Fr. Bill Casey: Life is Short and Time is Precious--Use It Well!

"Life is short...We have come from God and we are going back to God...every moment we are in this world is precious to us because at every moment we really are making and shaping our eternal destiny...we are making ourselves to be what we will be forever by the choices that we make here and now in this life, and so God calls us to make the most of the opportunity to make the most of the gift of life and the gift of time that God has given to us.

"The time to store up your treasure in Heaven is now.The time to be reconciled with God and your neighbor is now. The time to give of yourselves to others is now. The time to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength is now. Don't put it off. Don't put it off to tomorrow because...for so many of us tomorrow never seems to come."

~ Fr. Bill Casey ~

Holy Communion for Souls in Purgatory

"For the souls in Purgatory then, Holy Communion is one precious personal gift which they can receive from us. Who can tell how helpful Holy Communions are toward their liberation? One day St. Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi’s dead father appeared to her and said that one hundred and seven Holy Communions were necessary for him to be able to leave Purgatory. When the last of the one hundred and seven was offered for him, the Saint saw her father ascend to Heaven."

"St. Bonaventure made himself an apostle of this truth and spoke about it in vibrant tones: "O Christian souls, do you wish to prove your true love towards your dead? Do you wish to send them a most precious help and golden key to Heaven? Receive Holy Communion often for the repose of their souls."

~ Fr. Stefano Manelli, from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love ~

Divine Mercy Promises of Jesus

"Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy...."

"....When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior".

~ Jesus to St. Faustina ~

If you are not familiar with the message of Divine Mercy given to St. Faustina, please inform yourself and take advantage of the promises Jesus has given for Divine Mercy Sunday and for those connected with praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Mother Angelica: How to Avoid Purgatory

"A good means of avoiding a long stay in purgatory

is to die entirely resigned to the holy will of God."

~ Fr. Paul of Moll ~
A Flemish Benedictine and Wonder - Worker of the 19th Century
By: Edward Van Speybrouck

What the Catholic Church Teaches About Hell: Thank God for Purgatory!

“Two criminals were crucified with Christ.
One was saved – do not despair.
One was not – do not presume.”

~ St.Augustine ~

(The second video includes information on Purgatory,

but all videos include valuable information).

The Blood of Jesus for Souls in Purgatory

In the life of Bl. Henry of Suso, we read that as a young man he made this agreement with a brother of his religious order: "Whichever one of us outlives the other, let him hasten the glory of the one who has passed into eternity with the celebration of one Holy Mass every week." The companion of Bl. Henry died first in a mission territory. Blessed Henry remembered his promise for a little while. Later, because he had been obliged to celebrate Masses for others, instead of the weekly Mass which he had promised his friend, he substituted prayers and penances. But his friend appeared to him in a vision, much distressed, and reproved him, "Your prayers and your penances are not sufficient for me. I need the Blood of Jesus." Indeed it is with the Blood of Jesus that we pay the debts of our sins (Col. 1:14).

~ From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stefano Manelli, O.F.M. ~

Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory

The Mystery of God's Justice

“Since I am mentioning St. Lutgarda, ought I to speak of the celebrated apparition of Pope Innocent III? I acknowledge the perusal of this incident shocked me, and I would fain pass it over in silence. I was reluctant to think that a Pope, and such a Pope, had been condemned to so long and terrible a Purgatory. We know that Innocent III, who presided at the celebrated Council of Lateran in 1215 was one of the greatest Pontiffs who ever filled the chair of St. Peter. His piety and zeal led him to accomplish great things from the Church of God and holy discipline. How then, admit that such a man was judged with so great severity at the Supreme Tribunal? How reconcile this revelation of St. Lutgarda with Divine Mercy? I wished therefore, to treat it as an illusion,, and sought for reasons in support of this idea. But I found, on the contrary, that the reality of this apparition is admitted by the gravest authors, and that it is not rejected by any single one."

