November calls to mind the countless number of souls that are being purified in purgatory.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as the “final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (§ 1031). Souls in Purgatory are saved from eternal damnation. However they need to undergo their necessary purification before being admitted to the beatific vision of God.
With regard to souls in purgatory, the Council of Florence (1438-1443) said that “if they have died repentant for their sins and having love of God, but have not made satisfaction for things they have done or omitted by fruits worthy of penance, then their souls, after death, are cleansed by the punishment of purgatory”.
Purgatory is surely not a pleasant holiday but a terrible temporary punishment that souls must endure in order to be completely purified from the smallest trace of sin. Mystical literature amply shows the agonizing suffering of these souls. For instance, Saint Faustina Kowalska wrote this testimony in her diary:
“ ...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)
The misty place filled with fire full of souls suffering the greatest torment of longing for God must surely convince us of the great need these souls have for our prayers. Clearly bearing this in mind, the late Blessed Pope John Paul II, on 17 September 2002, stated that “the first and highest form of charity for brothers is the ardent desire for their eternal salvation. Christian love knows no boundaries and goes beyond the limits of space and time, enabling us to love those who have already left this earth”.
Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium”,
said: “This sacred council accepts loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors in the living communion which exists between us and our brothers who are in the glory of Heaven or who are yet being purified after their death; and it proposes again the decrees of the Second Council of Nicea, of the Council of Florence, and of the Council of Trent” (§ 51).
The Council of Florence outlined “the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayers and almsgiving and other works of piety” as efficacious means of helping these souls getting liberated from the “prison of suffering” they are in.
Of special importance is having Masses offered for their souls’ repose. In his encyclical Mirae caritatis, Pope Leo XIII taught: “The grace of mutual love among the living, strengthened and increased by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, flows, especially by virtue of the Sacrifice [of the Mass], to all who belong to the communion of saints.
For the communion of saints is simply ... the mutual sharing of help, atonement, prayers, and benefits among the faithful, those already in the heavenly fatherland, those consigned to the purifying fire, and those still making their pilgrim way here on earth. … Faith teaches that … the august Sacrifice can … be celebrated … to wash away the stains of those brethren who died in the Lord but without yet being wholly purified”.
Am I in a closer communion with the suffering souls in purgatory by offering Masses for their definite liberation from it?
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
SAN GWANN