“Purgatory shows God’s great mercy and washes away the defects of those who long to become one with Him.” – St. Josemaria Escriva
Posted on 08/08/2015 2:06:13 PM PDT by NYer
“Purgatory shows God’s great mercy and washes away the defects of those who long to become one with Him.” – St. Josemaria Escriva
When is the last time you heard a homily on purgatory? If your parish is like most, it’s been a very long time. Getting more personal, when is the last time you prayed for the Holy Souls? If you’re like many Catholics, the answer is not recently. The souls in purgatory are too often forgotten by Catholics, and I fear this is often out of a misguided desire not seem medieval (as if that were a bad thing), superstitious, or worse yet, ecumenically insensitive.
Regardless of the reasons for its neglect, it is the constant teaching of the Church that purgatory is quite real and that there are countless souls there in need of our prayers. But my point here is not prove that purgatory exists or to provide a theological basis for its existence. Rather, it is to urge you to pray for the Church suffering. Here are 5 reasons to pray for the relief of our brothers and sisters in purgatory.
1. The pain is real – The suffering of purgatory is likened by the saints to burning in a blazing fire. In fact, some saints have even said that the pain of purgatory is not all that different from the suffering of hell. One of the chief sources of the pain is the fact that salvation has been obtained, and yet one cannot immediately enjoy its consolations. This delay of the enjoyment of heaven leads to a spiritual agony of sorts. St. Thomas Aquinas explains it like this:
The more one longs for a thing, the more painful does deprivation of it become. And because after this life, the desire for God, the Supreme Good, is intense in the souls of the just (because this impetus toward him is not hampered by the weight of the body, and that time of enjoyment of the Perfect Good would have come) had there been no obstacle; the soul suffers enormously from the delay.
So the souls in purgatory are suffering in a very real and painful way, a way we cannot fully comprehend. We have the ability to help them and relieve them by our prayers and actions.
2. They are our relatives – Many of us have blood relations—grandmothers, aunts and uncles, and parents—who have died and are likely in purgatory. We should be praying for their souls out of love for them. But even if we have no dead relatives that we know of, the souls in purgatory are still our spiritual brothers and sisters. We are related by baptism into Christ, and this familial relationship should spur us to act on their behalf.
3. You will probably go there – Let’s be honest, most of us are simply not holy enough to bypass purgatory, and the vast majority of us will experience its cleansing fires. If you were suffering intensely, wouldn’t you want someone to offer you relief? Yes, you would. Praying for the Holy Souls, then, is a fulfillment of the Golden Rule given to us by Christ—to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you feel an aversion to praying for the poor souls, then simply remember what you would wish if you were in their position.
4. It will bring you joy – Praying for the souls in purgatory is not without its rewards. Can you imagine the joy of meeting brothers and sisters in Christ one day in heaven and realizing that you helped them with your humble prayers? “As we enter Heaven we will see them, so many of them coming towards us and thanking us,” Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “We will ask, who they are, and they will say a poor soul you prayed for in Purgatory.” The small sacrifice of time we made in this life will all be worth it when we see the faces of those who benefited from our prayers.
5. It isn’t that hard – Praying for the souls in purgatory is quite easy, so easy in fact that we have no excuse for not doing it. A prayer for the Holy Souls can be as simple as the short Requiem Aeternam prayer: “Eternal rest, grant unto him/her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him/her. May s/he rest in peace. Amen.” We can also add a brief petition to our daily meal prayer: “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.” Why wouldn’t we pray these simply prayers daily?
Two effective ways to pray for the souls in purgatory are praying the Divine Mercy chaplet for them and remembering them in your Rosary intentions. The Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosary require a time commitment of approximately 10 and 20 minutes. Even praying these powerful prayers once a week for the Holy Souls isn’t asking that much considering the benefit it brings to your spiritual family members.
Finally, one can have a Mass said for the poor souls. Mass stipends are usually $10, the cost of two coffees at Starbucks. This merciful almsgiving is pleasing to God and hardly burdensome to us.
Purgatory is nothing other than an experience of the burning and purifying mercy of God, a purifying love that consumes all defects with its intensity. While it may be strange for us to think of love and mercy as inflicting pain, this is the reality of purgatory.
