls in Purgatory. Now, God by his just judgment applies the suffrages that should be applied by me, in favor of those for whom I should have prayed". "God, in his justice, will give me all the merits of my good deeds when I enter Heaven; but first, I must expiate my grave negligence for not having remembered the others."
So true are the words of Our Lord "With the rod with which you measure you will be measured".
Remember, you who read these lines, the terrible fate of that pious gentleman will be that of those who refuse to pray and refuse to help the Holy Souls.
How long do souls stay in Purgatory?
The length of time souls remain in Purgatory depends on:
a) the number of his faults;
b) the malice and deliberation with which they were carried out;
c) the penance done, or not, the satisfaction done, or not, for the sins committed during life;
d) And it also depends on the votes offered by them after their deaths.
What can be said for sure is that the time that souls spend in Purgatory is, as a rule, much longer than people can imagine.
We will extract some quotes from books that speak of the lives and revelations of the Saints.
Saint Louis Bertrand: his father was an exemplary Christian, as could naturally be expected, being the father of such a great Saint. At one time he wanted to become a Carthusian Monk, until God made him see that it was not his will. When he died, after long years of practicing every Christian virtue, his son, aware of the rigors of Divine justice, offered some Masses and raised the most fervent supplications for the soul of whom he loved so much.
A vision of his father in Purgatory forced him to multiply his votes hundreds of times. He added the most severe penalties and long fasts to his Masses and prayers. Still eight whole years passed before he got his father's release.
Saint Malachy had a sister in Purgatory, he redoubled his efforts, but, despite the Masses, prayers and heroic mortifications offered by the Saint, he remained there for several years.
It is said that a holy nun in Pamplona managed to free several Carmelite nuns from Purgatory who had remained there for 30 to 40 years.
Carmelite Nuns in Purgatory for 40, 50 or 60 years! What will be the fate of those who live immersed in the temptations of the World, with its hundreds of weaknesses?
Saint Vincent Ferrer, after the death of his sister, prayed with incredible fervor for her soul and offered several Masses for her liberation. She appeared to the Saint at the end of his Purgatory, and told him that, had it not been for her powerful intercession before God, she would have been there for an endless time.
In the Dominican Order it is a general rule to pray for superiors on the anniversary of their death. Some of these have died several centuries ago, in addition, they were eminent men for their piety and wisdom, however, the Church considers it necessary and prudent to pray for them.
We do not mean by this that all souls are held for equal times in the expiatory fires. Some have committed minor offenses and have done penance in life. Therefore, your punishment will be much less severe.
The quotations placed here are very opportune to make us reflect: if those souls, who enjoyed the treatment, saw, followed, and had the intercession of great saints, were retained for a long time in Purgatory, what will become of us who do not enjoy any of those privileges?
WHY SUCH A PROLONGED ATONEMENT?
The reasons are not difficult to understand.
1. The malice of sin is very great. What seems to us a small fault is actually a serious offense against the infinite goodness of God. It is enough to see how the Saints repented of their faults.
Our tendency is to be weak, it is true, but God generously offers us abundant graces to strengthen us; he gives us the light to see the seriousness of our faults, and the necessary strength not to fall into temptation. If, even so, we fall, the fault is all ours. We do not use the light and strength that God generously offers us; we do not pray, we do not receive the Sacraments as we should.
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