"Pope Innocent III died July 16, 1216. The same day he appeared to St. Lutgarda in her monastery at Aywieres, in Brabant. Surprised to see a specter enveloped in flames, she asked who he was and what he wanted. "I am Pope Innocent', he replied. 'Is it possible that you, our common Father, should be in such a state?' 'It is but too true. I am expiating three faults which might have caused my eternal perdition. Thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I have obtained pardon for them, but I have to make atonement. Alas! it is terrible; and it will last for centuries if you do not come to my assistance. In the name of Mary, who has obtained for me the favor of appealing to you, help me.' With these words he disappeared. Lutgarda announced the Pope’s death to her sisters and penitential works in behalf of the august and venerated Pontiff, whose demise was communicated to them some weeks later from another source."

~ Fr. F. X. Shoupe, S.J., from his book, Purgatory ~

Indulgences

Nothing Unclean Shall Enter Heaven (Rev.21:27)

“Two criminals were crucified with Christ.

One was saved – do not despair.
One was not – do not presume.”

~ St.Augustine ~

Acts of Humility Make Reparation for Pride

"I am here by God's great mercy for my excessive pride had brought me to the gates of hell. I influenced a great number of other people, and now I would gladly throw myself at the feet of the most abject pauper. Have compassion on me and do acts of humility to make reparation for my pride, and you will be able to deliver me from this abyss."

~ Soul in Purgatory to Sr. Josefa Menendez, from The Way of Divine Love ~

Our Lord Rewards St. Gertrude's Generosity to the Souls in Purgatory

St. Gertrude was fiercely tempted by the devil when she came to die. The evil spirit reserves a dangerous and subtle temptation for our last moments. As he could find no other ruse sufficiently clever with which to assail the Saint, he thought to disturb her beautiful peace of soul by suggesting that she would surely remain long years in the awful fires of Purgatory since, he reminded her, she had made over long ago all her suffrages to other souls. Our Blessed Lord, not content with sending His angels and the thousands of souls she had released, to assist her, came Himself in person to drive Satan away and comfort His dear Saint. He told her that in exchange for all she had done for the Holy Souls He would take her straight to Heaven and would multiply a hundred fold all her merits.

~ From Read Me or Rue It by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan ~

How We Can Help Souls in Purgatory

HOW WE CAN HELP THE HOLY SOULS

I. The first means is by joining the Association of the Holy Souls. The conditions are easy.

ASSOCIATION OF THE HOLY SOULS, Approved by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, June, 1936

1. The members are asked to send their full name and address to:
Association of the Holy Souls, Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary, Pius XII Monastery, Rua do Rosario 1, 2495 Fatima, Portugal.

2. The members must offer up a Mass once a week for the Holy Souls (Sunday's Mass can fulfil this obligation).

3. The members pray for and promote devotion to the Holy Souls. (We recommend the booklets Read Me or Rue It and How to Avoid Purgatory.)

4. The members are asked to contribute a yearly alms to the Mass Fund. The alms is used to have Masses said for the Holy Souls every month.

II. A second means of helping the Holy Souls is having Masses offered for them. This is certainly the most efficacious way of relieving them.

III. Those who cannot get many Masses offered, owing to want of means, ought to assist at as many Masses as possible for this intention.

A young man who was earning a very modest salary told the writer: "My wife died a few years ago. I got 10 Masses said for her. I could not possibly do more but heard 1,000 for her dear soul. "

IV. The recital of the Rosary (with its great indulgences) and the Way of the Cross (which is also richly indulgenced) are excellent means of helping the Holy Souls.

St. John Massias, as we saw, released from Purgatory more than a million souls, chiefly by reciting the Rosary and offering its great indulgences for them.

V. Another easy and efficacious way is by the constant repetition of short indulgenced prayers, offering up the indulgences for the Souls in Purgatory. Many people have the custom of saying 500 or 1,000 times each day the little ejaculation, "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee" or the one word, "Jesus" These are most consoling devotions and bring oceans of graces to those who practice them and give immense relief to the Holy Souls.

