Dear friends, one of the best ways to hasten the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart is to leave no stone unturned in our joint efforts to empty Purgatory forever. In this thread, kindly share your best or favorite means to accomplish that end. An article I wrote on the subject: https://onepeterfive.com/prison-purgatory-avoid/ "The common teaching of the saints and doctors is that the slightest pains endured in the terrible fire of Purgatory will be more painful than all the pains of the present life. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes, “[St.] Augustine (Enarration on Psalm 37, no. 3) speaks of the pain which purgatorial fire causes as more severe than anything a man can suffer in this life (P.L., col. 397). [Pope St.] Gregory the Great speaks of those who after this life ‘will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames,’ and he adds ‘that the pain be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life’ (Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1). Following in the footsteps of Gregory, St. Thomas teaches (IV, dist. xxi, q. i, a.1) that besides the separation of the soul from the sight of God, there is the other punishment from fire … and St. Bonaventure not only agrees with St. Thomas but adds (IV, dist. xx, p.1, a.1, q. ii) that this punishment by fire is more severe than any punishment which comes to men in this life[.]” St. Thomas also teaches the fire of Purgatory is one and the same as the fire of Hell, the difference being in the way the fire operates on those who die in grace with only venial sins remaining, who can still be purified, and in those who die in mortal sin and dead to grace, who are irrevocably, eternally lost: “Even as in the same fire gold glistens and straw smokes, so in the same fire the sinner burns and the elect is cleansed.” Therefore, “the fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell: and hence they are in the same place.” 5 Practical Steps to Avoid or Minimize Purgatory Granted the dogmatic truth of Purgatory, its reality, and its importance, we must all ask ourselves two questions: (1) What am I doing to ensure that I and my loved ones avoid Purgatory? (2) How can I succor the souls already there? By the Grace of God, Holy Mother Church offers us vast and abundant treasures for both of these. The First and Greatest Means of All: Assist at and Have Offered Many Masses for the Poor Souls Holy Mass, especially the Tridentine Mass, is the treasure of treasures for the holy souls in Purgatory. We can never have too many holy Masses offered up for the holy souls, and we must resolve to ask our pastors, shepherds, and priests to offer many Masses for the souls in Purgatory. We must also remember to offer the sacrifice with the priest for the holy souls, especially during the Offertory. And so, as we read in the Pietà prayer booklet, Holy Mass has these superabundant blessings: Quote THE VALUE OF THE MASS At the hour of death the Holy Masses you have heard devoutly will be your greatest consolation. Every Mass will go with you to Judgment and will plead pardon for you. By every Mass you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins, more or less, according to your fervor. By devoutly assisting at Holy Mass you render the greatest homage possible to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord. Through the Holy Sacrifice, Our Lord Jesus Christ supplies for many of your negligences and omissions. He forgives you all the venial sins which you are determined to avoid. He forgives you all your unknown sins which you never confessed. The Power of Satan over you is diminished. By piously hearing Holy Mass you afford the Souls in Purgatory the greatest possible relief. One Holy Mass heard during your life will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death. Through the Holy Mass you are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which would otherwise have befallen you. You shorten your Purgatory by every Mass.
The Second Great Means: Daily Morning, Hourly, and Perpetual Offerings of the Precious Blood A favorite prayer of the saints are those of the form Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught to St. Gertrude the Great: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Precious Blood of Your Divine Son Jesus, in union with the holy Masses said throughout the world today [or this month], for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, sinners in the universal Church, especially those in my own home and family. Amen.” The saint saw 1,000 souls go to Heaven as she prayed the prayer, and we may well hope a few souls are released from that dreadful prison even when we non-saints pray it. The one-year and twelve-year prayers Our Lord Jesus taught to another great sponsa Christi, St. Bridget, also respectively have these express promises: “I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.” And “the soul who prays them will suffer no Purgatory.” The prayers offer the Precious Blood of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary, the beloved apostle of the Sacred Heart devotion, who taught us the secrets of that ever-loving, glorious, and adorable Heart, gave us the Heroic Act that will be treated in #5. As the Precious Blood and Water that flowed from the Sacred Heart of our pierced Savior on the Cross falls on the holy souls, more and more of them will happily and speedily go to enjoy the glory of the beatific vision forever. The Third Great Means: The Holy Rosary and the Scapular The Holy Rosary of Our Lady and Queen is another great means, for the intercession of the Immaculate is unfailingly efficacious before the throne of God for the release of all souls. St. John Marie Vianney dares to have Our Lord say to His Mother, “If hell could repent, you would obtain its pardon.” There is no repentance in Hell, but the souls in Purgatory can still happily be purified. The rosary of our Mother bears the amazing promise, “I will deliver from Purgatory those who are devoted to my rosary.” The rosary also has amazing indulgences that can be applied to the holy souls. For example, every 15 decades, the complete rosary, have a plenary Indulgence. Every five decades have a plenary indulgence if recited in a church or as a family. Otherwise, it is partial. The scapular, beside the great promise of final perseverance in grace to all who wear it devoutly and reverently, also has the Sabbatine Privilege: “As a tender mother, I will descend into Purgatory on the Saturday after their death and will deliver them and bring them to the holy mountain, into the happy sojourn of life everlasting.” Even the very act of kissing the scapular brings more indulgences! The Fourth Great Means: Indulgences, Indulgences, Indulgences! The most direct means to aid the holy souls is to gain the abundant Indulgences Holy Church grants us precisely for those reasons. While Confession forgives the guilt of mortal sin and its everlasting pains, indulgences are instituted precisely as a merciful remission of temporal penalties. Now, those penalties must be undergone either in this life by penance or in Purgatory. The pre–Vatican II tradition of referring indulgences in terms of days and years is more defensible because, e.g., a 300-day indulgence and a seven-year indulgence are not the same thing, although both are “partial” in so far as they are not plenary. Let the faithful be encouraged to gain thousands and thousands of years’ indulgence, because we don’t know the precise relation between years of Penance on Earth and years of suffering in Purgatory. It may well be that failure to perform a ten-year penance on Earth leads to a hundred-year penance in Purgatory or even more. What a tragedy! And it would be almost irreparable without the graces of indulgences. We will mention just one of severalpre–Vatican II Indulgences: Quote O Lord, my God, I now, at this moment, readily and willingly accept at Thy hand whatever kind of death it may please Thee to send me, with all its pains, penalties, and sorrows. (Seven years every time said. Plenary indulgence at the point of death to all those who at any time of their lives, with sincere love toward God and with the usual conditions, make this kind of act) The Fifth Great Means: Total Consecration, Heroic Act, Life Offering Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary as taught by St. Louis Montfort is abundantly enriched with indulgences by many popes. Quote In addition to this, the Holy Father [His Holiness Pope St. Pius X, consecrated slave of Jesus through Mary] granted a plenary indulgence (on 24 December 1907), under the usual conditions, to be gained on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, and on the Feast of Saint Louis de Montfort, April 28, to those who recite the Montfort formula of consecration entitled “Consecration of Ourselves to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, by the Hands of Mary.” This plenary indulgence, which Leo XIII (also a “Slave of Mary”) had granted for only seven years, was now granted “in perpetuum” — in perpetuity. There is also the Heroic Act for the Holy Souls, which allows one to gain a plenary indulgence each time one receives Holy Communion! Quote O MY GOD! for Thy greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible the generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to the Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in Purgatory, I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of all those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good pleasure. Amen. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: Quote The Heroic Act has been enriched with numerous indulgences by Benedict XIII (1728), Pius VI (1788), and Pius IX (1852). Priests who make it receive the personal privilege of gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul of their choice each time they say Mass (see PRIVILEGED ALTAR). Laymen gain a similar indulgence each time they receive Holy Communion, also each Monday they hear Mass for the departed; in both cases the usual visit to a church and prayers for the intention of the pope are required. A recent Life Offering taught by the Twin Hearts of Jesus and Mary, with episcopal imprimaturs, can serve the same purpose: Quote My dear Jesus, before the Holy Trinity, Our Heavenly Mother, and the whole Heavenly Court, united with your most precious Blood and your sacrifice on Calvary, I hereby offer my whole life to the intention of your Sacred Heart and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Together with my life, I place at your disposal all Holy Masses, all my Holy Communions, all my good deeds, all my sacrifices, and the sufferings of my of my entire life for the adoration and supplication of the Holy Trinity, for unity in our Holy Mother Church, for the Holy Father and priests, for good priestly vocations, and for all souls until the end of the world. O my Jesus, please accept my life sacrifice and my offerings and give me your grace that I may persevere obediently until my death. Amen. With ecclesiastical approbation, Our Lady has promised, “On the day they offer their lives, their loved ones suffering in Purgatory will be released.” Let us not delay the offer, but do so immediately! Conclusion During each of the eight days from Nov. 1 to 8, Holy Mother Church grants us special plenary indulgenceswhen we gather near the tombs of our loved ones and pray for their eternal repose. On All Saints’ Eve, on All Saints, and on All Souls, let us resolve not to take part in pagan celebrations as worldlings do, but instead stay home or go to church or chapel for holy hours and Eucharistic adoration. There, we will make reparation for the sins of the faithful departed and pray for their speedy liberation. We can hardly doubt that if the Church Militant succeeds in emptying Purgatory, as St. Padre Pio commanded us to do, then some great grace would be given to the whole world. What a fitting present to the Mother of God it would be if we could do it for the triumph of her Immaculate Heart! Let us all resolve to dedicate our time and sacrifice our life for this heroic goal."