We have the power to help our suffering friends and bring them relief. To do so is an act of mercy and self-giving love. The sacrifice it requires of us is minimal, and yet the rewards are great. On this All Souls day, let us renew our commitment to praying for our brothers and sisters who suffer in the purifying love of God.
Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis:
Requiescant in pace. Amen.
I was turned down by 12 priests because they felt the Blessed Mother was guiding me.I had a writer priest who kept pushing me ,so I said yes to a priest friend who said whatever you say I’ll back you.Spiritual directors are not hard to find.I have 3 because of the work that I do which is almost done.Find someone who knows you and listen to them.I have One for deep spiritual stuff.One for You know me-what should I do stuff.An one for Laypeople stuff.I have no idea why Our Father sends these Souls except for I like to pray.These souls are still with me so we kneel down to pray together.I know why just can’t say now or maybe never.
I will say, I was never a fan of this "caucus" thread nonsense. They were invented a few years ago because the Mormons on the forum were complaining and crying that too many people were pointing out basic facts to them.
So we divided our discussions about the Almighty and the Truth into these little Affirmative Action Segregation Clubs, where no "___________ need apply."
It was a bad idea then, and a bad idea now.
Debate on the subject of God is the most important topic we could discuss. Instead, we have countless threads on how Ted Cruz will save the planet, Hillary's e-mail server, or the Trump vs. Kelly spat.
If someone wanted to jump into one of the Evangelical threads and debate, I would welcome them and would love to discuss things.
Too bad that isn't true with the "This is Our Club and We Don't Want Outsiders or the Facts" threads.
I'll leave ya'll alone and ask the rm to remove all non catholic threads.
The word purgatory is nowhere found in Scripture. While this is true, it does not disprove the existence of purgatory or the fact that belief in it has always been part of Church teaching. The words Trinity and Incarnation aren’t in Scripture either, yet those doctrines are clearly taught in it. Likewise, Scripture teaches that purgatory exists, even if it doesn’t use that word and even if 1 Peter 3:19 refers to a place other than purgatory.
Christ refers to the sinner who "will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matt. 12:32), suggesting that one can be freed after death of the consequences of one’s sins. Similarly, Paul tells us that, when we are judged, each man’s work will be tried. And what happens if a righteous man’s work fails the test? "He will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor 3:15). Now this loss, this penalty, can’t refer to consignment to hell, since no one is saved there; and heaven can’t be meant, since there is no suffering ("fire") there. The Catholic doctrine of purgatory alone explains this passage.
Then, of course, there is the Bible’s approval of prayers for the dead: "In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the dead to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin" (2 Macc. 12:43–45). Prayers are not needed by those in heaven, and no one can help those in hell. That means some people must be in a third condition, at least temporarily. This verse so clearly illustrates the existence of purgatory that, at the time of the Reformation, Protestants had to cut the books of the Maccabees out of their Bibles in order to avoid accepting the doctrine.
Prayers for the dead and the consequent doctrine of purgatory have been part of the true religion since before the time of Christ. Not only can we show it was practiced by the Jews of the time of the Maccabees, but it has even been retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified. It was not the Catholic Church that added the doctrine of purgatory. Rather, any change in the original teaching has taken place in the Protestant churches, which rejected a doctrine that had always been believed by Jews and Christians.
Other than skiing there, I haven't have much exposure to Purgatory. No Sunday school or Catechism for this rogue male child growing up, so my map and perspective were off a bit.
Quite a few of the messages in True Life In God speak to purgatory and about praying for the souls there. All new to me.
For example, here is a quote from one of the first messages and some of my first exposure to these things:
Vision Of Heaven And The Holy Battle
March 26, 1987
listen to the trumpets; they are My angels announcing Me; give Me your hand for you are My little visitor; yes, every angel falls prostrate before Me; have you seen this multitude of souls, they have just arrived from underground (Purgatory, at Satan's gates (very low)); these are tormented souls who have been released, they were at Satan's gates;There's a lot more to that message and many more that speak to the same things. Things that I may not understand, but I do accept them as fact.Who released them?I did, with My heavenly works, and all who amend and love Me; you see why I want you to love Me? the deeper you love Me the better chance they have to be lifted and come to Me; do you want to know what will become of these souls?
