purgatory, charity

 From The wonderful secrets of souls in purgatory by sister Emmanuel

p.26

Q; well, Maria, I am now thinking of the good thief , the one who was on the cross beside Jesus. I would really like to know what he did, for Jesus to have promised that he would be with him that same day in Paradise.

He accepted with humility his suffering, saying that it was just . He encouraged the other thief to accept it too. He had the fear of God. That is to say , he had humility.

Another beautiful example , Maria simma told us , show how a good deed can redeem a sinful life in a very short time. Let us listen to her own words.

" I knew a young man about 20 years old. He lived in a village near mine. This village had been severely hit and devastated by several avalanches which killed many people. It was in 1954.

One evening this young man was at his parents' home, when a terrible avalanche fell near the house. He heard shrill cries, agonizing shouts asking:" help us ! save us ! come to save us! ... we have been swept away by the avalanches!..."

Immediately the young man got up and rushed down to help those people . But his mother , who had heard the cries, stopped him from going by shutting the door and saying :" No , let other people help them but not us! It is too dangerous, I do not want another dead person. " But the young man who had been impressed by those cries and really wanted to help those people. pushed his mother aside and said," Yes, I am going. I cannot let them die like this!" and he went out. But then he too got swept away by an avalanche and was killed....

Two days later , he visited me ( Maria simma) during the night and told me, " Have three masses said for me and I will be free from purgatory. " I went to infor his family and friends. They were very astonished to hear that he would be freed from purgatory after only three masses. One of his friends said ," I would not have wanted to be in his place at the moment of death , if you had seen all the depravities he had commited...!"

Later that young man told me ( Maria simma) , I did an act of pure love by risking my life and giving it up for those people. and it is precisely for this, that the Lord welcomed me so quickly into Heaven. Yes, it is true, charity covers a multitude of sins."

In this story we can see that a single act of unselfish love was sufficient to purify that young man from a life of depravity , and the Lord, taking advantage of this sudden act of love called him to Himself. In fact, Maria said that maybe this young man would never have had another opportunity in his life to do such a great act of love, and that he might have become a wicked man. The Lord, in His mercy , called Him just at the very best moment , the purest moment because of that act of love . 

purgatory, go straight to heaven

 From The wonderful secrets of souls in purgatory by sister emmanuel

p.22

Q: Well, Maria, can you tell us who are those who have a better chance to go to paradise straightway?

Those who have a good heart , good towards all. Love covers a multitude of sins.

Q: Yes, it is st. Paul saying this. What can we do on earth to avoid Purgatory and to go directly to Paradise?

We have to do much for the souls in purgatory. Because they also help us . It is necessary to have great humility. This is the greatest weapon against the evil one. Humility eliminates evil.

At this point I cannot resist the desire to quote a very beautiful story oof Fr. Berlioux( who wrote a good book on the souls in purgatory), regarding the help offered by these souls to all those people who help them with prayers and intercessions.

" It is said that a person particularly friendly with the souls in purgatory had consecrated her life to interceding for them.

When she came to the hour of her death, she was attacked furiously by the devil who saw that she was on the point of eluding him. It looked as if the entire abyss , allied against her , was surrounding her with its infernal troops.

The dying person had been fighting for some time with the most terrible effort, when suddenly she saw unknown people resplendent with beauty entering her flat. They put the devil to flight and , coming closer to her bed, addressed her with celestial words of encouragement and consolation. Filled with joy, and with a deep breath she shouted , " who are you ?" " who is doing me so much good ?"

Those good visitors replied," we are residents of Heaven, who through your help have been conducted to celestial bliss, and who in turn come now with gratitude to help you from this place of anguish in order to introduce you to the joys of the Holy City."

With these words the face of the dying woman became enlightened by a smile, her eyes closed and she fell asleep peacefully in the Lord. Her soul , pure as a dove, when she presented herself to the Lord of Lords, found many protectors and advocators among the souls she had helped to free. Being recognised worthy of glory , she entered triumphantly amidst a burst of applause and blessings from all those she had helped to free from purgatory."

May we one day have the same good fortune! It is necessary to say , then , that the souls we have helped to free through our prayers are extremely grateful. I warmly recommend that you experience this, they help us, they know our needs and obtain many graces for us.

