"The Real Truth about Purgatory"

Picture source

"..."Is it true that the sufferings of Purgatory are much greater than all the torments of earth and even of the martyrs?"

"Yes, my daughter, all this is very true."

Sister Serafina then asked if everyone who belongs to the Scapular Confraternity of Carmel (those who wear the scapular), is freed from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death:

"Yes," he answered, "but only if they are faithful to the Confraternity's obligations."

"Is it true that some souls must stay in Purgatory for as long as five hundred years?"

"Yes. Some are condemned until the end of the world. These souls are very guilty and entirely abandoned."

'Three main things draw God's malediction over men: failure to observe the Lord's Day through work, the very widespread vice of impurity, and blasphemy. Oh my daughter, how these blasphemies provoke the wrath of God!'..."

This article can be found in its entirety here

EWTN Live - 11-02-2011 - Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory -

New book focuses on how to pray for souls in the Purgatory

America Needs Fatima: On Purgatory

The following story about a soul in purgatory appearing to his daughter should move us all to pray for our loved ones who have died. Every time I think or dream of a friend or family member who has passed away, I think of it as they are in need of a Mass being offered for their repose. It is also good to have Mass offered for our deceased priests and religious.

You can read the entire article on purgatory based in part on the writings of certain saints here.

In 1870, Belgium fought as an ally with France against Germany.

In September of that year, Sister Maria Serafina, a Redemptorist nun in Malines, Belgium, was suddenly seized with inexplicable sadness.

Soon after, she received the news that her father had died in that war.

From that day on, Sister Maria repeatedly heard distressing groans and a voice saying, "My dear daughter, have mercy on me!"

Subsequently, she was besieged with torments, which included unbearable headaches. While laying down one day, she saw her father surrounded with flames and immersed in profound sadness.

He was suffering in Purgatory and had received permission from God to beseech prayers from his daughter and relate Purgatory's suffering to her. Thus he said:

I want you to have Masses, prayers and indulgences said on my behalf. Look how I am immersed in this fire-filled hole! Oh! If people knew what Purgatory is, they would suffer anything to avoid it and alleviate the suffering of souls here. Be very holy, my daughter, and observe the Holy Rule, even in its most insignificant points. Purgatory for religious is a terrible thing!

Sister Maria saw a pit full of flames, spewing black clouds of smoke. Her father was immersed in the pit where he was burning, horribly suffocated and thirsty. Opening his mouth she saw that his tongue was entirely shriveled.

"I am thirsty, my daughter, I am thirsty."

The next day, her father visited her again saying, "My daughter, it has been a long time since I saw you last."

"My father, it was just yesterday . . ."

"Oh! It seems like an eternity to me. If I stay in Purgatory three months, it will be an eternity. I was condemned for many years, but, due to Our Lady's intercession, my sentence was reduced to only a few months."

The grace of coming to earth was granted to him through his good works during his life and because he had been devoted to Our Lady receiving communion on all her feast days.

During these visions, Sister Maria Serafina asked her father several questions:

"Do souls in Purgatory know who is praying for them, and can they pray for us?"

"Yes, my daughter."

"Do these souls suffer, knowing that God is offended in their families and in the world?"

"Yes."

Directed by her confessor and her superior, she continued to question her father:

"Is it true that the sufferings of Purgatory are much greater than all the torments of earth and even of the martyrs?"

"Yes, my daughter, all this is very true."

Sister Serafina then asked if everyone who belongs to the Scapular Confraternity of Carmel (those who wear the scapular), is freed from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death:

"Yes," he answered, "but only if they are faithful to the Confraternity's obligations."

"Is it true that some souls must stay in Purgatory for as long as five hundred years?"

"Yes. Some are condemned until the end of the world. These souls are very guilty and entirely abandoned."

"Three main things draw God's malediction over men: failure to observe the Lord's Day through work, the very widespread vice of impurity, and blasphemy. Oh my daughter, how these blasphemies provoke the wrath of God!"

For over three months, Sister Serafina and her community prayed and offered penance for the soul of her tormented father who often appeared to her. During the elevation of the Host at Christmas Mass, Sister Maria saw her father shining like a sun with matchless beauty.

"I finished my sentence, and have come to thank you and your sisters for your prayers and pious exercises. I will pray for you in Heaven."

