Revelations on Purgatory from Faustina's Diary

Revelations on Purgatory from Faustina's Diary

It was at that time that I asked the Lord for whom else should I pray for. Jesus said that on the following night He would let me know for whom I should pray.  (The next night) I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.

I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call her “The Star of the Sea.” She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice] which said, My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it. Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls. (Diary, 20)

One night, a sister who had died two months previously came to me. She was a sister of the first choir. I saw her in a terrible condition, all in flames with her face painfully distorted. This lasted only a short time, and then she disappeared. A shudder went through my soul because I did not know whether she was suffering in Purgatory or in hell. Nevertheless, I redoubled my prayers for her. The next night she came again, but I saw her in an even more horrible state, in the midst of flames which were even more intense, and despair was written all over her face. I was astonished to see her in a worse condition after the prayers I had offered for her, and I asked, “Haven’t my prayers helped you?” She answered that my prayers had not helped her and that nothing would help her. I said to her, “And the prayers which the whole community has offered for you, have they not been any help to you?” She said no, that these prayers had helped some other souls. I replied, “If my prayers are not helping you, Sister, please stop coming to me.” She disappeared at once. Despite this, I kept on praying.

Prayer as a Protection and the Love of God

 

"And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil"

Humble Spirit of Prayer

However sublime your contemplation may be, make it a point to begin and end your prayer with the realization of your nothingness. Continue always to walk in fear. If your prayer is from God, you will very often, in spite of yourself, reflect upon your own unworthiness, and you will have no need of this counsel. Such prayer engenders humility and always gives us greater light to perceive our nothingness. I shall not insist further, as you can consult many books on this matter. I have spoken about it because I have personally encountered these temptations, and have often suffered great anguish from them. I merely add that nothing that one might say is sufficient to insure us complete security.

Need of Constant Protection Against Wiles of Satan

O Eternal Father, since things are so, what can we do but have recourse to Thee, and beg Thee not to permit our enemies to lead us into temptations? If only they would attack us openly! Then we could more easily free ourselves with Thy help. But, who, O my God, will unmask their secret schemes? We have constant need of Thy protection. Speak, O Lord, some word that will enlighten and assure us. Thou knowest full well that those who travel the way of prayer are not numerous. And there will be even fewer, if, as one attempts to advance, one is beset with so many fears.

Sinners Under the Dominion of Satan

It is indeed a curious fact that the world seems to think that Satan never tempts those who fail to follow the way of prayer. Hence, it is more astounding to see one single soul, though striving for perfection, fall into some illusion, than it is to view a hundred thousand other persons, living publicly in sin and deceived by Satan. It requires little effort to determine whether these latter are in a good or bad state, for one can clearly see at a thousand leagues away, that they are under the domination of Satan.

It is a Holy Thought to Pray For the Dead

It is a Holy Thought to Pray For the Dead

What is man, that you are mindful of him? What is this new mystery surrounding me? I am both small and great, both lowly and exalted, mortal and immortal, earthly and heavenly. I am to be buried with Christ and to rise again with him, to become a co-heir with him, a son of God, and indeed God himself.

  

This is what the great mystery means for us; this is why God became man and became poor for our sake: it was to raise up our flesh, to recover the divine image, to re-create mankind, so that all of us might become one in Christ who perfectly became in us everything that he is himself. So we are no longer to be male and female, barbarian and Scythian, slave and free – distinctions deriving from the flesh – but are to bear within ourselves only the seal of God, by whom and for whom we were created. We are to be so formed and molded by him that we are recognised as belonging to his one family.

An Offering

 

An Offering

ETERNAL FATHER, we offer Thee the Blood, Passion, and Death of JESUS CHRIST, and the sorrows of the most holy Mary and St Joseph, in payment for our sins, in suffrage for the holy souls in purgatory, for the wants of our holy Mother the Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Amen.

From the Raccolta

Image Credit Waiting for the Word

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Written by St. Alphonsus Liguori this novena has prayers for each day which are followed by the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Day 1

Jesus, my Savior I have so often deserved to be cast into hell how great would be my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank You for the patience with which You have endured me. My God, I love You above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended You because You are infinite goodness. I will rather die than offend You again. Grant me the grace of perseverance. Have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with your powerful intercession. 