Purgatory , role of Mary

 From: The wonderful secrets of souls in purgatory by sister Emmanuel.

p.21-22

Q: Maria , can you tell me what is the role of Our Lady regarding the souls in Purgatory?

Yes, she often visits them to console them , by telling them that they have been good in many ways and to encourage them.

Q: Are there any special days in which she liberates them ?

Yes, especially on christmas day. All saints and on Good Friday, as well as on the day of the Assumption and of the Ascension of Jesus.

Q: Maria , why do we go to Purgatory? What sins send souls more frequently to Purgatory?

They are sins against charity, against love for our neighbour, hardness of heart , hostility, slanderm yes, all those I know that slander and defamation are among the gravest sins and require a long time of purification.

On this subject Mary offers us an example which had greatly struck her and which I wish to share with you .

It has to do with a man and a woman about she had been asked or information on whether they were in purgatory.

Much to the surprise of those who had asked her , the woman was already in paradise and the man in purgatory. As a matter of fact , the woman had died after having an abortion , while the man had gone to church very often and apparently had led a life of much dignity and piety.

Maria then enquired again, thinking she had been mistaken, But not at all , it was exactly like that : they had practically died at the same time, but the woman had sincerely repented of what she had done and she had been very humble; while the man , although religious had always been complaining , running down people criticising . This is why his purgatory had been so long. Maria concluded by saying: One must not judege according to appearances.

Other sins against charity are certainly all our rejections of people we do not love , our refusal to forgive and to be at peace with others, and all the grudges we keep in our heart .

On this subject too , Maria told a sotry to ponder upon, It is the story of someone she had known very well. This person died . It was a woman and she was in purgatory, suffering terribly .

When this woman came, Maria asked her the reason why; and the reason was that she had a friend for whom she had felt deep hostility; and although this had been provoked by herself , she had kept this grudge of hers for years and years. Whenever her friend, on several occasions, had come asking her to make friends again, she had always refused, when she became very ill, she still carried on keeping her heart closed and refusing to make peace with her friend as she was asked to do . Even on her deathbed, her friend had come beseeching her to make peace; but even on her deathbed she had refused to do so ; This is the reason why she was now suffering tremendously in purgatory and asking for Maria's help .

This is a very significant example of the grievousness of keeping a grudge, With regard to our words, one could never say sufficiently enough how criticism , a spiteful word, could truly kill a person; and on the other handm how a good word could heal a person.

Purgatory , what is purgatory

 From The wonderful secret of the souls in purgatory by sister Emmanuel.

p.17-18

At this point we ask the fundamental question : what precisely is purgatory?

I would sat that it is a clever invention of God . Here I would like to suggest something of my own.

Try to imagine that one day a door opens and a being of extraordinary beauty appears , as such beauty as you have never yet seen on this earth . You are fascinated, even perturbed by this BEING  of light and beauty , especially as He is showing such immense love for you ( something you could never have imagined ) ; you will also notice that He has a great desire to attract you to Himself and to embrace you . The fire of love , already  burning in your heart , certainly urges you to throw yourself into his arms. But , at this precise moment , you become aware that you have not washed yourself for a long time; that you smell ; that you are very ugly , that your nose is dripping ; your hair is greasy and sticky , and your clothes covered with stains.... and so on. At this point you , yourself , say: NO  , it is not possible that I present myself like this! First of all , it is necessary that I go and wash myself , take a shower, and then I will immediately come back to Him ...

But then this love born in your heart is so intense , so strong , so burning that the delay in having to take a shower is totally unbearable. The pain due to his absence is a strong burning of the heart , although it may last only a few moments. The terrible burning in your heart is certainly in proportion to the intensity of the revelation of love; it is a flame of love....

Well, this is purgatory . It is a delay due to our impurities; a delay before God's embrace; a flame of love which makes us suffer terribly ; a waiting , a longing for love. It is precisely this flame, this burning longing that purifies us from all our impurities. Purgatory, I dare say , is a place of desire, of a mad desire for God. For that Go we have already met and seen , but to whom our soul is not yet united.

The souls in purgatory speak frequently to Mary of this great desire, this thirst for God that they experience , and of how this desire is profoundly painful, it is a real agony.

Practically, Purgatory is a deep crisis, a crisis due to God's absence.