On the Sufferings of the Souls in Purgatory

A Voice in the Garden

One evening the venerable Stanislaus of Poland was saying the Rosary in the garden attached to his monastery. Suddenly he heard beside him sounds of grief and wailing. He looked on all sides but saw nothing. He cried out: "Who is moaning so piteously, and where are you, that I may come to your assistance?" Still there was no answer, and the said sounds continued as before.

Stanislaus began to think that this must be a temptation of Satan to put distractions in his mind at his prayer; so, making the sign of the Cross, he aid: "I command you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to tell me what you want."

Then he heard these words: "I am a soul from Purgatory, condemned by the justice of God to suffer unutterable sufferings. Oh that I were able to let the living know the awful punishments with which God punishes sin when the soul has left the body. If Christians knew it, even in part only, they would have a horror even for the smallest sin.

"Go and tell everyone what I have just revealed to you," continued the suffering soul, "for God has sent me to ask you to do it. Tell them that the smallest faults are punished in Purgatory with intense sufferings, and that everything they have not blotted out by penance on earth must be satisfied for in these terrible flames."

NAS Letter December 2009

Friends of the Poor Souls Nov. and Dec. Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Poor Holy Souls in Purgatory,

When praying please pray for the souls of our families, our friends, our enemies, all pagans, all priests and religious, the just, all sinners, and for the souls who have no one to pray for them. Remember that the month of November is set aside for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and they receive more graces during the month of November.

When we sin and repent of our sin (repentance means asking for forgiveness with the intent of not repeating the sin), God will forgive us but we still have to pay for the damage we caused due to the sin. The damage is the "stain" we leave on our souls when we sin. Even though we are forgiven, the stain remains.

It should be understood that when we sin, it produces two effects on our souls: the debt of guilt and the punishment due to that sin. We are guilty of both and deserve punishment. When we repent of our sin, the guilt is removed but the stain remains. The souls in Purgatory must expiate for their temporal punishment due to their past sins. When the debt is paid they acquire Heaven.

An indulgence is the remission of the penalty due to sin, or in other words, it is a ‘payment" to remove the stain of pain from our souls. The payment can be made through prayers, acts of charity, and acceptance of the suffering we endure throughout our lives. There are two types of indulgences: partial and plenary. A partial indulgence is the easiest one to obtain. It will remit a part of the penalty of the sins we have committed, while a plenary indulgence will remove all of the stains of sin in our soul.

In order to get a partial indulgence, we must have the intent of obtaining the indulgence, we must be in a state of grace (repented of all of our sins), and say the prayer or perform the act which would lead to an indulgence. We are permitted by the Church to get as many partial indulgences each day as we wish.

A plenary indulgence is more difficult to obtain. In addition to the conditions attached to a partial indulgence, we must go to Confession and receive Holy Communion. We must also pray for the intentions of the Pope by praying one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory be. A plenary indulgence can be obtained only once per day but those who are in danger of dying may receive a second plenary indulgence in the same day.

We can apply the indulgences to pay for the sins we have committed, OR we can apply those indulgences to remit the penalty of sins for the souls in Purgatory. When we give our indulgences to the holy souls, it will shorten their stay in Purgatory, give them some comfort, and may release them from Purgatory sooner if their soul is completely purified from the stains of sin.

A partial indulgence given to the poor souls in Purgatory will shorten their time there, while a plenary indulgence has the great grace of completely purifying the soul and allowing them to immediately entering Heaven. Unfortunately, in order to be granted a plenary indulgence, we must be completely free from the stain of sin which is difficult to do. But we should always try. If the indulgence is not granted, it will at least be partial and will provide some benefit for the souls.

It is a great act of charity and mercy to pray for the dead. The holy souls will not forget what we have done for them and they will repay us a thousand times over for all we do. May God have mercy on them and may we pray for them every day.

These Messages, prayers and promises were given to St. Elizabeth of Hungary

The Five Promises of Our Heavenly Mother to those who offer their lives to Her through "The Life Offering"

1. Their names will be written in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, inflamed by love.

2. Their life offering, together with the infinite merits of Jesus, can save many souls from damnation. All souls who will live until the end of the world will benefit from their life offering.

3. None of their family members will go to hell, even if it seems otherwise, because they will receive, in the depth of their souls, the grace of sincere contrition before their soul departs from their bodies.

