Bestow mercy to receive mercy

“It was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Macc. 12:45)

My mother used to say:” the worst truth is better than the best lie”, recognizing the truth is the first step necessary in facing any challenges. There is one truth that nobody will deny, believer or nonbeliever, it is the fact that one day each of us will die. The time when the soul is separated from the body, the time when we will stand in front of our Lord and everything will be revealed; the moment of truth. “Each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work, which any man has built on the foundation, survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1st Corinthians 3:13-15)

From the book of revelations 22:14 (Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates.) we learn that to go to heaven we must be pure, clean, and, according to Matthew 18:35, we must pay back our debts first. We have to purge our souls from our earthly sludge.

The fact that Purgatory exists is also revealed through the chosen souls. In the diary of St. Faustina (#20) we are finding a vision:

[The next night] I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in PURGATORY. The souls call her “The Star of the Sea.” She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice] which said, My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it. Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls.

The magnitude of suffering in purgatory is described by blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich:

“The poor souls suffer inexpressibly. The difference between the pains of purgatory and those of hell is this: in hell reigns only despair, whilst in purgatory the hope of deliverance sweetens all. The greatest torment of the damned is the anger of God. Some faint idea of His wrath may be formed from the terror of a defenseless person exposed to the attack of a furious man.”

The length of time spent in purgatory depends on our life on earth. The more pious the life the shorter the time. Taking under consideration that reciting the Apostolic Creed has an indulgence of 5 years, we should not expect that our time in purgatory to be short. The secret of minimizing this time is in the words: “For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13) and the gospel of Matthew (18:32:35)

“His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Our Lord asks St. Faustina: Today bring to Me the souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury (64) of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice. (Diary, 1226)

In the prophecies of Anne Catherine Emmerich….Part 3 On the Existence of Purgatory …….section 1

We find encouragement from our Lady, Mother of God, Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for the souls in purgatory:

“Instruct your penitents to pray fervently for the poor souls in purgatory, for they in gratitude will pray for them in return. Prayer for these poor souls is most agreeable to God, as it admits them to His presence sooner.”

And St. Therese of Lisieux is motivating us to use plenary indulgences to help the souls in purgatory.

“The chief plenary indulgence, which is within reach of everybody, and can be gained without the ordinary conditions, is that of charity–which ‘covers a multitude of sins.’ ”

At the same time blessed Anne Emmerich points at how little help we provide to those poor souls. “I am terrified to see the riches the Church holds out in such abundance neglected, dissipated, so lightly esteemed, whilst the poor souls are languishing for them.”

St Gertrude the Great, filled with the love of God, left a prayer which, according to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly.

Let us pray for those souls in purgatory. Give them plenary indulgences: a half-hour of reading the bible, a half-hour of adoration, or reciting 5 decades Rosary before mass to gain a plenary indulgence after receiving Holy Communion, confession, a prayer for the pope’s intentions and a plea to our heavenly father to receive indulgences. It is enough to free 1 soul from purgatory, and we will gain the best friend we could have while reducing our own time there.

Dear brothers and sisters, lets fight to shorten our time in Purgatory by showing mercy to the souls already there.

The Prayer of St. Gertrude

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.