Those who say the ejaculations 1,000 times a day gain 300,000 days Indulgence! What a multitude of souls they can thus relieve! What will it not be at the end of a month, a year--or 50 years? And if they do not say the ejaculations, what an immense number of graces and favours they shall have lost. It is quite possible and even easy to say these ejaculations 1,000 times a day. But if one does not say them 1,000 times, let him say them 500 or 200 times.

VI. Still another powerful prayer is:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, with all the Masses being said all over the world this day, for the Souls in Purgatory."

Our Lord showed St. Gertrude a vast number of souls leaving Purgatory and going to Heaven as a result of this prayer which the Saint was accustomed to say frequently during the day.

VII. The Heroic Act consists in offering to God in favour of the Souls in Purgatory all the works of satisfaction we practice during life and all the suffrages that will be offered for us after death. If God rewards so abundantly the most trifling alms given to a poor man in His name, what an immense reward will He not give to those who offer all their works of satisfaction in life and death for the souls He loves so dearly.

This Act does not prevent priests from offering Mass for the intentions they wish, or lay people from praying for any persons or other intentions they desire. We counsel everyone to make this act.

~ Excerpt from How to Avoid Purgatory by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan ~

Purity of Our Intentions Counts With God

"How different the things of earth appear when one passes into eternity. What are charges and offices in the sight of God? All He counts is the purity of our intentions when exercising them, even in the smallest acts. How little is the earth and all it contains, and yet, how loved...Ah! What comparison is there between life, however prolonged, and eternity. If only it were realized how in purgatory the soul is wearied and consumed with desire to see God."

~ A nun soul, on entering heaven, confiding to Sr. Josefa Menedez,

from The Way of Divine Love by Sr. Josefa Menendez ~

Lenten Advice from Good Shepherds--here

Masses: The Greatest Help For Souls in Purgatory

When St. John of Avila was on his deathbed,

his confreres asked him what he desired most after his death.

The Saint promptly answered,

"Masses. . . Masses. . . nothing else but Masses!"

~ Fr Stefano Manelli, from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love ~

A Love Greater Than Death

Prayer for the Dying

Most Merciful Jesus,

lover of souls,

I pray You,

by the agony of Your most Sacred Heart,

and by the sorrows of Your Immaculate Mother,

to wash in Your Most Precious Blood,

the sinners of the world who are now in their agony,

and who will die today.

Amen.

Catholic Church Indulgences for Souls on Earth and Souls in Purgatory

From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops bulletin insert:

By its very nature, every sin inevitably causes suffering for the one who has committed it. Every sinful act creates disorder within the soul of the human person. Sin also disrupts one’s relationships with God, with the Church, with other people, and with the world as a whole. Those who have received forgiveness for their sins may still have an obligation to undergo a process of purification and to restore these disrupted relationships. The necessary and painful process that brings this reconciliation and purification can take place either in this life or in Purgatory, because whatever part of the process remains unfinished at death must be completed in Purgatory.

Through an indulgence, God grants that through the prayer of the Church the temporal penalty for sin due to someone be reduced (as in the case of a partial indulgence) or be eliminated (as in the case of a plenary indulgence). By God’s grace, participation in a prayer or action that has an indulgence attached to it brings about the necessary reconciliation without the suffering that would normally accompany it. The granting of an indulgence by the Church is “the expression of the Church’s full confidence of being heard by the Father when—in view of Christ’s merits and, by his gift, those of Our Lady and the saints—she asks him to mitigate or cancel the painful aspect of punishment by fostering its medicinal aspect through other channels of grace.”

How Can Indulgences Remove Some or All of the Temporal Punishment of Sin?
It is because of the Communion of Saints and the graciousness of God, our Father, that some or all of the temporal punishment for sin is removed. Although we always have to face the consequences of our sins in the form of the temporal punishment for sin, as members of the Body of Christ we are never simply on our own. We are linked with Christ and with the martyrs and saints, and we benefit from their holiness in such a way as to be freed from at least a portion of the temporal punishment for sin. “In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others.”

