purgatory

 From The amazing secret of souls in purgatory by sister Emmanuel.

Q: But what can be done to accept suffering as a gift and not, as is often done, as a punishment?

A It is necessary to offer everything to the Blessed Virgin , because she knows best who is in need of this or that offering in order to be saved.

Sister Emmanuel:

At this point, with regard to suffering, I would like to tell you a story that Maria Simma told us .

It happened in 1954 . Several disastrous avalanches had swept over a village near the one where Maria Simma lived causing great damage. Other avalanches had fallen in the direction of Maria's village. But it happened that here the avalanches stopped in a truly miraculous way , in front of the village, without causing any damage.

The souls( of purgatory ) told Maria Simma that in that village there had lived and died a woman who had been ill for thirty years and who had been very badly treated; she had suffered terribly for 30 years and she had offered all her sufferings for the sake of her village.

The souls told Maria that the village had been saved thanks to the offering of that woman.

She had therefore offered her sufferings for 30 years and had endured them patiently. Maria says that if that woman had been in good health, she would not have been able to protect her village; she adds also that with sufferings endured with patience it is possible to save more souls than with prayer .

We should not always look at suffering as a punishment . It can be accepted in expiation not only for ourselves, but also for others. Jesus Christ was innocent and yet He suffered more than anybody else for our sins.

Only in Heaven shall we know fully what we have obtained through our suffering accepted patiently in unity with Christ's suffering.