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 2

Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give You thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You. Send me Your assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Your love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with your powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 3 

My God! Because You are infinite goodness, I love You above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against You. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. And you, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with your powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 4

My God! Because You are infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended You. I promise to die rather than ever offend You more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those holy souls that burn in the cleansing fire and love You with all their hearts. O Mary, Mother of God, assist them by your powerful prayers.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 5

Woe to me, unhappy being, if You, O Lord, had cast me into hell; for from that dungeon of eternal pain there is no deliverance. I love You above all things, O infinite God and I am sincerely sorry for having offended You again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with your powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 6

My Divine Redeemer, You did die for me on the Cross, and have so often united Yourself with me in Holy Communion, and I have repaid You only with ingratitude. Now, however, I love You above all things, O supreme God; and I am more grieved at my offences against You than at any other evil. I will rather die than offend You again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with your powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 7 

God, Father of Mercy, satisfy this their ardent desire! Send them Your holy Angel to announce to them that You, their Father, are now reconciled with them through the suffering and death of Jesus, and that the moment of their deliverance has arrived.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 8

Oh my God! I also am one of these ungrateful beings, having received so much grace, and yet despised Your love and deserved to be cast by You into hell. But Your infinite goodness has spared me until now. Therefore, I now love You above all things, and I am heartily sorry for having offended You. I will rather die than ever offend You. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with your powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Day 9 

My God! How was it possible that I, for so many years, have borne tranquilly the separation from You and Your holy grace! O infinite Goodness, how long-suffering have You shown Yourself to me! Henceforth, I shall love You above all things. I am deeply sorry for having offended You; I promise rather to die than to again offend You. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance, and do not permit that I should ever again fall into sin. Have compassion on the holy souls in Purgatory. I pray You, moderate their sufferings; shorten the time of their misery; call them soon unto You in heaven, that they may behold You face to face, and forever love You. Mary, Mother of Mercy, come to their aid with your powerful intercession, and pray for us also who are still in danger of eternal damnation.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which You did suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which You did suffer during Your most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.  R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which You did suffer in Your most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which You did suffer in carrying Your cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.  R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which You did suffer during Your most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.  R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which You did suffer in Your most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.  R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which You did suffer in breathing forth Your Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.  R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here) 

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for you; I entreat you, who are so dear to God, and wh are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Which Concludes Concerning the Souls in Purgatory

Which Concludes Concerning the Souls in Purgatory

Which concludes with an application of all that has been said concerning the souls in purgatory to what the saint experiences in her own soul. 

"This process of purification to which I see the souls in purgatory subjected, I feel within myself, and have experienced it for the last two years. Every day I see and feel it more clearly. My soul seems to live in this body as in a purgatory which resembles the true purgatory, with only the difference that my soul is subjected to only so much suffering as the body can endure without dying, but which will continually and gradually increase until death. 

"I feel my spirit alienated from all things (even spiritual ones) that might afford it nourishment or give it consolation. I have no relish for either temporal or spiritual goods through the will, the understanding, or the memory, nor can I say that I take greater satisfaction in this thing than in that. 

"I have been so besieged interiorly, that all things which refreshed my spiritual or my bodily life have been gradually taken from me, and as they departed, I learned that they were all sources of consolation and support. Yet, as soon as they were discovered by the spirit they became tasteless and hateful; they vanish and I care not to prevent it. This is because the spirit instinctively endeavors to rid itself of every hindrance to its perfection, and so resolutely that it would rather go to hell than fail in its purpose. It persists, therefore, in casting off all things by which the inner man might nourish himself, and so jealously guards him, that no slightest imperfection can creep in without being instantly detected and expelled. 

"As for the outward man, for the reason that the spirit has no correspondence with it, it is so oppressed that nothing on earth can give it comfort according to its human inclinations. No consolation remains to it but God, who, with great love and mercy accomplishes this work for the satisfaction of his justice. I perceive all this, and it gives me a great peace and satisfaction; but this satisfaction does by no means diminish my oppression or my pain. Nor could there possibly befall me a pain so great, that it could move me to swerve from the divine ordination, or leave my prison, or wish to leave it until God is satisfied, nor could I experience any woe so great as would be an escape from his divine decree, so merciful and so full of justice do I find it. 