~ From USCCB ~ Indulgences and Our Spiritual Life

USCCB Manual of Indulgences Preview, (4th Edition, updated version) 1999

Norms for Indulgences (3rd Edition) 5/18/86

Pope Paul VI, Indulgentiarum Doctrina, 1/1/67

Pope John Paul II, Audience 9/29/99

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Indulgences

Code of Canon Law (1983) on indulgences

Catholic Encyclopedia: Indulgences

Myths About Indulgences

Primer on Indulgences

Fr. Steven Scheier: The Threat of Eternal Damnation

In a televised interview with Mother Angelica on EWTN (originally aired April 15, 1997), Father Scheier revealed very personal details about his escape from death and eternal damnation through the intercession of our Blessed Mother. Father Scheier said, "I learned my lesson, but it took Him breaking my neck and the threat of eternal damnation just to get my attention, but I would go through the same thing...I would never want to go back to the way I was--ever!"

St. Bernadette: Importance of the Sign of the Cross

"They think I'm a saint... When I'm dead, they'll come and touch holy pictures and rosaries to me, and all the while I'll be getting broiled on a grill in purgatory. At least promise me you'll pray a lot for the repose of my soul."

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner.

~ St. Bernadette Soubirous ~

Fr. Robert McNamara wrote:
Always a vital part of her own "prayers for sinners" was the rosary, which she constantly recommended to all. Part of the rosary was the sign of the cross. Whether in the rosary or at any other time, from the days of the Lourdes apparitions on, Bernadette was noted for the wonderful way she made the sign of the cross. One observer at the grotto later wrote, "If the sign of the cross is made in heaven, it can only be made in this manner." Everybody marveled at the way she crossed herself-slowly, reverently, "with majesty." "It is important to make it well," she told one of her fellow novices in the convent. The sisters respected the way she blessed herself, because they knew who had taught her. It was Our Lady herself, during the Lourdes apparitions.

Do we make the sign of the cross often? (Do you know that we can obtain a partial indulgence, applicable, if we choose, to the souls in purgatory, every time we make it?) Why not take on the project of always blessing ourselves slowly and reverently, pondering meanwhile what that sign means?

If we offer up these signs of the cross for the conversions of sinners, we will also be corresponding with what Our Lady of Lourdes asked of us through her humble ambassadress, Bernadette Soubirous.

~ Father Robert F. McNamara, R.I.P. 5/22/08, quoted from here. ~

Pope Benedict XVI: God is Justice

44.. God is justice and creates justice. This is our consolation and our hope. And in his justice there is also grace. This we know by turning our gaze to the crucified and risen Christ. Both these things—justice and grace—must be seen in their correct inner relationship. Grace does not cancel out justice. It does not make wrong into right. It is not a sponge which wipes everything away, so that whatever someone has done on earth ends up being of equal value. Dostoevsky, for example, was right to protest against this kind of Heaven and this kind of grace in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. Evildoers, in the end, do not sit at table at the eternal banquet beside their victims without distinction, as though nothing had happened.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:19-31), Jesus admonishes us through the image of a soul destroyed by arrogance and opulence, who has created an impassable chasm between himself and the poor man; the chasm of being trapped within material pleasures; the chasm of forgetting the other, of incapacity to love, which then becomes a burning and unquenchable thirst. We must note that in this parable Jesus is not referring to the final destiny after the Last Judgement, but is taking up a notion found, inter alia, in early Judaism, namely that of an intermediate state between death and resurrection, a state in which the final sentence is yet to be pronounced.

45. This early Jewish idea of an intermediate state includes the view that these souls are not simply in a sort of temporary custody but, as the parable of the rich man illustrates, are already being punished or are experiencing a provisional form of bliss. There is also the idea that this state can involve purification and healing which mature the soul for communion with God. The early Church took up these concepts, and in the Western Church they gradually developed into the doctrine of Purgatory. We do not need to examine here the complex historical paths of this development; it is enough to ask what it actually means. With death, our life-choice becomes definitive—our life stands before the judge.

~ Pope Benedict XVI, excerpts from Encyclical Spe Salvi ~

Fr. Paul of Moll: Purgatory for a Materialistic Soul

Father Paul said to a Young Lady who came to visit him, "A very heavy cross is in store for you....Are you not afraid of it?" ' Oh, well," she replied, "it will probably not be so heavy when it comes." "Ah, but it will, and you will groan under the weight of it. But come afterwards, and I will help you to carry it."

A few weeks later her brother-in-law committed suicide, and all the relatives were overwhelmed with grief. Remembering Father Paul's invitation the young lady returned to the monastery, and the Rev. Father gave her some reasuring information concerning the state of the soul of the deceased, saying, Your brother-in-law committed suicide in a fit of fever and was not responsible. He was very good to his wife and children and was beloved by them; but all his thoughts were centered on the material things of the world, he never thought of the future of his soul which is now in the depths of purgatory. You must pray a great deal for him." Then Father Paul went over the whole life of the deceased, as if he had followed his career step by step.

~ Excerpts from Father Paul of Moll ~
by Edward van Speybrouck, Tan Books and Publishers

Eucharistic Adoration Benefits the Living and the Dead

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."

December 12, 1875. "You should practice perpetual adoration in your heart at all times, not only when you go to chapel. You must also accustom yourself to make frequent spiritual communions. You will derive abundant and most salutary fruits from this, provided that you dispose yourself properly."

July 16th. "The Holy Eucharist must be as a magnet for you, drawing you always more and more powerfully. This Sacrament must be the main object of your life."

February 13th. "Before the Blessed Sacrament. See how Jesus is left alone. At this moment, if He wished, He could have many adorers, if they only had a little more good will! But what indifference is there even amongst religious! Our Lord is very much hurt by it. At any rate, you are to love Him for those indifferent souls and Jesus will be consoled for their neglect."

"I have told you there are some souls who do their Purgatory at the foot of the altar. They are not there for faults they have committed in church, because those faults which attack Jesus directly, Jesus present in the Tabernacle, are punished with terrible severity in Purgatory. The souls that are there in adoration are there as a reward for their reverent behavior in the Sacred Presence. They suffer less than if they were in Purgatory itself, and Jesus, whom they contemplate with the eyes of their soul and of faith, softens their pains by His invisible Presence."

~ Revelation of a deceased nun,

from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~

St. Padre Pio: Before God Every Debt Must Be Paid

Many apparitions have been reported about souls in Purgatory who came to ask the offering of Padre Pio’s Holy Mass for their deliverance from Purgatory. One day he celebrated Holy Mass for the father of one of his fellow friars. At the end of the Holy Sacrifice, Padre Pio said to the friar, "This morning the soul of your father entered Heaven." The friar was very happy, but said, "Padre, my good father died thirty-two years ago." "My son," Padre Pio replied, "before God every debt must be paid!" And it is Holy Mass which obtains for us a treasure of infinite value: the Body and Blood of Jesus, the "unspotted Lamb" (Rev. 5:12).

~ From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stephano Manelli, FI ~

Fr. Ray Blake: All Souls Requiem Mass in Brighton, UK

"It was the doctrine of Purgatory that first made me think about the Catholic faith; as a teenager it struck me as glorious that God's mercy and healing extends beyond the grave. "

~ Fr. Ray Blake, Pastor St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Brighton, UK ~

Souls in Purgatory Help Those Who Pray for Them

"We must pray for the Souls in Purgatory.

It is unbelievable, what they can do for our spiritual good,

out of gratitude they have towards those on earth

who remember to pray for them."

~ St. Padre Pio ~

St. Catherine of Genoa: Without Penitence Guilt of Sin Remains

“It is evident that the revolt of man’s will from that of God constitutes sin, and while that revolt continues, man’s guilt remains. Those, therefore, that are in hell, having passed from this life with perverse wills, their guilt is not remitted, nor can it be, since they are no longer capable of change. When this life is ended, the soul remains forever confirmed either in good or evil according as she has here determined. As it is written: Where I shall find thee, that is, at the hour of death, with the will either fixed on sin or repenting of it, there I will judge thee. From this judgment there is no appeal, for after death the freedom of the will can never return, but the will is confirmed in that state in which it is found at death. The souls in hell, having been found at that hour with the will to sin, have the guilt and the punishment always with them, and although this punishment is not so great as they deserve, yet it is eternal. Those in purgatory, on the other hand, suffer the penalty only, for their guilt was cancelled at death, when they were found hating their sins and penitent for having offended the divine goodness. And this penalty has an end, for the term of it is ever approaching. O misery beyond all misery, and the greater because in his blindness man regards it not!

“The punishment of the damned is not, it is true, infinite in degree, for the all lovely goodness of God shines even into hell. He who dies in mortal sin merits infinite woe for an infinite duration; but the mercy of God has made the time only infinite, and mitigated the intensity of the pain. In justice he might have inflicted much greater punishment than he has done.

“Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully committed! For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance, and without penitence guilt remains and will ever remain, so long as man retains unchanged the will to sin, or is intent upon committing it.

~ St. Catherine of Genoa, from Treatise on Purgatory ~

Priest Souls in Purgatory Wait for Help From Charitable Souls

Jesus revealed to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida how justice prevents Him from releasing priest souls from Purgatory until charitable souls of the Church Militant come to their aid:

"In my infinite Wisdom I formed my Church: and do they know of what material? From the substance of love, and in all its fibers, and in all its arteries, and in all its dispositions, they will see love and only love. And consequently, I became man, to unite the divine and the human, and to bring to heaven souls WITHOUT DUST.

"Purgatory itself is Love."

"These priestly souls, straying and sunken in abominable vices, when they are repentant and saved, they have an incalculable purgatory, and they give Me grief and my Heart of love is moved when seeing them suffer. I am not able according to the laws established by Me, I, WHO CAN DO EVERYTHING, to diminish their purgatory, if the militant Church does not apply my infinite merits to them.

"I have here another pain for my Heart that no one sees, nor knows of it, nor grasps all its extension and it is this: seeing myself as idle, without being able in a certain sense, with the devouring flames of my love, to sweeten their pains, to diminish their time of purification, to draw them out of the flames and to transport them within my Heart to heaven.

"This same justice impedes love; and as I myself am love, mercy and justice, this last attribute comes as a deterrent to love on this point--who would believe it!--I am eager and yearning because souls on earth can do what I am not able to do in heaven.

"This is another secret that I disclose today of the thousands of martyrdoms of love that I bear in my Heart of the Savior God. I struggled with divine and human means--how many times, years upon years!--to save souls of fallen priests, unfaithful to the church, renegades, apostates, schismatics etc. etc.: I succeeded in saving them with my very Blood, with tears from my soul, with pleading groans to the Father, with my infinite merits; and they arise from the world contrite and pardoned.

"Then, when they are in purgatory, alas! now nothing is possible for them to do , but WAIT, wait that there are charitable souls that ransom them, lessen their pain and time."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

Venerable Concepcion--a wife, mother of nine children, grandmother, mystic, foundress of the Works of the Cross, and spiritual mother to priests--reached the heights of spiritual union with God while fulfilling the duties of her vocation. Our Lord told her, "You married in view of My great designs for your personal holiness, and to be an example for many souls who think that marriage is incompatible with holiness."

To learn more about Venerable Concepcion, lovingly called Conchita, click here to read Conchita, A Mother's Spiritual Diary.

