The Pains of Purgatory Are Suited to the Faults to be Expiated

The life of Venerable Mother Frances of the Blessed Sacrament, a Religious of Pampeluna, presents several facts which show that the pains of Purgatory are suited to the faults to be expiated. This venerable servant of God had the most intimate communication with the souls in Purgatory, so that they came in great numbers and filled her cell, humbly awaiting each one in turn to be assisted by her prayers. Frequently, the more easily to excite her compassion, they appeared with the instruments of their sins, now become the instruments of their torture. One day she saw a Religious surrounded by costly pieces of furniture, such as pictures, arm-chairs, &c., all in flames. She had collected these things in her cell contrary to her vow of religious poverty, and after her death they became her torment.

A notary appeared to her one day with all the insignia of his profession. Being heaped around him, the flames which issued therefrom caused him the most intense suffering. " I have used this pen, this ink, this paper," said he, " to draw up illegal deeds. I also had a passion for gambling, and these cards which I am forced to hold continually in my hands now constitute my punishment. This flaming purse contains my unlawful gains, and causes me to expiate them."

From all this we should draw great and salutary instruction. Creatures are given to man as a means to serve God ; they must be the instruments of virtue and good works. If he abuse them, and make them instruments of sin, it is just they should be turned against him, and become the instruments of his chastisement.

~ Excerpt from Purgatory: Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the Saints

by Fr. F.X. Shouppe. S.J. ~

Our Blessed Mother Visits and Encourages Souls in Purgatory

March 24, 1874. "Tomorrow, visit the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can. I shall accompany you. I will have the happiness of being near Our Lord. Yes, that relieves me.

March 25, 1874. "I am now in the second Purgatory. Since my death, I have been in the first, where one endures such great suffering. We also suffer in the second, but not nearly as much as in the first. Always try to be a help to your superior. Do not speak often. Wait until you are questioned before you answer.

May 1874. "I have been in the second Purgatory since the Feast of the Annunciation. On that day I saw the Blessed Virgin for the first time. In the first stage, we never saw her. The sight of her encourages us and this beloved Mother speaks to us of Heaven. While we see her, our sufferings are greatly diminished."

~ Sr. M.G., a soul from Purgatory: from An unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~

St. Alphonsus Liguori: Holy Repentance

St. Jean Vianney: Helping Faithful Departed Souls

"We must say many prayers for the souls of the faithful departed,
for one must be so pure to enter Heaven."

"Yet how quickly we could empty Purgatory if we but really wished to."

"If we were thoroughly convinced of the torments of Purgatory,

could we then so easily forget our parents.......

if God would permit them to show themselves

we would we would see them cast themselves down at our feet

"My children", they would cry out,

"have mercy on us! Oh, do not forsake us!'."

~ St. Jean Vianney ~

~ For videos on the Life of St. Jean Vianney, click here. ~

St. Jean Vianney: Salvation

St. Peter Julian Eymard: Purgatory is God's Mercy Toward Sinners

"The love which God feels for us is more merciful than benevolent because, sinners by nature, we have above all need of mercy. Besides it is His mercy which He reveals more than all His other attributes, on this earth, during our lifetime. This world is its empire; time, its kingdom.

"Mercy has left the Heavens. It has come down to earth to envelop and cover man. It is his atmosphere and his environment, the air which he breathes, the light which illumines him. We live on mercy.

"It rescues the sinner from that justice which should punish every sin; it arrests it, holds it up until death itself. It follows man, accompanies him everywhere he goes, never leaves him, not even after his death, for it follows him into purgatory. Purgatory is nothing but the last effort of the mercy of God toward the sinner, and there is written above the door of that flaming prison: “The Mercy of God!”

~ St. Peter Julian Eymard ~

What Heaven Is Like

"I am going to try to make you understand, as far as you can upon earth, what Heaven is like. There are ever new feasts which succeed each other without interruption. There is happiness, always new and such, it would seem, as has never been enjoyed. It is a torrent of joy which flows unceasingly over the elect. Heaven is above all and beyond all — GOD: God loved, God relished, God delighted in; in one word, it is to be satisfied with God without ever being satisfied!

"The more a soul loves God on earth, the higher she advances in perfection, the more she will love and understand God in Heaven."

"All things pass and pass quickly. Do not fret so much about things that will end one day. Aim at what will never end. By our holy actions united to Jesus, let us embellish our heavenly throne. Let us raise it up a few steps nearer to Him whom we shall contemplate and love throughout eternity."

~ Sr. M.G., a deceased nun: Excerpts from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~