"I see these things clearly, but words fail me to describe them as I wish. What I have described is going on within my spirit, and therefore I have said it. The prison which detains me is the world; my chains, the body; the soul, illuminated by grace, comprehends how great a misery it is to be hindered from her final end, and she suffers greatly because she is very tender. She receives from God, by his grace, a certain dignity which assimilates her to him, nay, which makes her one with him by the participation of his goodness. And as it is impossible for God to suffer any pain, it is so also with those happy souls who are drawing nearer to him. The more closely they approach him the more fully do they share in his perfections. 

"Any delay, then, causes the soul intolerable pain. The pain and the delay prevent the full action both of what is hers by nature, and of that which has been revealed to her by grace; and, not able as yet to possess and still essentially capable of possessing, her pain is great in proportion to her desire of God. The more perfectly she knows him, the more ardent is her desire, and the more sinless is she. The impediments that bar her from him become all the more terrible to her, because she is so wholly bent on him, and when not one of these is left she knows him as he is. 

"As a man who suffers death rather than offend God does not become insensible to the pains of death, but is so illuminated by God that his zeal for the divine honor is greater than his love for life, so the soul, knowing the will of God, esteems it more than all outward or inward torments, however terrible; and this for the reason that God, for whom and by whom the work is done, is infinitely more desirable than all else that can be known or understood. And inasmuch as God keeps the soul absorbed in himself and in his majesty, even though it be only in a slight degree, yet she can attach no importance to anything beside. She loses in him all that is her own, and can neither see nor speak, nor yet be conscious of any injury or pain she suffers, but as I have said before it is all understood in one moment as she passes from this life. And finally, to conclude all, understand well, that in the almighty and merciful God, all that is in man is wholly transformed, and that purgatory purifies him."

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Showing that the Sufferings of the Souls in Purgatory Do Not Prevent their Peace and Joy

Showing that the Sufferings of the Souls in Purgatory 

Do Not Prevent their Peace and Joy

"I see that the souls in purgatory behold a double operation. The first is that of the mercy of God; for while they suffer their torments willingly, they perceive that God has been very good to them, considering what they have deserved and how great are their offences in his eyes. For if his goodness did not temper justice with mercy (satisfying it with the precious blood of Jesus Christ), one sin alone would deserve a thousand hells. They suffer their pains so willingly that they would not lighten them in the least, knowing how justly they have been deserved. They resist the will of God no more than if they had already entered upon eternal life.

"The other operation is that satisfaction they experience in beholding how loving and merciful have been the divine decrees in all that regards them. In one instant God impresses these two things upon their minds, and as they are in grace they comprehend them as they are, yet each according to her capacity. They experience thence a great and never-failing satisfaction which constantly increases as they approach to God. They see all things, not in themselves nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom they are more intent than on their sufferings. For the least vision they can have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their joy in God does by no means abate their pain.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Reproaches of the Soul in Purgatory to Persons in this World

Reproaches of the Soul in Purgatory to Persons in this World

And thus this blessed Soul, illuminated by the divine ray, said: "Would that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: O wretched beings! why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you?

"You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the mercy of God, which you unceasingly exalt, not seeing that it is your resistance to his great goodness which will be your condemnation. His goodness should constrain you to his will, not encourage you to persevere in your own. Since his justice is unfailing it must needs be in some way fully satisfied.

"Have not the boldness to say: `I will go to confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.' Remember that the full confession and entire contrition which are requisite to gain a plenary indulgence are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are come by, you would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining them.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Of the Submission of the Souls in Purgatory to the Will of God

Of the Submission of the Souls in Purgatory to the Will of God

"So hidden and transformed in God are they, that they rest content with all his holy will. And if a soul, retaining the slightest stain, were to draw near to God in the beatific vision, it would be to her a more grievous injury, and inflict more suffering, than purgatory itself. Nor could God himself, who is pure goodness and supreme justice, and the sight of God, not yet entirely satisfied (so long as the least possible purification remained to be accomplished) would be intolerable to her, and she would cast herself into the deepest hell rather than stand before him and be still impure."

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

The Souls in Purgatory are not in a State to Merit

The Souls in Purgatory are not in a State to Merit

The souls in purgatory are not in a state to merit. How they regard the suffrages offered for them in this world. 

