Sixteenth Day
First reason for bringing relief to the Souls in Purgatory
– This devotion glorifies God –
Our first motivation for hastening by every possible means the relief of those holy souls is the glory, which it gives God. Truly, nothing glorifies the Almighty, praises His holy Name, dilates his paternal Heart or contributes to the compliance of his adorable Will than the relief […]
Fifteenth Day
Forgetting the dead
– It denotes a great insensitivity –
The Bible speaks of a man called Lazarus who was covered in ulcers, dressed in rags and lay on the doorstep of a wealthy man. He asked for very little: the mere crumbs, which fell from the rich man’s table. He was refused even that.
What insensitivity! What hardness of […]
Fourteenth Day
Relief for the Souls in Purgatory
– What can bring them relief –
The Council of Trent decreed, We believe that souls detained in Purgatory are relieved by the suffrages of the faithful. That is how the Church, in its Divine and magnificent unity, includes Christians of all eras and all classes. The charity, which binds them and unites their spiritual wealth is […]
Thirteenth Day
Abandoned Souls
– Abandoned by their friends –
Consider the fact that there are souls completely forgotten in Purgatory for whom no one prays and who suffer without consolation.
It is true that the Church does not forget any of her children. Those abandoned souls have a right to the prayers of our tender Mother who petitions the Lord every […]
Twelfth Day
State of the souls in Purgatory in relation to us
– They are united to us by the bonds of charity –
Remember that we are bonded to those holy souls by a Divine spiritual chain. Just like us, they were created in the image of God, bought by the Precious Blood of Jesus, regenerated by the water of baptism. They have been […]
Eleventh Day
Holiness of the souls in Purgatory
St. Catherine of Genoa told us, Every soul, the moment it is in Purgatory is elevated to a degree of perfection and Divine union which could serve as a model for the most holy person here on earth. There are in Purgatory a multitude of predestined souls who have triumphed over their passions, who have conquered the world and the devil, who […]
Tenth Day
The two paths that lead to Purgatory
– The path of mortal sin –
By its nature, mortal sin leads much further than Purgatory: it casts one into the pits of Hell. Souls, which are permeated with sin plunge into the depths of Hell. They cannot stand the light of God, which appears to them at the time of their death. But if […]
Ninth Day
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 […]
Eighth Day
Torments of Purgatory: Duration of suffering for the souls in Purgatory
– What is the duration? –
The Church has not defined anything specific as to the duration of the suffering in Purgatory, but it clearly demonstrates what it believes by celebrating anniversary Masses, for the souls of the deceased. It thus believes that the atonement can be long even lasting for centuries. […]
Seventh Day
Torments of Purgatory: The Pain of Remorse
– The evil we needed to avoid –
The torments, of which we just spoke, are not the only ones which torture the souls kept captive in this place of atonement. They still feel sadness, bitter regret, desolation and fierce reproaches from their guilty conscience, a thousand times more severe for them than the pain of […]
