Fr. William Doyle: Blessed Place of Purifying Fire

"From the cleansing fires of purgatory ascends the gentle pleading of the imprisoned souls, God's own dear captives, to us for help and mercy. The burning flames envelop them, but far more bitter, far more painful is the remembrance of their sinful deeds which have offended Him Whose love they now know so well. Gladly do they turn from His loving though offended gaze, and hasten to bury themselves and their shame deep in that blessed place of purifying fire. Well do they know now the foulness of sin, its black ingratitude towards their only true Friend, and gladly do they suffer now to atone for a life which was spent without love of Him.

"At last the hour of their release has come. God's justice is satisfied, their souls are purified in the fiery crucible. Swiftly to the place of suffering and banishment the faithful angel guardian speeds his way. How eagerly has he longed for this hour when he may bear his loving charge safely to its home of bliss to rest for ever in the bosom of Jesus! Long ago when yet that soul was an exile on this earth has he thought of this moment. Each fresh act of virtue, each victory over temptation, gave him joy; and when that soul fell, when Satan claimed it as his own, how earnestly that angel spirit pleaded for the erring soul and won it back to grace and God. "

~ Excerpt from A Year's Thoughts: Collected From the Writings of Father William Doyle, S.J. ~

A blog worth visiting: Remembering Fr William Doyle SJ

Fr. Barron Comments on Hell

Eric Clapton: Tears in Heaven

Eric Clapton wrote this song after the death of his 4 year old son.

Fr. Anthony Brankin: Satan's Personal Battles Against Each of God's Children

Fr. Anthony Brankin is pastor of St. Odilo Parish, Berwyn, Illinois.

Cardinal Mundelein commissioned Father William J. Roberts in April of 1927 to establish a new parish in Berwyn under the patronage of St. Odilo and officially honored the parish church as "The National Shrine of the Souls in Purgatory".

St. Clare: Patron Saint of Television

Assisting the Souls in Purgatory: The Most Excellent of the Works of Mercy

"To assist the souls in Purgatory

is to perform the most excellent of the works of Mercy,

or rather it is to practise in a most sublime manner

all the works of Mercy together :

it is to visit the sick ;

it is to give drink to those who thirst for the vision of God;

it is to feed the hungry,

to ransom prisoners,

to clothe the naked,

to procure for poor exiles the hospitality of the Heavenly Jerusalem;

it is to comfort the afflicted,

to instruct the ignorant-

in fine, to practise all works of Mercy in one."

~ St. Francis de Sales ~

Are You Ready to Be Judged By God If You Were To Die Today ?

"The World Trade Center, symbol of economic power and prosperity, was snuffed out in a short span of time. All of the fallen faced their Creator without their home, their education, their investments or their car."

"As a Catholic priest I have often seen death close at hand. For almost twenty years, I have prayed at the side of little babies, children, teen-agers, adults in their prime, and adults in the twilight of their lives as they died. Death comes at any age.

"No matter how many advances science may bring to our contemporary world, no one will ever be able to keep people from dying. Dying is a part of life. It is part of our earthly existence.

"When we were little children we learned the simple, yet profound truth from our catechism lessons about our existence. Why did God make me? God made me to know him, to love him, to serve him in this world and to be happy with him in everlasting life. Here lies the plain truth about our life on earth. We will not be here forever.

"Life is like a bus ride. We move forward with our bags packed, hoping that when the bus stops and the door opens, we will be at the right location. We must remember the fundamental truth of Revelation: eternity consists of three states: heaven, purgatory and hell. To deny the existence of purgatory and hell is to deny Christianity. To tell people that everyone is going to heaven is to deprive them of the truth. It is a lie to tell people that everyone is saved. Moreover, when people accept this lie, the very lie may even endanger their eternal salvation because they will no longer be using the necessary means of salvation in order to gain eternal life.

“Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator” (Colossians 3: 5-10).

"One day each of us will stand before God for judgment. We will stand before God without a lawyer, without family and friends to support us. We will stand alone before Almighty God. Each day could be our last day on earth. We should each ask ourselves today, if I were to die today, how would God judge me? Is there any particular sin, attachment, or attitude that might be an obstacle to my eternal salvation? Rather than becoming sad when we consider our own death, the reality of leaving this life and facing God for judgment should lead us to continual conversion.

"Let us remember the words from this Sunday’s gospel passage: 'Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions' (Luke 12: 15)."

~ Fr. James Fargaglia: Excerpts from Stepping Stones to Eternity ~