Nov 2nd - Poor Souls in Purgatory

 

Nov. 2^nd is All Souls Day, the day we remember and pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Can poor souls communicate with us and ask for prayers and Masses?

A number of years ago, when I was living in the house on Kansas street here in Little River. One day I heard knocking. At first, I thought is was the back door, but discovered it was coming the spare bedroom. I opened the closet door and still heard the knocking. I thought it was coming from outside. But when I went outside, nothing was there. The knocking continued in the closet. It was coming from behind my uncle’s chalice.

My mother’s brother was a priest, Fr. Fred Tuzicka. We used to write each other when I was a seminarian. He died in 2002, two years before I was ordained a priest. When I picked up the chalice, the knocking stopped. I decided to look on the computer to see the obituary for my uncle, and discovered the day, the knocking occurred on the anniversary of his ordination. I thought maybe, he was knocking from purgatory asking for Masses. I began to offer Masses for him and daily prayed for his soul.

The word purgatory is not in the bible, nor is the word Trinity, but the doctrines of the Trinity and purgatory are in the bible. The book of Maccabees also states, “Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out.” "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." “Thus (Judas Maccabees) made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:42-46) St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians states, “He himself will be saved, but as one fleeing from fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15) Jesus mentions purgatory in the Gospel of Matthew, “Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:25-26)

The book of Revelation describes why there is purgatory. It states, “But nothing unclean will enter [heaven], nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Rev 21:27).

St. Augustine said this about purgatory. He said, “The pain and suffering in purgatory is greater than any pain one can suffer on earth.”

Just imagine for a moment, what would be the greatest pain and sufferings in this life. Such as being tortured, or slowly burned to death in a fire, and yet, the pain and suffering of purgatory is greater than these.

We shouldn’t say, “I will be happy if I just make it to purgatory.” St. Teresa of Avila corrected others who had this attitude. She said, “How sweet will death be, for the person, who has fully repented of all personal sins and can leap over purgatory.”

Fr. Paul O’ Sullivan is his book “How to Avoid Purgatory”, said, “The reason why we have to pass through Purgatory after death is that we have committed sins and have not made satisfaction for them. Every individual sin must be expiated—in this life or the next! Not even the slightest shadow of sin or evil can enter the all-holy presence of God. The graver, the more frequent the sins, the longer will be the period of expiation and the more intense pain. Even after sin, God, in His infinite goodness places at our disposal many easy and efficacious means by which we may considerably lessen our term of expiation, or even entirely cancel it.” Here are ways Fr Sullivan said, we can avoid Purgatory:

1. We should avoid deliberate venial sin, break off bad habits and make a strong resolution to not sin. And most importantly avoid Mortal Sin.

2. Penance — Make satisfaction for our sins. We do this by offering little mortifications and practice self-denial. “Daily acts of self-restraint, of patience with others, of kindness to others and the exact fulfillment of duty are splendid penances and a great aid to happiness.”

3. Suffering– by bearing patiently what we cannot avoid. “every pain and sorrow and disappointment in this life lessons our suffering in Purgatory and also brings us happiness and glory in heaven.”

4. Frequent Confession, Holy Communion and daily attendance at Mass. Confession wipes away our sins, fills us with horror of sin and strength to overcome sin, we should to confession monthly or even weekly. “In Holy Communion, we receive the God of infinite mercy and love, the God of all sanctity, who comes expressly to pardon our sin and help us to sin no more.” “The Mass is identical with the Sacrifice of Calvary in its essence, in its value in the graces it bestows.” By attending and participating at Mass, we can apply all these oceans of graces to our souls every day.

5. Ask God everyday to help us avoid Purgatory. (1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory be)

6. Resignation of Death. “They say that when a sick person becomes aware that he is dying and offers to God his death with perfect resignation, it is very likely that he will go straight to heaven.”

7. Last Rites (Last Anointing, the Apostolic Pardon and Last Communion)- “Extreme Unction, if devoutly received, prepares the dying Christian for immediate entrance into heaven.”

8. Always want to do God’s Will.

9. Pray for Souls in Purgatory everyday.

10. Daily Visit Jesus Blessed Sacrament by stopping by the church. “Kneeling in the presence of Jesus with eyes fixed on the Tabernacle, sure that He is looking at us, let us for a few minutes repeat some little prayer like these, “My Jesus, give me a happy death.”

11. Wear the Brown Scapular. (Three conditions: practice chastity, wear the scapular, daily recite the Rosary) The scapular has two promises. First, “Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire”. “and the Sabbatine privilege, “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death, and whomsoever, I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free.”

12. Indulgence– There are two kinds of indulgences, partial and plenary. They can be either offered for our self or a soul in purgatory. During the Jubilee Year of Hope, we can gain a plenary indulgence for our self and also for a soul in purgatory. (Requirements: Confession 8 days before or after. Receive Holy Communion. Pray for Our Father, Hail Mary for the Pope. One must be free from all attachment to sin) To Gain a Plenary Indulgence, you can do any of these, visit Blessed Sacrament for at least 30 min. Read Scripture for 30 min. Make the Way of the Cross. Recite the Rosary in Church or in a group or as a family.

What can we do to help the poor souls of purgatory to gain heaven?

Offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for them. When you attend any Mass, you can offer the graces from your Mass for a particular intention or a specific person, living or deceased. The Mass is the greatest prayer and most efficacious way to free souls from purgatory. The primary purpose of the Mass is to atone for sins.

We can also offer up our Holy Communions for particular souls. We can pray personal prayers for them, especially the rosary. We can also offer up our works, sacrifices and sufferings for particular souls. We can also obtain indulgences for them as well. The ancient practice of sprinkling holy water on their graves or wherever we are to relieve their suffering.

With the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, today and throughout the month of November dedicated to the poor souls of purgatory, May perpetual light shine upon them-- and may the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace!