Torments of Purgatory: The Powerlessness of the Souls in Purgatory
– Powerlessness in their suffering –
Consider the fact that at the moment of death all merit ceases because the soul no longer possesses its freedom to choose between good and evil. Purgatory is that long night of which Jesus spoke, during which no one can freely act; those who languish there are like the farmer of the Gospels whom the father no longer allows to cultivate his field.
That is why the deceased can no longer do anything to alleviate their suffering: perfect resignation, the intensity of their torment, their love of God, nothing will shorten for an instant their stay in Purgatory. The slightest suffering would have granted them celestial glory while they were still on earth, in this place of atonement, their suffering is sterile for them and sterile for Heaven; it is simply the acquittal of their debts.
Alas, to suffer for years, perhaps for centuries without merit for themselves! How sad that thought and how much it must add to their torment! Also, it is from us that they await assistance and relief.
Truly we are the only source of comfort for the dead! We alone are their liberating providence. Heaven consoles them. We relieve them. Heaven encourages them. We deliver them. Saints open their arms to receive them. We introduce them to their eternal inheritance. Such is our power. Such is our duty. Let us meditate on this!
– Powerlessness in their prayer –
The souls in Purgatory are powerless to relieve their own suffering through their prayer or through their suffering. It is in vain that they cry out to God from the depths of their burning prison.
In vain do they attempt to bend his Justice as they say with David, My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me. I cry out by day and you answer me not; by night and there is no relief for me. Remember your mercy O my Lord. Break the bonds that keep me far from you. Deliver me from my torments. Have mercy Lord, have mercy!
The time for mercy no longer exists in Purgatory; the reign of Justice has begun. Repeated supplications are no longer efficient; when our debt has been completely acquitted through our suffering, our soul will fly to Heaven.
If the prayers of the deceased no longer benefit them, ours deeply touch the heart of God. As our prayers rise up to Heaven, mercy pours on the souls in Purgatory in torrents of grace, forgiveness, freedom and glory.
It is through prayer that Mary and Martha obtained the resurrection of Lazarus and it is through prayer that we will obtain the deliverance of our loved ones. Let us pray with all our heart! Let us pray unceasingly for them! Let us often say, Good and merciful Jesus, grant them eternal rest! Oh Mary, our Mother and our Consolation come to their aid! All saints of Paradise, intercede for them!
– Example –
Going through Judea, Jesus met a paralytic who was sitting sadly near the pool of Siloam. On certain days, an angel descended upon the waters of the pool and stirred the waters. The first person to bathe in it would then be healed. That poor man had been waiting for a long time for his healing. Moved by compassion, Jesus asked him why he did not go forward with the others to be healed. Lord, answered the man, it is because I am paralysed in all my limbs and unable to move by myself. The healing which I desire so deeply does not depend on me, poor paralytic. I am in need of a friend who will come to my rescue and give me his hand! Poor paralytic!
Such is the sad state of the holy souls in Purgatory; they remain immobile in the torturing flames, incapable of helping themselves in the least, unable to throw themselves in the salvific pool of Jesus’ Precious Blood. They are waiting for some compassionate friends to come along and bathe them. Be that charitable friend, that liberating angel for the paralytic souls in Purgatory!
Let Us Pray
– My God, I beg you to have mercy on the poor souls who are lingering in that long night of purification. Alas, they can no longer help themselves. Allow me to be their mediator and to stand between them and your holy Justice. I beg you Lord, shorten their exile! Oh my Jesus be their Conciliator! May they rest in peace!
Let Us Pray
Lord, hear the prayers we will offer up to you every day of this month for the consolation of our deceased brothers and sisters and grant them a place of refreshing light and peace! Hear also the prayers which those souls will offer up to you for our intention that we might ultimately obtain, through their intercession, the graces for which we pray for.