Fantastic article Xavier. It pains me to say that I have never heard a priest or even teacher (Catholic grade school) discuss purgatory. Even when I have brought up the subject with family or friends in the past it seems to be almost a long lost belief. I don’t know if that experience is across the board but at least here in the western US I don’t hear any preaching about hell at all - let alone purgatory. Our priest at our small Cathedral in Yakima, Washington has on many occasions said that he doesn’t believe any person really goes to hell. I know in my heart that this view is wrong. It seems such a disservice to all of us - the laity (faithfull or not) - to make light of the just punishment we all deserve for our sinfulness.
I’ll add also Xavier in light of your article that it’s also a serious disservice to those Holy Souls in Purgatory that we are no longer taught that we can help them while we suffer here on earth. Such a shame. Maybe it’s different elsewhere in the Church throughout the world.
Same here Mark. No sermons on hell or purgatory. Except our new young priest. He does while encouraging frequent confession. He is a great gift. The wonderful priests on sensus fidellium do also. The poor souls in purgatory are much on my mind. And in my prayers.
I will be going to the cemetery tomorrow with my Legion of Mary to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Our Priest usually comes with us. It’s a wonderful tradition we do every year in November.
Yes, Mark, it's a real shame Purgatory has been consigned to oblivion and almost forgotten sometimes. But thank God for the good Bishops and Priests who still remind us one of our gravest duties and highest privileges is to assist the Holy Souls, help them go to heaven, and gain treasures of merits for ourselves in the process. It is a necessary responsibility, and also one God considers a great work of mercy and which He has promised to bless abundantly. All those words of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as Fr. Paul O Sullivan says in "Read me or Rue it: How to Avoid Purgatory", "Naked, and you covered Me: sick, and you visited Me: I was in prison, and you came to Me." (Mat 25:36), can very well be applied to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for in a special way God takes all that is done to the Poor Souls as done to Himself. St. Alphonsus Ligouri reminded us that, sometimes, failing to succor the Holy Souls can even be a serious sin on our part: https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/st-alphonsus-on-aid-to-the-souls-in-purgatory/ "St. Alphonsus notes our duty to the souls in Purgatory, arguing persuasively that failure to pray for them is not just a failure to perform a good act, but an actual sin of negligence and lack of charity: On the other hand, since it is certain, and even of faith [that is, it is de fide – the highest level of belief required of Catholics, that the souls in Purgatory benefit from our prayers and penances on their behalf, something protestants violently deny] , that by our suffrages, and chiefly by our prayers, as particularly recommended and practiced by the Church, we can relieve those Holy Souls in Purgatory, I do not know how to excuse that man from sin who neglects to give them some assistance, at least by his prayers. [St. Alphonsus, the Great Moral Doctor, feels it is a sin not to pray for the souls in Purgatory] If a sense of duty will not persuade us to succor them, let us think of the pleasure it will give Jesus Christ to see us endeavoring to deliver his beloved spouses from prison, in order that he may have them with Him in paradise. Let us think of the store of merit which we can lay up by practicing this great act of charity; let us think, too, that those souls are not ungrateful, and will never forget the great benefit we do them in relieving them of their pains, and in obtaining for them, by our prayers, anticipation of their entrance into glory; so that, when they are there they will never neglect to pray for us. And if God promises mercy to him who practices mercy towards his neighbor – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt V:7)- he may reasonably expect to be saved who remembers to assist those souls so afflicted, and yet so dear to God…….RIBBONS OF LIVING WATER ……So we may expect, that if any of us ever obtains, by his prayers, the liberation of a soul from Purgatory, that soul will say to God: “Lord, suffer not him who has delivered me from my torments to be lost.”………God will not refuse the salvation of a Christian to the prayers of a soul which is his own spouse. Moreover, St. Augustine says that God will cause those who in this life have most succored those holy souls, when they come to Purgatory themselves, to be most succored by others. I may here observe that, in practice, one of the best suffrages is to hear Mass for them, and during the Holy Sacrifice to recommend them to God by the merits and Passion of Jesus Christ. ————-End Quote————– There is a list of intentions I offer every time I assist at Mass, and the Holy Souls are one of the most prominent items on that list. It is also vital to always have the intention at Mass of offering our assistance thereat in penance for our sins and for our heartfelt and total conversion to God’s Will. But it is almost certain all of us have some souls near to us who are languishing in Purgatory. Others are unknown to us, distant forbears, perhaps, who have been in Purgatory for centuries of time, even though time does not exist in eternity, from our perspective, they have been there a very long time. So have a general intention for all friends, family members, friends of family members, all the poor holy souls suffering in Purgatory. But it is very helpful to have a list in mind of our deceased relatives. And, of course, having Masses offered for the repose of certain souls is the most salutary way to aid them in completing their period of purgation. Most souls are freed from Purgatory during Mass. And Lord, please touch the hearts of all your servant bishops that they may cooperate with Grace as St. Alphonsus did. Make them great Saints – we desperately need them!"