4. On the day they offer their lives, their loved ones suffering in Purgatory will be released.

5. I will be with them at the hour of their death. They will not know Purgatory. I will carry their souls straight to the Presence of the Glorious Trinity, where they will live with me in a special place created by God and will rejoice forever.

TEXT OF THE LIFE OFFERING should be made with a humble heart, firm resolution and clear intent. Make the Life Offering as soon as you feel ready and renew it from time to time:

"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 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.

Oh My Jesus, please accept my life sacrifice and my offerings and give me your grace that I may persevere obediently until my death. Amen."

News from the Central Office

A Prayer Warrior sent us the following: These are very evil times in which we live and everyone must be on guard. The Church has given us from Our Lord many weapons to help us in our daily battle against the prince of darkness. Jesus said that we should lay up riches for ourselves in heaven. Well, we always tell others who are in the world that they will never see a Wells Fargo or Brinks truck in a funeral possession.

The riches are Prayers, Masses, Communions, Novenas, Rosaries, etc. These are what go to judgment with us. Fasting, good works, etc help to offset the punishment due to our daily faults and failings which are very displeasing to God. Most priests today will not tell you that Venial Sin is just as serious in God's eyes as Mortal. Mortal however will condemn one forever from God’s Holy sight because nothing imperfect can go before God! We try hard every day to remember what Jesus said in Mathew: Every hair on our head has been counted.....Further God will not be mocked or fooled....

Today, there is too much false compassion and it clouds good judgment. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are needed to keep one with a good and right conscience and discernment. We enjoy praying for the Holy Souls as they will never forget us. It is part of the real Christian brotherhood of Love: The Saints in Heaven, the Holy Souls being purified in Purgatory, and we, the Church Militant! We, the Church Militant, have a duty to those yet in Purgatory - they have gone on ahead, yet they still need our help, and we can help them, even if we don't know them now, we will reap those graces, because when we pray for "the poor souls in Purgatory" - the Church Suffering - and offer Masses for them, and light candles for them, and pray Rosaries for them, we obtain unbelievable graces, for this act of spiritual mercy.

St. Alphonsus Liguori called it "A Christian Duty" to pray for the souls in Purgatory. He also said that St. Catherine of Bologna, "when she wished to obtain any grace, had recourse to the souls in Purgatory, and her prayers were heard immediately. She declared that, by praying to those holy souls, she obtained many favors which she had sought through the intercession of the saints without obtaining them. The graces which devout persons are said to have received through these holy souls are innumerable."

Friends of the Poor Souls - Established September 15, 2004 - Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Robert & MaryAnn Luetkemeyer – Coordinators - For more information, please write or email to: 436 Vasey Oak Drive, Keller, TX 76248 OR holysouls@att.net
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Friends of the Poor Souls Blog
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Recent Holy Souls Newsletter

Friends of the Holy Souls

The following is from the November issue.

Purgatory Is Necessary Purification

Following John Paul II’s catecheses on Heaven and Hell, the Holy Father reflected on Purgatory.

For those who find themselves in a condition of being open to God, but still imperfectly, the journey towards full beatitude requires a purification, which the faith of the Church illustrates in the doctrine of "Purgatory" (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030-1032).

Before we enter into full communion with God, every trace of sin within us must be eliminated and every imperfection in our soul must be corrected. To share in divine life we must be totally purified.

Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this is precisely what is meant by the Church's teaching on Purgatory.

Those, in fact, who find themselves in the state of purification are united both with the blessed who already enjoy the fullness of eternal life, and with us on this earth on our way towards the Father's house.

Just as in their earthly life believers are united in the one Mystical Body, so after death those who live in a state of purification experience the same ecclesial solidarity which works through prayer, prayers for suffrage and love for their other brothers and sisters in the faith. Purification is lived in the essential bond created between those who live in this world and those who enjoy eternal beatitude.

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GREGORIAN MASSES

There is perhaps no better way to let our loved ones - living and deceased - know that we are thinking of them than to celebrate the Eucharist in their name. The sacrifice of the Mass consists in the offering of the Body and Blood of Christ to God the Father. During the Consecration the Body and Blood of Christ become present on the Altar and available for us to offer them to God.

There are three different ways in which you can ensure that a loved one is remembered: Mass Offering, Spiritual Association Perpetual Membership and Gregorian Masses.