"If by repentance the souls in purgatory could purify themselves, a moment would suffice to cancel their whole debt, so overwhelming would be the force of the contrition produced by the clear vision they have of the magnitude of every obstacle which hinders them from God, their love and their final end. 

"And, know for certain that not one farthing of their debt is remitted to these souls. This is the decree of divine justice; it is thus that God wills. But, on the other hand, these souls have no longer any will apart from that of God, and can neither see nor desire aught but by his appointment. 

"And if pious offerings be made for them by persons in this world, they cannot now note them with satisfaction, unless, indeed, in reference to the will of God and the balance of his justice, leaving to him the ordering of the whole, who repays himself as best pleases his infinite goodness. Could they regard these alms apart from the divine will concerning them, this would be a return to self, which would shut from their view the will of God, and that would be to them like hell. Therefore they are unmoved by whatever God gives them, whether it be pleasure or pain, nor can they ever again revert to self.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

How Joy and Suffering are United in Purgatory

How Joy and Suffering are United in Purgatory

"That which man judges to be perfect, in the sight of God is defect. For all the works of man, which appear faultless when he considers them feels, remembers, wills and understands them, are, if he does not refer them to God, corrupt and sinful. For, to the perfection of our works it is necessary that they be wrought in us but not of us. In the works of God it is he that is the prime mover, and not man. 

"These works, which God effects in the soul by himself alone, which are the last operations of pure and simple love in which we have no merit, so pierce and inflame the soul that the body which envelops her seems to be hiding a fire, or like one in a furnace, who can find no rest but death. It is true that the divine love which overwhelms the soul gives, as I think, a peace greater than can be expressed; yet this peace does not in the least diminish her pains, nay, it is love delayed which occasions them, and they are greater in proportion to the perfection of the love of which God has made her capable. 

"Thus have these souls in purgatory great pleasure and great pain; nor does the one impede the other.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

The Desire of Souls in Purgatory to be Purified

The Desire of Souls in Purgatory to be Purified

The desire of souls in purgatory to be purified from every stain of sin. The wisdom of God in veiling from them their defects. 

"At her creation the soul received all the means of attaining perfection of which her nature was capable, in order that she might conform to the will of God and keep herself from contracting any stain; but being directly contaminated by original sin she loses her gifts and graces and even her life. Nor can she be regenerated save by the help of God, for even after baptism her inclination to evil remains, which, if she does not resist it, disposes and leads her to mortal sin, through which she dies anew. 

"God again restores her by a further special grace; yet, she is still so sullied and so bent on herself, that to restore her to her primitive innocence, all those divine operations which I have described are needful, and without them she could never be restored. When the soul has reentered the path which leads to her first estate, she is inflamed with so burning a desire to be transformed into God, that in it she finds her purgatory. Not, indeed, that she regards her purgatory as being such, but this desire, so fiery and so powerfully repressed, becomes her purgatory. 

"This final act of love accomplishes its work alone, finding the soul with so many hidden imperfections, that the mere sight of them, were it presented to her, would drive her to despair. This last operation, however, consumes them all, and when they are destroyed God makes them known to the soul to make her understand the divine action by which her purity was restored.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

How God Makes Use of Purgatory to Complete the Purification of the Soul

How God Makes Use of Purgatory to Complete 
the Purification of the Soul

How God makes use of purgatory to complete the purification of the soul. That she acquires therein a purity so great that if she were yet to remain after her purification she would cease to suffer. 

"From that furnace of divine love I see rays of fire dart like burning lamps towards the soul; and so violent and powerful are they that both soul and body would be utterly destroyed, if that were possible. These rays perform a double office; they purify and they annihilate. 

"Consider gold: the oftener it is melted, the more pure does it become; continue to melt it and every imperfection is destroyed. This is the effect of fire on all materials. The soul, however, cannot be annihilated in God, but in herself she can, and the longer her purification lasts, the more perfectly does she die to herself, until at length she remains purified in God. 