For me, the messages are truly a gift from the Trinity, imho, and have been tremendously helpful for cutting through the centuries of confusion and interdenominational bickering.
I wish I wasn't so blind, but the more I learn, the more it all makes sense and the more He makes/They (the Holy Trinity) make sense.
Again, thanks for the ping!
The caucus allows us to discuss our beliefs and share with others who are interested in our posts, contribute in a positive manner and are willing to respect our point of view. It is peaceful and productive, and a good thing. IMHO, each has a God-given free will, including Mormons, to believe as their heart tells them, with the respect and dignity due to every human being. This is not always given- hence the need for a caucus. It is a welcome respite from open forum, where each other's perceived truths collide in an often derisive manner.
While the Bible is Truth, interpretations vary, and each believes his or his denomination's own. Forcing one's interpretation of their truth on another is counter-productive to discussion- we've all seen what can come of it. We Catholics and those invited, as anyone else have the right to express opinions; support one another; nurture one another's beliefs; share experiences, and learn from one another together, in an atmosphere of peace and understanding.
God bless you all; this is nothing personal, and I've conversed with both of you in forum- but please note the caucus rules. I'll make no more comment, as it would defeat the purpose of the caucus, but again, God bless you!
Grateful
Then start your own set of discussion forums with your own rules.
The site owner has spoken and those who insist they should have the right to entertain themselves by carrying on unending arguments need to take that point up with the owner rather than breaking the rules.
Religion Forum threads labeled “Caucus”If you are not currently, actively Catholic and wish to post on this Caucus thread, send a private message to the poster of the thread and ask if he/she would allow you to post here.
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For instance, if it says “Catholic Caucus” and you are not currently, actively Catholic, then do not post to the thread. However, if the poster of the caucus invites you, I will not boot you from the thread.
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If you question whether the article is appropriate for a caucus designation, send me a Freepmail. I'll get to it as soon as I can.
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Please see post #28, it should have included your handle in the “to” field.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3322301/posts?page=28#28
This thread will remain in the Catholic Caucus designation for now to give time for the issues brought up to be resolved.
You made a good point: “Not only can we show it was practiced by the Jews of the time of the Maccabees, but it has even been retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified.”
Thus we go back to the Old Testament for proof of praying for the souls of the dead and I accept that.
The Catholic Caucus designation will be removed as you, being the poster of this thread, mentioned other belief systems which is disallowed by the guidelines for Caucus threads in the Religion Forum.
The guidelines can be found by clicking on my name at the bottom of this post.
All posters on the RF should familiarize themselves with the guidelines.
We won't debate if 2 Maccabees is canon or not as the Jews rejected it and it was not considered canon by the early church.
Thus we go back to the Old Testament for proof of praying for the souls of the dead and I accept that.
We can go back to the OT and see sacrifices being made in the Temple....doesn't mean we should do them today.
What we do have is this from the New Testament being addressed to a primarily Jewish audience.
Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him (Hebrews 9:23-28 NASB).
The message of the NT rejects the concept of purgatory.
There is a prayer that Our Lady instructed the children in Fatima that we say between each decade of the Rosary:
Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy Mercy.
Souls such as those from the passage, I believe, are some of the souls Our Lady speaks of. Others are those on earth who choose evil: we pray that they may repent and go to Heaven.
Try not to be so tough on yourself: you're actively seeking God, and that's a beautiful gift!
G-d ♡ bless you!
Grateful ✟ ✡
You have my curiosity piqued! I’m gonna download a text file. We never read Dante in school- although I’m no scholar... I have read books on Purgatory and the Catholic teaching thereof, but it might be fun to see his take on it. Lord knows, it’s quoted often enough- I’ve even referred to annoying circumstances as “the _th circle of hell”!
Or get it in paperback at a used book store.
It was Dante’s “Inferno”
And like the soul of the good Catholic lady that attached herself to me seeking a priest for her last confession, I accept the concept of purgatory.
RESCUE OF SOME GOOD SOULS WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE BAD
GreyFriar
First Century Christianity Notes
19 November 1995
I arrived at our Sunday night meeting at 8:12 pm, after a 12-hour drive from Indiana. All during the trip I had felt “driven” to make it to that night’s meeting.
I had gone back home to visit my mother and take care of some business for her the week before Thanksgiving. While there, I went to see the new CORE building on the campus of my Alma Mater, Saint Joseph’s College, and ended up walking all around the campus. I approached the chapel and decided to see if it had changed since I went to college there. I entered the chapel, looked around, and then knelt at a pew and prayed for the souls of the priests and professors who I knew had taught at Saint Joseph’s, whether living or dead. I said the Hail Mary and the Lord’s Prayer. Tears started coming down my face. At the end, I looked around the chapel and realized that the Confessionals were gone. Off to the side, however, was a door with a sign that said, “Reconciliation room.” I went in there. It was empty. And then I knew the reason: it was Saturday afternoon and the students were gone on Thanksgiving vacation. I realized I was looking for a priest, but didn’t know why. I walked into the priests’ lounge, but it was empty. I was reluctant to go into the residential hall and knock on doors, so I departed. However, I felt there was something I had not completed.
On Sunday morning I departed Mom’s at 8 am to return to Washington, DC. It crossed my mind that I might make it back in time for the meeting, but then I thought not, because the drive usually takes 14 to 15 hours. During the drive I repeatedly thought about getting to the meeting before it broke up. Every time I thought that it was not necessary to push myself and the car, or “It’s more sensible to go home and not to church,” the urge to make it to First Century grew stronger. So I did push, by keeping my speed up and stopping only for gas.
I arrived and walked into the meeting feeling a bit sheepish because I had driven past my house to get to the church. Everyone was happy to see me, and did not think it strange that I would stop in at the meeting before I went home.
When we reached the point where we practice elevation of spirit, alignment with the good-will of God, and prayer for others, I had this strange feeling of a burden to be released. Bradley said he “saw” teams of angels coming to me. Then someone attached to me “spoke” directly to him. He asked her why she had not gone to heaven. She said she couldn’t because she had sinned; she needed to go to Confession first, but the priests would not listen to her; she had tried to be a good Christian, but she knew there were times when she had been bad, and she had not been absolved of those sins.
Bradley told her not to blame the priests; they didn’t respond to her confession because they couldn’t hear her after she died, but now she could rise up, go to Jesus, and confess directly to him. She was not sure about that, so Bradley had to convince her Jesus would forgive her as he did the woman caught in the act of adultery. That was the crucial point. She was escorted to the Light, along with many others who had attached themselves to me during my visit to the chapel. Bradley said he felt there were about 20 of them, all good Catholics who thought they were bad.
My feeling “driven” to get back in time to go to First Century meeting must have been to achieve the rescue of these souls who apparently came back with me from St. Joe’s. I now know that I was looking for a priest so I could go to Confession, even though I am not a Catholic. The urge to confess — at the time I didn’t know what — was coming from these souls, because they believed they had to confess their sins and receive absolution before they could go to heaven.
Later, when I told this episode to a Catholic friend, he agreed that I apparently had picked up some Catholic souls who were spending their time in Purgatory in St. Joe’s chapel. He said Purgatory is a state of being, as Heaven and Hell are states of being, and is a part of them, as a transition. Thus, it was Okay for those souls to be there.
Bradley said the key thought about Purgatory is the verb “to purge” which is a process and not necessarily a place. But these souls were not purging themselves or being purged, and they had probably lost track of time as most ghosts do, so no matter how much time they spent in St. Joe’s chapel, it would be of no benefit to them. What they really needed was a clairaudient priest who could hear their confessions, grant them absolution, and send them to heaven. He thought that perhaps this could be a special ministry of spiritually gifted priests, to the countless numbers of souls like these who are probably gathered in Catholic edifices all over the world.
Some time afterward I realized who the priest was that I was seeking. It was my old and deceased for many years, German language professor, Father Hiller.
Project Gutenberg Divine Comedy
Public domain! I'm not cheap, just broke- and I'm not kidding...
"May the Almighty and Merciful God grant us pardon, absolution, and the remission of our sins." We are forgiven, the sin wiped clean from our souls, and the punishment due to sin relieved.
Pretty amazing how He works sometimes, isn't it? 😊
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