Gregorian Masses are a series of thirty Masses offered up on thirty consecutive days for the repose of a particular person in Purgatory. It is based on a tradition started by Pope St. Gregory the Great who saw the soul of one of his friends released from Purgatory after the 30th mass.

The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences has declared that "the offering of thirty Gregorian Masses has a special efficacy for obtaining from the Divine Goodness and Mercy the deliverance of a suffering soul, and is a pious and reasonable belief of the Faithful" (Rescript, 1884).

We can still give a deceased friend or relative a Christmas gift—the gift of a mass for delivery of their soul.

(if any of you are interested in having Gregorian Masses said for a loved one, please contact us and we will give be able to set up the masses for you.

News From the Central Office

Bob and I wish to thank all of you who sent us get well cards, masses and prayers. I am sure they all did wonders as I am now at home after 5 months in the hospital. You will remain in our prayers.

Since Christmas will be here soon remember to have said a mass or an extra rosary as a gift to your loved deceased ones.

Remember to pray for all those enrolled in the Golden Book. If you include them in your prayers it may help shorten their purgatory. You may not know them now but you will meet them in Heaven. We have received all your emails and letters with names for the Golden Book and have enrolled them all.

We also wish to thank those who have sent donations so we can continue with Friends of the Poor Souls.

The Story of St Lidwina
and the Sins of Lust not Expiated

St Lidwina saw in Purgatory a soul that suffered also for mortal sins not sufficiently expiated on earth. The incident is thus related in the Life of the saint.

A man who had been for a long time a slave of the demon of impurity, finally had the happiness of being converted. He confessed his sins with great contrition, but, prevented by death, he had not time to atone by just penance for his numerous sins. Lidwina, who knew him well, prayed much for him.

Twelve years after his death she continued to pray, when, in one of her ecstasies, being taken into Purgatory by her angel-guardian, she heard a mournful voice issuing from a deep pit.

"It is the soul of that man" said the angel, "for whom you have prayed with much fervour and constancy." She was astonished to see him so deep in Purgatory twelve years after his death. The angel, seeing her so greatly affected, asked if she was willing to suffer something for his deliverance. "With all my heart," replied the charitable maiden.

From that moment she suffered new pains and frightful torments, which appeared to surpass the strength of human endurance. Nevertheless, she bore them with courage, sustained by a charity stronger than death, until it pleased God to send her relief.

She then breathed as one restored to a new life, and, at the same time, she saw that soul for which she had suffered so much come forth from the abyss as white as snow and take its flight to Heaven.

Taken from: Purgatory Explained (pp 89-90)

Authored by: Father F.X. Shouppe, S.J.

Please keep Mary Ann and Bob in your prayers.

New Blog! - A Month for the Souls in Purgatory

Thanks to Deb, I found that Owen started a new blog.

A Month for the Souls in Purgatory

Beginning November 25th my family and I are praying through the Month for the Souls In Purgatory from November 25th to December 25th 2008. This is my third year practising this devotion while three of my family members joined me during 2007 and again this year.

I will be adding this blog to the sidebar.

A Message From Purgatory

I found this on Ed's blog

Holy souls in Purgatory, is there anything you regret when you think of your life on earth?:

I deeply regret wasted time.... I did not consider it so precious, so fleeting, so irretrievable. For this reason my life is worth only half of what it might have been. Oh, had I but realized it then! Would that I could return to earth, how differently I would use the time given to me! Precious time! . . .

You can read the rest at Ed's blog.

St. Faustina's Vision of Purgatory

...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)

You can read the entire post at Poetry, Prayer and Praise - St. Fautina's Vision of Purgatory

Purgatory and the Catholic Church

Mahalo to Steve Silvia for sharing

Where can I find praying for the dead/Purgatory in Holy Scripture?

2 Macc. 12: 43-46: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."

1 Cor. 3: 13-14 "Every man’s work shall be manifest; for the Day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. ... If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, as yet by fire."

Matt 12:32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come"

Jesus refers to a place of purgation again in this passage: Luke 12: 58-59 "If you are to go with your opponent before the magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

The Church teaches us that the Holy Souls in Purgatory are officially known as "The Church Suffering" because they are undergoing purification before entering into Heaven. There may be said to be a sort of joy in Purgatory, though, despite the suffering which largely results from an absence of God.

This joy is because the Poor Souls in Purgatory are assured of their salvation. They have made it to Purgatory, so they cannot be damned to hell. They are confident that after their stay in Purgatory, they will be permitted to enter into everlasting bliss in Heaven and will never have to undergo the permanent fires of hell.

The second branch of the Church after "The Church Suffering" is "The Church Militant". We who still are working out our daily salvation are considered to be members of this group.

The third branch is "The Church Triumphant", the full company of the Communion of Saints in Heaven.

These three branches of the Church are intermingled - we pray and work together to form the body of Christ. This means that the Poor Souls in Purgatory can pray for us on earth, and we can and should do the same for them. The Poor Souls are waiting for our prayers on their behalf, as they cannot pray for themselves. That is why developing an awareness of Purgatory in your children and a devotion of praying on their behalf is so important.

Thanks to: Poor Souls

H/T Sue

The Church

Purgatorio by Salvador Dali

The Church teaches us that the Holy Souls in Purgatory are officially known as "The Church Suffering" because they are undergoing purification before entering into Heaven. There may be said to be a sort of joy in Purgatory, though, despite the suffering which largely results from an absence of God.

This joy is because the Poor Souls in Purgatory are assured of their salvation. They have made it to Purgatory, so they cannot be damned to hell. They are confident that after their stay in Purgatory, they will be permitted to enter into everlasting bliss in Heaven and will never have to undergo the permanent fires of hell.

The second branch of the Church after "The Church Suffering" is "The Church Militant". We who still are working out our daily salvation are considered to be members of this group.

The third branch is "The Church Triumphant", the full company of the Communion of Saints in Heaven

Shared by Sue

Mortifications - One Way of Avoiding Purgatory

In the last couple of days, we have learned that mortifying ourselves is a good way of avoiding or lessening our time in Purgatory. Providentially, I found that Sue of Half the Kingdom has posted a list of examples of mortifications we can do daily.

See below. I have made bold certain parts that I think need emphasizing:

1 - Close your eyes always and above all to every dangerous sight, and even - have the courage to do it - to every frivolous and useless sight. See without looking; do not gaze at anybody to judge of their beauty or ugliness.

2 - Keep your ears closed to flattering remarks, to praise, to persuasion, to bad advice, to slander, to uncharitable mocking, to indiscretions, to ill disposed criticism, to suspicions voiced, to every word capable of causing the very smallest coolness between two souls.

3 - If the sense of smell has something to suffer due to your neighbor’s infirmity or illness, far be it from you ever to complain of it; draw from it a holy joy.

4 - In what concerns the quality of food, have great respect for Our Lord’s counsel: “Eat such things as are set before you.” “Eat what is good without delighting in it, what is bad without expressing aversion to it, and show yourself equally indifferent to the one as to the other. There,” says St. Francis de Sales, “is a real mortification.”

5 - Offer your meals to God; at table impose on yourself a tiny penance: for example, refuse a sprinkling of salt a glass of wine, a sweet, etc.; your companions will not notice it, but God will keep account of it.

6 - If what you are given appeals to you very much, think of the gall and the vinegar given to Our Lord on the cross: that cannot keep you from tasting, but will serve as a counterbalance to the pleasure.

7 - You must avoid all sensual contact, every caress in which you set some passion, by which you look for passion, from which you take a joy which is principally of the senses.

8 - Refrain from going to warm yourself, unless this is necessary to save you from being unwell. (comment by me: I try to remind myself and to picture how much colder or hotter it may be in Purgatory...or even Hell).

9 - Bear with everything which naturally grieves the flesh, especially the cold of winter, the heat of summer, a hard bed and every inconvenience of that kind. Whatever the weather, put on a good face; smile at all temperatures. Say with the prophet: “Cold, heat, rain, bless ye the Lord.” It will be a happy day for us when we are able to say with a good heart these words which were familiar to St. Francis de Sales: “I am never better than when I am not well.”

10 - Mortify your imagination when it beguiles you with the lure of a brilliant position, when it saddens you with the prospect of a dreary future, when it irritates you with the memory of a word or deed which offended you.

11 - If you feel within you the need to day dream, mortify it without mercy.

12 - Mortify yourself with the greatest care in the matter of impatience, of irritation or of anger.

13 - Examine your desires thoroughly; submit them to the control of reason and of faith: do you never desire a long life rather than a holy life, wish for pleasure and well-being without trouble or sadness, victory without battle, success without setbacks, praise without criticism, a comfortable, peaceful life without a cross of any sort, that is to say a life quite opposite to that of Our Divine Lord?

14 - Take care not to acquire certain habits which, without being positively bad, can become injurious, such as habits of frivolous reading, of playing at games of chance, etc…

15 - Seek to discover your predominant failing and, as soon as you have recognized it, pursue it all the way to its last retreat. To that purpose, submit with good will to whatever could be monotonous or boring in the practice of the examination of conscience.

16 - You are not forbidden to have a heart and to show it, but be on your guard against the danger of exceeding due measure. Resist attachments which are too natural, particular friendships and all softness of heart.

More Ways of Avoiding Purgatory

This is a continuation from yesterday's post on How to Avoid Purgatory

7. Ask God to Free You From Purgatory.

"Two conditions... make prayer infallible, namely perseverance and faith. God cannot refuse such a prayer."

You should pray expressly every day of your life that God frees you from Purgatory.

8. Offering God Your Death With Perfect Resignation.

Pope Pius X granted a Plenary Indulgence of the hour at death to those who would say at least after one Holy Communion the following prayer:

"Eternal Father from this day forward I accept with joyful and resigned heart the death it will please you to send me with all its pains and sufferings."

Fr. Sullivan suggests that we say this prayer after every Holy Communion we receive.

9. Receiving the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

According to St. Thomas and St. Albert, this sacrament was instituted

"especially to obtain for us the grace of a holy and happy death and to prepare us for immediate entrance into Heaven.

10. Indulgences.

"Fully aware of our weakness and knowing, too, how fearful many are of penance, He opens wide the treasury of His Goodness and offers us most abundant Indulgences in exchange for some small act of devotion.

For one recitation of short ejaculatory prayers, He grants 100 or 200 or more days of Indulgence. These we may say hundreds of times in the day.

"Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee"

By reciting the Hail Mary when praying the Rosary gains us more than 2000 days of indulgences.

These indulgences can be applied to the Holy Souls in Purgatory too.

11. By joining a Third Order.

Lay Carmelites

Third Order of St. Dominic

Oblates of St. Benedict

Pauline Cooperators

Salesian Cooperators

Secular Franciscan Order

"Among the extraordinary graces which Catholics gain by becoming members of a Third Order are a share in many Masses and prayers.

Benedict XV, a Tertiary said

"One of the easiest and most effectual ways of reaching a high degree of sanctity is by becoming a Dominican Tertiary."

..."Among the many beautiful characteristic of the Order of St. Dominic is its intense devotion and love for the Holy Souls, especially for the souls of its members, friends and benefactors."

12. Assisting the Holy Souls.

"The Holy Souls whom we relieve or release by our Masses and good works pray for us with such indescribable fervor that God cannot refuse to hear their prayers. One of the principal graces they ask for their friends is that these shall have little or no Purgatory...

13. Saving a Soul From Perdition.

"St. James, the Apostle gives another very effectual method of avoiding or lessening our stay in Purgatory. He says: "He who saves a soul saves his own and satisfies for a multitude of sins."

a. We can pray earnestly for souls. We can give them good advice and good example.

b. "The most efficacious method of savings souls is by propaganda viz: Catholic Action. Note: I am not sure if Catholic Action is still around but I found this one place that uses its principles. Catholic Success

How to Avoid Purgatory

Purgatory by Koch

I am reading a little book my mother insisted I read. In fact, she even sent me a copy of it. It is entitled Read Me or Rue it...How to Avoid Purgatory...by Father Paul O'Sullivan O.P. This book used to be available through Tan Books. However, now it is only available through JMJ Book Co. PO Box 15 Necedah, WI 54646, (608) 565-2526.

The main purpose of the book is to teach us that we can avoid going to Purgatory if we try. It is not inevitable that we go through Purgatory before reaching our final home in Heaven. If we cannot avoid Purgatory altogether, we can at least shorten our stay there and this little book tells us how.

"The reason why we have to pass through Purgatory after death is because we have committed sins and have not made satisfaction for them.

Every individual sin must be expiated in this life or the next...

It is not God's fault nor God's wish that we go to Purgatory. The fault is all our own..."

Below is a list of ways of avoiding Purgatory:

1. Removing the cause, i.e. stop sinning.

By making frequent use of the sacraments we can avoid committing mortal sins. We may not be able to refrain from committing all kinds of sins but at least we can avoid the mortal sins .

2. Avoid deliberate and grave venial sins.

"It is an awful thing to offend the good God deliberately."

We should also try our hardest to break our bad habits.

"If a Christian avoids,...these three classes of sin. viz, mortal sins, deliberate and grave venial sins, and habits of sin, it will be relatively easy for him to atone for faults of frailty..."

3. Giving special attention when we pray:

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

These words given to us by our Lord Himself said frequently and fervently will no doubt obtain us pardon for our many offenses.

4. Doing penance.

Bearing our little crosses without complaint during our day. Doing mortifications (which helps us to die to self). These are little penance which will also help lessen the time in Purgatory.

"Penance is not only easy, it is useful and necessary and it will bring us very great happiness...Daily acts of self restraint, of patience with others, of kindness to others, the exact fulfillment of duty are splendid penances and a great aid to happiness."

5. Accepting our sufferings with patience.

Bearing patiently what we cannot avoid, all the more as suffering, born patiently, becomes easy and light. Suffering if accepted with calmness and for God's sake loses all its sting. If received badly, in the spirit of revolt and with repugnance it is intensified a hundredfold, and becomes almost intolerable...

How sad it is that so many Christians for want of thought make their sufferings a thousands times worse than they are and lose all the immense merits that they could so easily gain.

6. By frequent Confession, Communion and daily assistance at Mass.

"Confession applies to our souls the Precious Blood of Christ, wipes out our sins, gives us light to see their malice, fills us with horror of sin, and above all, it give us strength to avoid it.

The Mass is identical with the Sacrifice of Calvary, in its essence, in its value, in the graces it bestows. The Sacrifice of Calvary saved all the world millions and millions of souls...By assisting at Mass we can apply all these oceans of graces to our own souls, and that not once but every day."

I think that is enough for today. The rest of the list will be posted tomorrow.

Updated:

More Ways to Avoid Purgatory

Mortifications: One Way of Avoiding Purgatory

Gregorian Masses

Shared by Sue of Half the Kingdom

GREGORIAN MASSES-WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY WE SHOULD HAVE THEM OFFERED!

THE MASS HEALS!
By Susan Tassone

We hear stories of people who have been healed in body and we are in awe! We seldom consider how much Jesus does to heal souls suffering on earth and more so the souls suffering in Purgatory. A place where none of us have seen to which many of us could go. We need to start acting on what Our Lord and the Saints are telling us about Purgatory...

“Remember your deceased. Give them joy with the celebration of the Holy Mass.” They become our nearest, sincerest, and dearest friends here on earth and in heaven.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest act of reparation, the highest form of prayer. It is the summit of our Faith. St. John Chrysostom says, “Christ is the victim that gives solace to the dead.”

So what are we doing for our dead? Who do you miss the most? Who do you wish you could have done more for? Who hurt you? Who are your enemies? Do you have family members that are into cults, not practicing their faith, do not have their children baptized? Have a Mass offered for them!

The Council of Trent states, “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Perpetual Sacrifice, is the greatest of all suffrages for the holy souls.”

And remember to have Masses offered for yourselves as well! St. Anselm tells us that those which we hear or have offered during life are more profitable than those said for us after death.

Gregorian Masses

Visits From the Holy Souls

The January and February Issue of The Friends of the Holy Souls Newsletter has been posted. Mary Ann shares intriguing stories by a friend "John" regarding visits from Souls in Purgatory.

Also remember that the best thing you can do for your family members who have died, is to pray for the repose of their souls and to have Masses said often for this intention. If they are already in Heaven, then I believe that the Masses will be applied to the souls in purgatory that are in need of them. The Masses and prayers will not go to waste.

I've mentioned this before but I can't stress it enough...it is better to have Masses said for us now than after we are dead. Why not consider offering Masses for your loved ones, friends, and/or yourself as a gift for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. If you need help with the Masses, you can check out Mary Ann's blog as she has priests who offer Masses for people.

How to Help the Holy Souls

H/T to Sue


Source: How to Help the Holy Souls

To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17)

There are a variety of ways to help the Holy Souls. We have listed them in order of effectiveness (i.e. the methods which gain the most grace with the least effort).

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

The Holy Sacrifice is the greatest help we can offer, because its effect depends on itself, and not on the piety of the priest who offers it...If we cannot have a Mass said, we should at least hear Mass for our dear departed. A Mass has infinite merit...(My Catholic Faith; 1949-1954; Sealed)

In addition to the Requiem Mass following death, a Mass for the departed may be arranged for just about any day of the year. The following are days of traditional significance for Masses for the Departed:

1. All Souls Day

2. Third (Christ's time in the tomb); Seventh (symbolic of eternal repose; St. Ambrose) and 30th (St. Ambrose)from death or burial

3. Yearly anniversary day from death or burial

4. Gregorian Mass: 30 consecutive Masses following the repose (burial) popularized by 6th Century Pope St. Gregory the Great

5. Purgatorian Society Masses: daily masses said for souls those enrolled.

Indulgences

Indulgences are very effective in relieving the Suffering Souls in purgatory.

3000 Days of Indulgences

for the relief of the Poor souls in Purgatory to be obtained by saying the following ejaculations/aspirations:

1. The sign of the cross.
(50 days each time. Pius IX, July 28, 1863)

2. The sign of the cross if made with holy water.
(100 days each time. Pius IX. March 23, 1866)

3. May the Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere.
(100 days once a day, Pius IX, Pr. Ma., Sept. 23, 1860).

4. Praised be Jesus Christ forevermore.
(50 days each time. Clement XIII, Sept. 5, 1759)

5. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart unto Thine.
(300 days each time, Pius IX, Pr. Ma. Jan 25, 1868, Pius X, Sept. 15, 1905)

6. Sweet Heart of my Jesus, make me love Thee ever more and more!
(300 days each time, Plenary, once a month, Pius IX, Nov. 26, 1876)

7. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God, of Hosts, earth is full of Thy glory, Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, Glory be to the Holy Ghost.
(100 days once a day, and three times on Sunday, and during the octave of the Holy Trinity, Clement XIV, June 6, 1769)

8. Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love.
(300 days once a day. Leo XIII, May 21, 1892)

9. Sweetest Jesus, be to me not a judge but a Savior.
(50 days each time. Pius IX, Aug. 11, 1851)

10. My Jesus, mercy!
(100 days each time, Pius IX Sept. 24, 1846)

11. O Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all things.
(50 days each time. Pius IX, S Pr. Ma. May 7, 1854)

12. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!
(300 days each time, Pius IX, Sept. 30, 1852)

13. Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
(300 days each time. Leo XIII, B. Sept. 10. 1878)

14. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.
(100 days each time, Pius X, Br. July 9, 1904)

15. Blessed and praised every moment be the most holy and divine Sacrament.
(100 days once a day, three times on Thursday, and during the octave of Corpus Christi, Pius VI, Mem. May 24, 1776)

16. May the Heart of Jesus, in he most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.
(100 days once a day. Pius IX, Pr. Ma. Feb. 23, 1868)

17. The Cross is my sure salvation. The Cross I ever adore. The Cross of my Lord with me. The Cross is my refuge.
(300 days once a day. Pius IX, Pr. Ma. Jan. 21, 1874)

18. O Mary, who didst enter the world free from stain, do Thou obtain for me from God, that I may pass out of it free from sin.
(100 days once a day. Pius IX Bfs. March 27, 1863)

19. Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in satisfaction for my sins, and for the wants of the Holy Church.
(100 days each day. Pius VII. Res. Sept. 22, 1817)

20. May the most just, most high, and most adorable will of God be in all things done, praised and magnified for ever.
(100 days once a day. Pius VII, May 19, 1818)

21. 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 Saints in Purgatory, for the wants of our holy Mother the Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Amen.
(100 days once a day. Pius IX, Pr. Ma. April, 1960)

22. Angel of God, my Guardian dear! to whom His love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
(100 days each time. Pius Vi., Br. Oct. 2, 1795)

23. My loving Jesus, out of the grateful love I bear Thee and to make reparation for my unfaithfulness to grace, I (INSERT NAME)give Thee my heart, and consecrate myself wholly to Thee; and with Thy help I propose never to sin again.
(100 days once a day Pius VII, Mem, June 9, 1807)

24. St. Joseph model and patron of those who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us.
(100 days once a day. Leo XIII, Dec. 19, 1891)

25. Dear Lord Jesus, grant them (him or her) eternal rest.
(300 days each time. Pius X. Off. March)

From Novena for the Relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory by a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, Rev. J.F. Durin, 1980.