"When gold has been completely freed from dross, no fire, however great, has any further action on it, for nothing but its imperfections can be consumed. So it is with the divine fire in the soul. God retains her in these flames until every stain is burned away, and she is brought to the highest perfection of which she is capable, each soul in her own degree. And when this is accomplished, she rests wholly in God. Nothing of herself remains, and God is her entire being. When he has thus led her to himself and purified her, she is no longer passable, for nothing remains to be consumed. If when thus refined she should again approach the fire she would feel no pain, for to her it has become the fire of divine love, which is life eternal and which nothing mars.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

How God and the Soul Reciprocally Regard Each Other in Purgatory

How God and the Soul Reciprocally Regard Each Other in Purgatory

How God and the soul reciprocally regard each other in purgatory. The saint confesses that she has no words to express these things. 

"All these things that I have said, in comparison with those which have been represented to my mind (as far as I have been able to comprehend them in this life), are of such magnitude that every idea, every word, every feeling, every imagination, all the justice and all the truth that can be said of them, seem false and worthless, and I remain confounded at the impossibility of finding words to describe them. 

"I behold such a great conformity between God and the soul, that when he finds her pure as when his divine majesty first created her he gives her an attractive force of ardent love which would annihilate her if she were not immortal. He so transforms her into himself that, forgetting all, she no longer sees aught beside him; and he continues to draw her toward him, inflames her with love, and never leaves her until he has brought her to that state from whence she first came forth, that is, to the perfect purity in which she was created. 

"When the soul beholds within herself the amorous flame by which she is drawn toward her sweet Master and her God, the burning heat of love overpowers her and she melts. Then, in that divine light she sees how God, by his great care and constant providence, never ceases to attract her to her last perfection, and that he does so through pure love alone. She sees, too, that she herself, clogged by sin, cannot follow that attraction toward God, that is, that reconciling glance which he casts upon her that he may draw her to himself. Moreover, a comprehension of that great misery, which it is to be hindered from gazing upon the light of God, is added to the instinctive desire of the soul to be wholly free to yield herself to that unifying flame. I repeat, it is the view of all these things which causes the pain of the suffering souls in purgatory, not that they esteem their pains as great (cruel thought they be), but they count as far worse that opposition which they find in themselves to the will of that God whom they behold burning for them with so ardent and so pure a love. 

"This love, with its unifying regard, is ever drawing these souls, as if it had no other thing to do; and when the soul beholds this, if she could find a yet more painful purgatory in which she could be more quickly cleansed, she would plunge at once therein, impelled by the burning, mutual love between herself and God.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Of the Necessity of Purgatory, and of Its Terrific Character

Of the Necessity of Purgatory, and of Its Terrific Character

"I will say furthermore: I see that as far as God is concerned, paradise has no gates, but he who will may enter. For God is all mercy, and his open arms are ever extended to receive us into his glory. But I see that the divine essence is so pure - purer than the imagination can conceive--that the soul, finding in itself the slightest imperfection, would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than appear, so stained, in the presence of the divine majesty. Knowing, then, that purgatory was intended for her cleaning, she throws herself therein, and finds there that great mercy, the removal of her stains. 

"The great importance of purgatory, neither mind can conceive nor tongue describe. I see only that its pains are as great as those of hell; and yet I see that a soul, stained with the slightest fault, receiving this mercy, counts its pains as naught in comparison with this hindrance to her love. And I know that the greatest misery of the souls in purgatory is to behold in themselves aught that displeases God, and to discover that, in spite of his goodness, they had consented to it. And this is because, being in the state of grace, they see the reality and the importance of the impediments which hinder their approach to God.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Of the Marvelous Wisdom of God in the Creation of Purgatory and of Hell

Of the Marvelous Wisdom of God in the Creation 

of Purgatory and of Hell

"As the purified spirit finds no repose but in God, for whom it was created, so the soul in sin can rest nowhere but in hell, which by, reason of its sins, has become its end. Therefore, at that instant in which the soul separates from the body, it goes to its prescribed place, needing no other guide than the nature of the sin itself, if the soul has parted from the body in mortal sin. And if the soul were hindered from obeying that decree (proceeding from the justice of God), it would find itself in a yet deeper hell, for it would be outside of the divine order, in which mercy always finds place and prevents the full infliction of all the pains the soul has merited. Finding, therefore, no spot more fitting, nor any in which her pains would be so slight, she casts herself into her appointed place. 

