Author Topic: Praying for the souls in purgatory not necessary (Read 54022 times)

donkath · « **Reply #55 on:** May 04, 2015, 12:49:22 AM »

These prayers from St. Jude's are beautiful and well worth practicing. One intention consistently comes up and that is probably the most important. It is 'to do the will of the Father'. Unfortunately, it is hard for us to know for certain that everything we actually do, and every prayer we say, is according to the will of the Father.

This is what worried the saints to the degree that they realised they would never be certain they were doing God's will so they prayed about it and were given the grace of the dark night of the soul. Once the initiation process of that purgation was over (could last for years according to their generosity/depth of their desire) the purgation kept pace with their everyday lives minute by minute.

They then realised what a great grace it was. The Holy Spirit's gift of the Fear of God became their constant companion. working in union with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. 'Taking them into a cloud' visiting them when they did not know what to do or what to pray in their particular situation, at that particular time, and in accordance with to their state in life. This was a day by day, minute by minute lived experience. Thus God would enlighten them by continuing the purgation of their state of inherited sin more and more. They began to fast in order to invite the mercy of the Gift of Fear because then, they knew what to do, or pray. They knew for certain that God was working through them because of the results (personal holiness or external when in relation to another person or more especially during martyrdom.

If they committed deliberate personal sins, they would go to Confession. But the collaboration with the grace of purgation on earth delivered them more and more from their state of sin...thus rendering them incapable of sin = Charity.

It is this deliverance from our state of sin that God's mercy, either here or in Purgatory after death, must be endured by each and every one of us.

Praying as advised on St. Jude's website helps us to be better prepared to go through the purgation period here or after death, or during the process of dying when we lose all our possessions and suffer the grief of parting from loved ones.

God only grants this grace to those who truly long for it. He always works with the willing collaboration of the soul - going only at their pace.

poche · « **Reply #56 on:** May 04, 2015, 10:38:30 PM »

The Third Means: Suffering

The Third Means of avoiding Purgatory is very easy. It consists in making a virtue of necessity, by bearing patiently what we cannot avoid, and all the more since suffering, borne patiently, becomes easy and light. Suffering, if accepted with calmness and in uniformity and conformity with God’s Holy Will, loses all its sting. If received badly, in the spirit of revolt and with repugnance, it is intensified a hundredfold, and becomes almost intolerable.

Everyone in this vale of tears has to face sorrows innumerable and infinite in variety. Crosses light and crosses heavy are the lot of us all. Strange as it may seem, these sorrows, which most of us would gladly dispense with, are in truth God’s greatest graces. They are the little share He offers us of His Passion and which He asks us to bear for love of Him and as penance for our sins.

Borne in this spirit they will lessen considerably our time in Purgatory and very possibly completely remove it, but with difference. A period in Purgatory of even 50 or 100 years, will in no way increase our merits in Heaven. However, every pain and sorrow and disappointment in this life will lessen our suffering in Purgatory, and also bring us more happiness and glory in Heaven.

Consider these sufferings as “opportunities”. Opportunities to help to purify your soul, but also opportunities to offer up to God all of your pain and sufferings, not only for you own sins, faults, and imperfections, but also for the Poor, Suffering Souls in Purgatory.

How many Souls in Purgatory are “left” in Purgatory by God because, when they were yet in this life, they lacked Charity for the Poor Souls then in Purgatory.

How many missed opportunities did such souls have when yet in this life they could have had Masses offered for the happy repose, and hopefully release, of souls from Purgatory? How many prayers did they say for the Poor Souls?

But because God is never outdone in generosity, those souls in Purgatory who, when yet in this life, had Masses offered for the Poor Souls, prayed for the Poor Souls, gained indulgences, especially plenary indulgences for the Poor Souls, will assuredly have a much shorter stay in Purgatory than those who totally ignored the Poor Souls in Purgatory!

The awful truth is this: the Souls who are left to “rot” (as the expression goes) in Purgatory, maybe for thousands of years?, are most probably those souls which had no mercy, no compassion, and no charity for the Poor Souls when they were yet in this life and who failed to say any prayers for them, or gain any indulgences for them, or have any Masses offered for them.

Therefore, the Justice of God, being fair, IF it happens that those who are left behind in this life after such a soul ends up in Purgatory after their death, have Masses offered for the newly deceased, or say prayers for them, or gain plenary indulgences for them, God will apply all such things, no matter what they are, to those other souls in Purgatory who, while yet in this life, did do such things for the Poor Souls - thereby leaving the inconsiderate, unmerciful, uncharitable souls who in this life totally ignored the Poor Souls - will now be totally ignored during their perhaps very long stay in Purgatory?

http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home1606.html

poche · « **Reply #57 on:** May 05, 2015, 10:57:23 PM »

For your practical resolutions, the following is suggested:

1) Take the sufferings God sends you and make of them “opportunities” to partially expiate your own sins, faults, and imperfections, and apply the merits of your sufferings to the Poor, Suffering Souls in Purgatory who are too often ignored or forgotten in this busy world in which we live today for indeed, the world is too much with most of us!

http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home1606.html

poche · « **Reply #58 on:** May 06, 2015, 10:48:46 PM »

The Fourth Means:
Confession, Communion, Holy Mass

The Fourth Means by which we can lessen our time in Purgatory, or avoid it altogether, is 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 gives us strength to avoid it. In Holy Communion we receive the God of infinite mercy and love, the God of all sanctity, Who comes expressly to pardon our sins and by His Grace, helps us to sin no more.

Many, alas, never feel, never grasp the immense joys and consolation of Holy Communion.

The Mass is identical with the Sacrifice of Calvary, in its ontological and metaphysical essences, in its Infinite value, in the Graces it bestows. The Sacrifice of Calvary was sufficient to save all the world, even sufficient to save countless other sinful worlds, if they existed, but not all men desire to partake of such sufficiency due to free will.

This is why the Roman Catholic Council of Trent teaches: “With reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation. And this is the purport of the Apostle when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many [Heb. 9:28]; and also of the words of our Lord in John: I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me, because they are Thine [John 17:9]” (“The Roman Catechism”, the Eucharist, #64).

http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home1606.html

Tridentine MT · « **Reply #59 on:** May 07, 2015, 09:22:51 AM »

Poche,

Thanks to all the literature you posted on this thread.

For those who can make it to Rome, I recommend a visit to the Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Tradition in Action has good articles about it. What I saw there removes all doubts.

It won't take long to see everything, it is really just one small room inside the Church of the Sacred Heart. But it is one of those little-known places that make for an interesting visit and many visitors to the Eternal City have never even heard of it.

Among the items on display is the nightcap of a man who discovered his deceased wife's hand prints on it asking him to pray for her.

Another amazing item is a book of belonging to a woman whose mother-in-law reportedly appeared to her and asked for two masses in her honor. After the wish was fulfilled, her hand print was found on the book as a message of thanksgiving.

Other exhibits include a book with a hand print on it from a deceased priest and many other interesting items.

It is only about 10 minutes from the Vatican, and is of interest to believers and even to non-believers.

The museum came about through the activities of a French missionary priest, Father Jouet. There was a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary and it caught fire due to the candles that surrounded it. Bystanders claimed to see the face of a man in the burning walls of the altar. Father Jouet was convinced that this was a message from a soul whose body was buried in the area and decided to build a church in that place to pay tribute to the souls in purgatory.

The musem is located at Lungotevere Prati, 12 in Rome. The phone is:+39 06 6880 6517. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. There may or may not be someone there to guide you.

The museum is open whenever the Church is: from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m.