Holy Mass: Most Powerful Intercessory Prayer

"Once we have left this world, there is nothing we should want done for ourselves as much as providing for the celebration of Holy Mass for our souls. The Holy Sacrifice of the Altar is the most powerful intercessory prayer. It surpasses every prayer, every penance and every good work. It should not be difficult for us to understand this, if we recall that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the same Sacrifice as that which Jesus offered on the Cross and which He now offers on the altar, with its infinite expiatory value. Our immolated Jesus is the true Victim satisfying, or "propitiating, for our sins" (1 John 2:2), and His Divine Blood is "poured out unto the remission of sins" (Mt. 26:28). Absolutely nothing can be equaled to Holy Mass, and the saving fruits of this Sacrifice can be extended to an unlimited number of souls."

"...the great St. Jerome wrote that "for every Mass devoutly celebrated, many souls leave Purgatory and fly to Heaven." The same must be said for Holy Masses devoutly heard. St. Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi, the well-known Carmelite mystic, was in the habit of offering the Blood of Jesus in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory. In an ecstasy Jesus showed her that many souls in Purgatory indeed were liberated by the offering of the Precious Blood. St. Bernadette was also full of compassion for the souls in Purgatory, and would often say to her religious sisters: "I have heard Mass for the souls in Purgatory: nothing but the Precious Blood of Jesus applied for them, can liberate them." Nor could it be otherwise. In fact, as St. Thomas teaches, just one drop of that Blood [if duly applied], with Its infinite value, can save the whole universe from every guilt.

"Let us, therefore, pray for the souls in Purgatory and free them from their pains by hearing many Holy Masses and having Masses celebrated. "All good works taken together," said the holy Curé of Ars, "cannot equal the value of one Holy Mass; because they are the works of men, whereas Holy Mass is the work of God."

~ Excerpts from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stephano Manelli, FI ~

A New Blog Dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory

"I encourage Catholics to pray fervently for the dead, for their family members and for all our brothers and sisters who have died, that they may obtain the remission of the punishments due to their sins and may hear the Lord's call: 'Come, O my dear soul, to eternal repose in the arms of my goodness, which has prepared eternal delights for you'."

~ Pope John Paul II ~

I want to draw your attention to Apostle to Purgatory--if you haven't already noticed it in the sidebar. The above quote is from this new blog "dedicated to the suffering faithful who have died in Christ." The blog's author is a young married man and father from Texas, a researcher, student, amateur theologian, and a former Southern Baptist. Some excerpts from Michael Mohler's blog follow:

"In the coming weeks, I will be looking at supporting evidence for the doctrine of Purgatory -- first in Scripture, then in Tradition as set forth by the Church Fathers, and finally in the Magisterial teaching of the Universal church.

"I've been looking for a way to dig deeper into my Catholic faith and to share that faith with fellow Catholics, interested Protestants and anyone else with a yearning for God's truth. My hopes in starting this blog is shed light on the souls in purgatory who are so often forgotten and for that reason languish outside the gates of heaven.

"...Perhaps a former Southern Baptist, Texan Catholic has something to add -- some perspective or some voice -- that can be of benefit to someone. The souls suffering in Purgatory -- our parent, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and priests -- need our help, but the truth is that they are forgotten. Catholics of all stripes are compelled to take up devotion to the holy souls as an act of charity for we may well be one step behind them.

"My goals in undertaking the management of this blog are the following:

To develop a relationship with our forgotten brothers and encourage other Catholics to do the same.

To learn from the Church the conditions of Purgatory and to pass on that knowledge.

To begin a campaign for the indulgence of the poor souls, that they may not languish much longer.

To preserve my soul from the purgative fire through suffering, penance, and charity with the help of my brothers on Earth and in Heaven. "

Please click on this link to Apostle to Purgatory and see for yourself what Michael has been inspired to undertake on behalf of the souls suffering in Purgatory.