"The same thing is true of purgatory: the soul, leaving the body, and not finding in herself that purity in which she was created, and seeing also the hindrances which prevent her union with God, conscious also that purgatory only can remove them, casts herself quickly and willingly therein. And if she did not find the means ordained for her purification, she would instantly create for herself a hell worse than purgatory, seeing that by reason of this impediment she is hindered from approaching her end, which is God; and this is so great an ill that in comparison with it the soul esteems purgatory as nothing. True it is, as I have said, like hell; and yet, in comparison with the loss of God it is as nothing.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

How Great Violence of Love the souls in Purgatory Desire to Enjoy God

How Great Violence of Love the souls

 in Purgatory Desire to Enjoy God

A comparison to express with how great violence of love the souls in purgatory desire to enjoy God. 

"Let us suppose that in the whole world there were but one loaf to appease the hunger of every creature, and that the bare sight of it would satisfy them. Now man, when in health, has by nature the instinct for food, but if we can suppose him to abstain from it and neither die nor yet lose health and strength, his hunger would clearly become increasingly urgent. In this case, if he knew that nothing but the loaf would satisfy him, and that until he reached it his hunger could not be appeased, he would suffer intolerable pains, which would increase as his distance from the loaf diminished; but if he were sure that he would never see it, his hell would be as complete as that of the damned souls, who, hungering after God, have no hope of ever seeing the bread of life. But the souls in purgatory have an assured hope of seeing him and of being entirely satisfied; and therefore they endure all hunger and suffer all pain until that moment when they enter into eternal possession of this bread, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Saviour, and our Love.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Of the Peace and Joy Which are Found in Purgatory

Of the Peace and Joy Which are Found in Purgatory

The souls in purgatory are entirely conformed to the will of God; therefore, they correspond with his goodness, are contented with all that he ordains, and are entirely purified from the guilt of their sins. They are pure from sins, because they have in this life abhorred them and confessed them with true contrition, and for this reason God remits their guilt, so that only the stains of sin remain, and these must be devoured by the fire. Thus freed from guilt and united to the will of God, they see him clearly according to that degree of light which he allows them, and comprehend how great a good is the fruition of God, for which all souls were created. Moreover, these souls are in such close conformity to God, and are drawn so powerfully toward him by reason of the natural attraction between him and the soul, that no illustration or comparison could make this impetuosity understood in the way in which my spirit conceives it by its interior sense. Nevertheless I will use one which occurs to me.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory

Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Heroic Act of Love

Heroic Act of Love

DEAR LORD, for the Love of Thy Precious Blood, 

I wish to make an heroic offering of all the good works I do in life 

in satisfaction for the temporal punishment due to my many sins, 

and of all the prayers offered up for me after death, 

in favor of those souls whom Our Blessed Mother

 wishes to deliver from the pains of Purgatory. Amen. 

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

The Difference Between the State of the Souls in Hell and Those in Purgatory

The Difference Between the State of the Souls 
in Hell and Those in Purgatory

"It is evident that the revolt of man's will from that of God constitutes sin, and while that revolt continues, man's guilt remains. Those, therefore, that are in hell, having passed from this life with perverse wills, their guilt is not remitted, nor can it be, since they are no longer capable of change. When this life is ended, the soul remains forever confirmed either in good or evil according as she has here determined. As it is written: Where I shall find thee, that is, at the hour of death, with the will either fixed on sin or repenting of it, there I will judge thee. From this judgment there is no appeal, for after death the freedom of the will can never return, but the will is confirmed in that state in which it is found at death. The souls in hell, having been found at that hour with the will to sin, have the guilt and the punishment always with them, and although this punishment is not so great as they deserve, yet it is eternal. Those in purgatory, on the other hand, suffer the penalty only, for their guilt was cancelled at death, when they were found hating their sins and penitent for having offended the divine goodness. And this penalty has an end, for the term of it is ever approaching. O misery beyond all misery, and the greater because in his blindness man regards it not! 

"The punishment of the damned is not, it is true, infinite in degree, for the all lovely goodness of God shines even into hell. He who dies in mortal sin merits infinite woe for an infinite duration; but the mercy of God has made the time only infinite, and mitigated the intensity of the pain. In justice he might have inflicted much greater punishment than he has done. 

"Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully committed! For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance, and without penitence guilt remains and will ever remain, so long as man retains unchanged the will to sin, or is intent upon committing it.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons